!    ! 


■HUNmED  BOSTON  ORATOES 


APPOINTED   BT  THE 


MUNICIPAL  AUTHORITIES  AND   OTHER   PUBLIC   BODIES, 
FROM   1770   TO    1852; 


COMPRISING 


HISTORICAL    GLEANINGS 


ILLUSTRATING  THE 


PRINCIPLES  AND  PROGRESS  OF  OUR  REPUBLICAN  INSTITUTIONS. 

BY  JAMES   SPEAR  LORING. 
STfiirH  3S5ition,  toitl)  an  Kmjrobelr  Kntiej:  of  Wames. 


"  I  would  have  these  orations  collected  and  printed  in  volumes,  and  then  write  the  history  of  the  last 
forty-five  years  in  commentaries  upon  them."  John  Adams,  in  1816. 

"  The  precious  spark  of  liberty  had  been  kindled  and  was  preserved  by  the  Pm-itans  alone  ;  *  *  • 
and  it  was  to  this  sect  that  the  English  owe  the  whole  freedom  of  their  constitution.''       David  Huhe. 


BOSTON: 
JOHN  P.   JEWETT   AND    COMPANY. 

CLEVELAND,   OHIO: 

JEWETT,  PROCTOR  &  WORTfflNGTON. 

1854. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Ck>ngress,  in  the  year  1852, 

Ev  JAMES  SPEAR  LORIXG, 

In  the  Clerk's  OfEce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  MassachnsetM. 


SIEREOTi-I"ED     BT 

HOBART    &    EOBBIXS, 

HEW  EXGLAND   TrPE  AMD   STEP.EOTYPE  FOCSDERY, 
BO  STOX. 


UKiVE.  aNIAJ 


A  WORD  TO   THE   READER. 


The  editor,  after  a  careful  researcli  pursued  with  an  intense  devotion  during  a 
period  of  nearly  four  years,  presents  this  Tolume  to  the  public,  and  here  takes  occasion 
to  dedicate  its  pages  to  tlie  glorious  memory  of  Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock  and 
Thomas  Gushing,  —  a  noble  triumyirate,  among  the  foremost  of  the  great  promoters 
of  the  American  Revolution.  Aspiring  to  no  higher  claim  than  that  of  editor,  he 
remarks,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  stated  at  the  close  of  the  introduction  on  the 
Boston  Massacre,  —  of  which  event  Daniel  Webster  emphasizes,  "from  that  moment 
we  may  date  the  severance  of  the  British  empire,"  —  that  he  has  embodied  a  great 
mass  of  materials  in  relation  to  our  own  political  and  national  history,  after  poring 
over  valuable  manuscripts,  newspapers  printed  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  past, 
every  variety  of  periodicals,  pamjihlets,  and  a  multitude  of  other  authorities  essential 
to  the  completion  of  his  design.  The  editor  has  generally  been  careful  to  cite  authori- 
ties ;  but  sometimes  through  inadvertence,  sometimes  for  the  reason  that  wi'iters  have 
adopted  the  language  and  statements  of  others  as  original,  he  has  not  designated 
authorities.  A  great  disparity  in  the  sketches  of  the  orators  will  be  observed.  In  the 
gathering  of  materials,  the  editor  has  mostly  been  thrown  on  his  own  resoui'ces. 
While,  by  interviews  with  parties  interested,  a  great  body  of  original  matter  has  been 
obtained  in  relation  to  a  large  number  of  the  orators,  very  meagre  materials  only,  like 
a  monumental  inscription,  could  be  gathered  in  regard  to  others  ;  and  this  is  an 
apology  for  what  may,  at  the  first  blush,  appear  an  act  of  injustice  to  some  of  the 
most  worthy  characters  in  the  catalogue  ;  —  but  there  are  in  the  volume  such  frequent 
allusions  to  the  same  person,  that  they  partially  atone  for  the  scanty  materials  of  a 
separate  article.  Notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of  the  editor,  many  errors  appear 
in  the  work  ;  but,  to  adopt  the  language  of  Cotton  Mather,  "  it  seems  the  hands  of . 
Briareus  and  the  eyes  of  Argus  will  not  prevent  them." 

Unlike  old  Homer's  "  hundred-gated  Thebes," — which,  however,  according  to  the 
best  authorities,  never  was  a  walled  city,  and  lost  the  honored  name  of  capital  by  the 
conquest  of  Cambyses,  —  Boston  hath  ever  been  the  capital  of  our  famed  Bay  State, 
and,  by  the  eloquence  of  her  more  than  hundred  orators,  hath  given  character  to  the 
nation.     Would  this  motlier  of  New  England  and  exemplar  of  America  continue  worthy 


IV  *      A   WOKD    TO    THE   HEADER. 

of  her  eleyated  position,  unceasing  must  be  her  regard  to  the  schools  of  learning,  the 
influences  of  the  pulpit,  and  an  uncontaminated  public  press. 

The  editor,  in  offering  the  present  edition  of  the  Hundred  Boston  Orators,  at  so 
short  a  period  from  its  first  appearance,  acknowledges  his  gratefhl  remembrance  of 
the  late  Samuel  Appleton,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Boston,  for  his  liberal  distribu- 
tion of  this  book  to  the  public  schools  of  this  city,  to  academies  in  this  state,  to  every 
college  in  the  United  States,  and  other  institutions  ;  by  liyhose  munificence  the  pub- 
lishers are  thus  early  enabled  to  present  the  work  with  improvements.  Indeed, 
Mr.  Appleton  was  the  most  generous  patron  of  literary  works,  then  living  in  Boston. 
as  was  evinced  in  his  defraying  the  largest  part  of  the  expenses  of  publishing  the 
elaborate  and  highly  elegant  edition  of  the  History  of  New  Ipswich,  besides  a  ^ft  of 
five  hundred  dollars  to  each  of  the  authors,  Frederic  Kidder,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Augustus 
A.  Gould.  Moreover,  he  bestowed  two  hundred  dollars  for  the  distribution  of  Dr. 
Hall's  jMemoir  of  Mary  Lovell  Ware  to  clergymen  who  had  not  received  it.  It  was 
impressive  to  look  upon  this  venerable  octogenarian,  dressed  in  his  maroon  velvet 
rohe  de  chambre,  listen  to  his  tender  expressions  of  sympathy  to  applicants,  and 
witness  his  prompt  and  hearty  appropriation  of  funds  for  laudable  objects.  His 
noble  heart  glowed  with  patriotic  fervor  ;  his  recollection  was  distinct  of  witnessing 
the  departure  of  his  father  on  horseback  to  the  Concord  fight,  and  listening  to  the 
remark  of  a  neighbor,  Mrs.  WUliam  McClary,  to  his  mother,  that  she  was  fortunate 
in  not  having  sons  old  enough  to  march  to  battle,  while  her  own  husband  and  three 
sons  had  gone  to  engage  in  the  conflict  at  Concord.  Although  the  sons  of  Mrs.  Apple- 
ton —  the  last  survivor  of  whom  is  now  an  honored  citizen  among  us  —  were  not 
called  to  offer  their  blood  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  they  lived  to  become  eminently 
useful  to  the  descendants  of  our  patriotic  fathers. 

February,  1854. 


CONTENTS 


FAGR 

The  Massacre  op  March  5,  1770 1 

1771.  March  5.     Thomas  Young.     Boston  Massacre 21 

1771.  April  2.      James  Lotell.     Do 29 

1772.  March  5.    Joseph  Warren.     Do .45 

1773.  March  8.    Benjamin  Chdrch.     Do 37 

1774.  March  5.     John  Hancock.    Do 72 

1775.  March  5.    Joseph  Warren.     Do 59 

1776.  March  6.    Peter  Thacher.     Do 122 

April  8.  Perez  Morton.     Over  the  Remains  of  Warren.         .       .       .  127 

1777.  March  5.    Benjamin  Highborn.     Boston  Massacre 130 

1778.  ]\Iarch  5.    Jonathan  AVilliams  Austin.     Do 133 

1779.  Jlarch  5.     William  Tudor.     Do 135 

1780.  March  5.    Jonathan  ]\Iason.     Do 139 

1781.  March  5.    Thomas  Dawes.     Do 141 

1782.  March  5.     George  Richards  Minot.     Do 146 

1783.  March  5.     Thomas  Welsh.     Do 154 

July  4.  John  Warren.     Town  Orator.     National  Independence.  .        .156 

1784.  July  4.       Benjamin  Highborn.     Do 167 

1785.  July  4,       John  Gardiner.    Do 168 

1786.  July  4.       Jonathan  Loring  Austin.     Do 172 

1787.  July  4.       Thomas  Dawes.     Do 182 

John  Brooks.     Mass,  Soc,  of  Cincinnati 184 

1788.  July  4.       Harrison  Gray  Otis.     Town  Orator 188 

William  Hull.    Mass.  Soc.  of  Cincinnati 218 

1789.  July  4.       Samuel  Stillman.     Town  Orator 222 

Samuel  Whitwell.     Mass.  Soc.  of  Cincinnati.        .       .       .      228 

1790.  July  4.       Edward  Gray.     Town  Orator 229 

William  Tudor.    Mass.  Soc.  of  Cincinnati 220 

1791.  July  4.       Thomas  Crafts,  Jr.     Town  Orator 230 

1* 


VI  ^  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

1792.  July  4.     Joseph  Blake,  Jr.    Town  Orator 231 

1793.  July  4.    John  Quixcy  Adajis.    t)o 233 

1794.  July  4.     John  Phillips.    Do 248 

1795.  July  4.     George  Blake.     Do 253 

1796.  July  4.    John  Lathrop.     Do 255 

1797.  July  4.    John  C.allexder.     Do. 257 

1798.  July  4.    Josiah  Quixct.     Do 258 

1799.  July  4.    John  Lowell.     Do 278 

July  17.  Robert  Treat  Paine.     Young  Men  of  Boston 283 

Dec.  29.    John  Thornton  Kirkland.     Eulogy  on  Washington.    .       .      287 

1800.  Feb.  8.      Fisher  Ames.     State  Eulogy  on  Washington 291 

Feb.  11.  Timothy  Bigelow.  Mass.  Grand  Lodge.  .  u.  .  .  298 
Feb.  19.  John  Davis.  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  .  .  304 
July  4.     Joseph  Hall.     Town  Orator 307 

1801.  July  4.     Charles  Paixe.       Do 310 

1802.  July  4.     Williaji  Emerson.     Do 311 

1803.  July  4.    WiLLL\M  Sullivan.     Do 313 

1804.  July  4.     TnojLis  Danforth.     Do 320 

1805.  July  4.    AYarren  Dutton.     Do 321 

Ebentezer  French.    Young  Republicans 322 

1806.  July  4.     Francis  Dana  Ch.vnning.    Town  Orator 322 

Joseph  Gleason.     Young  Republicans 323 

1807.  July  4.  Peter  OxENBRtofiE  Thacher.     Town  Orator.      .        •       .        •  323 

1808.  July  4.     Andrew  Ritchie,  Jr.    Do 325 

July  4.  Charles  Pincknet  Sdmner.     Young  Republicans.      .       .       .  325 

1809.  July  4.    William  Tcdor.     Town  Orator 333 

July  4.     David  Everett.     Bunker  Hill  Association 337 

July  4.     William  Charles  White.     Do 344 

1810.  July  4.     AiiEx^ix-DER  Townsend.     Town  Orator 349 

Daniel  Waldo  Lincoln.     Bunker  Hill  Association.        .       .      351 

1811.  July  4.     James  Savage.     Town  Orator 353 

Henry  A.  S.  Dearborn.     Bunker  Hill  Association.  .        .        .      360 

1812.  July  4.     Benjamin  Pollard.     Town  Orator 365 

1813.  July  4.    Edward  St.  Loe  Livermore.     Do 367 

1814.  July  4.     Benjamin  Whitwell.    Do 368 

1815.  Apr.  30.  Horace  Holley.    Washington  Benevolent  Society.          .       .      368 
July  4.     Lemuel  Shaw.    Town  Orator. 375 

William  Gale.    Washington  Society 381 

1816.  July  4.     George  Sullivan.    Town  Orator 381 

AsHUR  Ware.    Washington  Society 382 

1817.  July  4.    Edward  Tyrell  Channing.     Town  Orator 384 

1818.  July  4.    Francis  Galley  Gray.    Do 385 


CONTENTS.  VH 

PAGE 

1819.  July  4.     Franklin  Dexter.     Town  Orator 388 

Sajiuel  Adams  AVells.     Washington  Society 391 

1820.  July  4.     Theodore  Lyman.     Town  Orator 391 

Henry  Orne.     Washington  Society 393 

1821.  July  4.     Charles  Greelt  Loring.     Town  Orator 393 

Gerry  Fairbanks.     AVashington  Society 398 

1822.  July  4.     John  Cuipman  Gray.     City  Orator 398 

1823.  July  4.     Charles  Pelham  Curtis.    Do 400 

Russell  Jarvis.    Washington  Society 403 

Joseph  Bartlett.     Volunteer 405 

1824.  July  4.     Francis  Bassett.     City  Orator 406 

John  Everett.    Washington  Society 407 

1825.  July  4.     Charles  Sprague.     City  Orator 408 

1826.  July  4.     Josiah  Quincy.     Do 418 

David  Lee  Child.     Washington  Society 420 

Aug.  2.     Daniel  AVebster.    Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson.    .       .       .  421 
Aug.  6.     Samuel  Lorenzo  Knapp.     Young  Men  of  Boston.  .       .       .      445 

1827.  July  4.     AVilliam  Po-stell  Mason.     City  Orator 447 

1828.  Jan.  8.     Nathaniel  Greene.     Battle  of  New  Orleans 449 

July  4.     Bradford  Sumner.     City  Orator 449 

James  Davis  Knowles.     Baptist  Chui'ches 455 

Joseph  Hardy  Prince.     AVashington  Society 453 

1829.  M'ch  4.     John  AVarren  James.     Inauguration  of  Jackson.     .        .       .      460 
July  4.    James  Trecothic  Austin.   '  City  Orator 470 

Charles  Gordon  Greene.     AVashington  Society.      .       .       .      477 

1830.  July  4.     Alexander  Hill  Everett.     City  Orator 480 

Henry  Barney  Sjiith.     AVashington  Society 483 

1831.  July  4.     John  Gorham  Palfrey.     City  Orator 485 

William  Foster  Otis.     Young  Men  of  Boston.       .        .       .      493 
July  11.   Timothy  Fuller.    Anti-Masonic. 494 

1832.  July  4.     Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.     City  Orator 495 

Edward  Goldsborough  Prescott.     Boston  Eegiment.      .       .  500 
Andrew  DuniTap.    Washington  Society 504 

1833.  July  4.     Edward  Goldsborough  Prescott.     City  Orator.       .       .       .  501 

John  AA''ade,  Jr.     AVashington  Society 507 

Amasa  AValicer.    Twelve  Young  Men's  Societies.         .       .       .  508 
Caleb  Cushing.     Amer.  Colonization  Society 513 

1834.  July  4.     Richard  Sullivan  Fay.     City  Orator 524 

Frederick  Robinson.     Boston  Trades  Union 524 

Sept.  6.    Edward  Everett.     Eulogy  on  Lafayette 525 

1835.  July  4.    George  Stillman  Hillard.     City  Orator 646 


VIII 

1835. 

July  4. 

Oct.  15. 

1836. 

July  4. 

1837. 

July  4. 

1838. 

July  4. 

1839. 

July  4. 

1810. 

July  4. 

1841. 

Apr.  21. 

July  4. 

1812. 

July  4. 

1843. 

July  4. 

1844. 

July  4. 

1845 

July  4. 

July  9. 

Oct.  15. 

1846. 

July  4. 

1847. 

July  4. 

1848. 

July  4. 

1849. 

July  4. 

July  25 

1850. 

July  4. 

1851. 

July  4. 

1852. 

Jnly  5. 

1853. 

July  4. 

CONTENTS. 

Jerojie  Van  Crowningshield  Smith.     South  Boston 
Theophiltis  Fiske.     Boston  Trades  Union. 
Joseph  Story.     Eulogy  on  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
Henry  Willis  Kinsman.     City  Orator. 
David  Hensua-w.     People  of  Massachusetts. 
Edward  Cruft.     Washington  Society. 
Jonathan  Chapjian.     City  Orator, 

Hubbard  Winslow.     Do 

William  Lloyd  Garrison.     Mass.  Anti-Slaveiy  Society. 
IvERS  James  Austin.     City  Orator.     . 

Thomas  Power.     Do 

RuFus  CnoATE.     Eulogy  on  President  Harrison. 
George  Ticknor  Curtis.     City  Orator. 

Horace  Mann.     Do 

Charles  Francis  Adams.     Do 

Peleg  AVhitman  Chandler.     Do. 

Charles  Sumner.     Do 

Pliny  Merrick.     Eulogy  on  President  Jackson. 
Robert  Charles  Wintubop.     Merc.  Lib.  Assoc.  . 
Fletcher  Webster.     City  Orator. 

Thomas  Greaves  Cary.     Do 

Joel  Giles.     Do 

William  Whitwell  Greenough.     Do.    . 
Levi  Woodbury.     Eulogy  on  President  Polk.    . 
Edwin  Percy  Whipple.     City  Orator.   . 
Charles  Theodore  Russell.     Do.     .       .       • 

Thomas  Starr  King 

Timothy  Bigelow 


PAGE 

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555 
.555 

564 
.564 

570 
.571 

576 
.577 

584 
.586, 

588 
.595 

598 
.609 

613 
.617 

635 
.638 

648 
.653 

656 
.658 

660 
.664 

670 
.676 

G83 


!FHS 


HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS. 


To  the  sages  who  spoke, 

To  the  heroes  who  bled, 
To  the  day  and  the  deed, 

Strike  the  harp-strings  of  glory  ! 
Let  the  song  of  the  ransomed 

Eemember  the  dead, 
And  the  tongue  of  the  eloquent 

Hallow  the  story. 
O'er  the  bones  of  the  bold 

Be  that  story  long  told, 
And  on  Fame's  golden  tablets 

Their  triumphs  enrolled, 
Who  on  Freedom's  green  hills 

Freedom's  banner  unfui-led, 
^         And  the  beacon-fire  raised 

That  gave  light  to  the  world. 

Sprague. 

"The  origin  of  our  national  independence  may  be  traced  to  the  native 
fervid  sense  of  freedom,"  says  Tudor,  "which  our  ancestors  brought 
with  them,  and  fostered  in  the  forests  of  America,  and  which,  with 
pious  care,  they  taught  their  offspring  never  to  forego;"  and  it  was 
not  until  the  expiration  of  one  century  and  a  half  that  the  colonists 
inflexibly  resolved  to  govern  themselves,  uncontrolled  by  the  mother 
country.  Innumerable  tendencies  accelerated  this  determination.  The 
noble  wife  of  the  elder  Adams,  in  writing  to  Mrs.  Cranch,  remarked, 
with  laudable  pride:  —  "Amongst  those  who  voted  against  receiving 
an  explanatory  charter,  in  the  Massachusetts,  stands  the  name  of  our 
venerable  grandfather  Quincy,  accompanied  with  only  one  other,  to  liis 
immortal  honor."  Ey  vesting  the  governor  with  the  veto  power, 
opposing  an  elected  speaker  of  the  house,  and  forbidding  them  to  adjourn 
at  their  own  option  more  than  two  days.  King  George  the  First 
1 


2  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

inflicted  a  fatal  wound  on  tlie  dominant  po^ver  of  Old  England  over 
New  England,  and  showed  himself  unworthy  an  aspiration  of  holy 
George  Herbert,  in  the  days  of  the  INIayflower  Pilgrims. — 

"  Religion  stands  oa  uptoe  in  our  land, 
Ready  to  pass  to  the  American  strand  '.  " 

It  is  e\'ident,  however,  that  ISIadam  Adams  was  mistaken  regarrling 
the  minority.  On  turning  to  the  records  of  the  council,  we  find  there 
were  four  who  voted  in  the  negative ;  and  the  records  of  the  house 
exliibit  the  names  of  tliirty-two  who  negatived  also  the  acceptance  of 
this  oppressive  charter.  As  it  will  gratify  the  descendants  of  thia 
honored  minority  to  know  tliis  fact  of  their  ancestors,  we  have  carefully 
transcribed  their  names.  Tie  record  is  dated  Jan.  15,  1725  :  Isaiah 
Tay,  "WilHam  Clark,  Esq.,  Ezekiel  Lewis,  Thomas  Gushing,  Boston; 
John  Wadsworth,  i\Iilton;  John  Quincy,  Esq.,  Braintree;  John  Torrey, 
AVeymouth;  Capt.  Thomas  Loring,  Hingham;  John  Brown,  Mendon; 
Edward  ^Tiite,  Brookline ;  John  Sanders,  Haverhill ;  John  Hobson, 
Rowley;  Benjamin  Barker,  Andover ;  Joseph  Hale,  Boxford;  Samuel 
Tenney,  Bradford ;  Capt.  Wilham  Rogers,  Wenham ;  Joseph  Davis, 
Amcsbur}^ ;  Richard  Ward,  Newton ;  John  Rice,  Sudbury ;  Capt. 
Samuel  Bullard,  Sherburne  ;  Joseph  Wilder,  Lancaster  :  Capt.  EdAvard 
Goddard,  Framingham ;  John  Blanchard,  Billerica ;  Daniel  Pierce, 
Woburn ;  Jonathan  Sargent,  Maiden :  Samuel  Chamberlain,  Chelmsford  ; 
Thomas  Bryant,  Scituate  ;  Nathaniel  Southworth,  INIiddleboro' ;  Isaac 
Cushman,  Plympton ;  Ehsha  Bisby,  Pembroke ;  Edward  Shove, 
Dighton :  William  Stone,  Norton.  There  were  foi-ty-eight  in  the 
affirmative. 

According  to  Pemberton's  Massachusetts  Chronicle, — a  manuscript 
of  gi'eat  value,  m  the  library  of  the  ^lassachusetts  Historical  Society, — ■ 
in  an  article  reo-ardino;  the  odious  Writs  of  Assistance  to  the  officers  of 
the  customs,  it  is  stated  that  the  power  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer  had 
never  been  exercised  by  the  Superior  Court,  for  a  period  of  about 
sixty  years  after  the  act  of  this  province  investing  them  with  such 
power  had  been  in  force.  The  wi'it,  which  was  the  first  instance  of 
their  exercising  that  poAver  now  granted,  was  never  requested ;  or,  if 
sohcited,  was  constantly  denied  for  this  long  course  of  years,  until 
Charles  Paxton,  Esq.,  the  Commissioner  of  the  Revenue,  applied  for  it 
in  1754.  It  was  granted  by  the  court  in  1756,  sub  sileiiiio,  and 
continued  until  the  demise  of  George  the  Second. 


THE   MASSACRE.  '  g 

The  first  clarion  notes  that  aroused  to  independence  were  sounded 
by  the  patriotic  James  Otis,  in  the  February  term  of  1761,  of  the 
Superior  Court,  in  the  council-chamber  of  the  town-house,  whex-e  he 
delivered  an  eloquent  argument  in  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  Writs  of 
Assistance.  The  elder  Adams  said  that  Otis  "burst  forth  as  with  a 
flame  of  fire,  and  every  man  was  made  ready  to  take  arms  against  it.',' 
The  name  of  Liberty-tree  owes  its  origin  to  a  popular  gathering  under 
its  branches,  Aug.  14,  1765,  expressive  of  indignation  at  revenue 
oppressions.  The  event,  however,  which  most  effectually  inflamed 
popular  wrath,  was  that  of  the  fifth  of  March,  1770,  Avhen  five  citi- 
zens were  killed  in  King-street  by  regulars  of  the  standing  army. 
The  people  were  resolved  to  assert  their  rights,  though  rivers  of  blood 
rolled  down  that  street.  The  patriotic  Lathrop,  of  the  Second 
Church,  delivered  a  warm  sermon  on  the  Sabbath  after  the  event ;  and 
in  another,  in  1778,  said,  "The  inhabitants  of  these  States  must  have 
been  justified  by  the  impartial  world,  had  they  resolved,  from  that 
moment,  never  to  sufter  one  in  the  livery  of  George  the  Third  to  walk 
this  ground." 

The  immediate  origin  of  the  massacre  was  an  attack  of  a  mob  on 
the  sentinel  who  was  stationed  before  the  custom-house  at  the  corner 
of  Royal  Exchange  Lane,  where  the  king's  treasure  was  deposited. 
The  regular  loaded  his  gun,  and  retreated  up  the  steps  as  far  as  he 
could,  and  often  shouted  for  protection.  A  corporal  and  six  privates 
of  the  main  guard,  stationed  near  the  head  of  King-street,  directly 
opposite  the  door  on  the  south  side  of  the  town-house,  were  sent 
to  his  relief,  who,  after  being  grossly  insulted  and  attacked,  fired  upon 
the  crowd.  Three  men  were  instantly  killed,  five  men  were  danger- 
ously wounded,  and  several  slightly  injured. 

The  most  exciting  causes  which  urged  to  a  decided  disafiection  in 
the  people  of  Boston  towards  the  mother  country  may  be  traced  to 
the  circumstances  related  in  the  narrative  of  the  town,  published 
shortly  after  the  massacre.  While  the  town  was  surrounded  by 
British  ships  of  war,  two  regiments  landed,  Oct.  1,  1768,  and  took 
possession  of  it ;  and,  to  support  these,  two  other  regiments  arrived, 
some  time  after,  from  L-eland,  one  of  which  landed  at  Castle  Island, 
and  the  other  in  the  town.  They  were  forced  upon  the  people  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  the  Magna  Charta, — contrary  to  the  very  letter 
of  the  bill  of  rights,  in  which  it  is  declared  that  the  raising  or  keeping 
a  standing  army  within  the  kingdom  in  time  of  peace,  unless  it  be 


4  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

with  the  consent  of  Parliament,  is  against  law, — and  without  the  desire 
of  the  civil  magistrates,  to  aid  whom  was  the  pretence  for  sending  the 
troops  hither.  The  conduct  of  this  military  force  in  Boston  was 
highly  aggravating.  Gov.  Bernard,  without  consulting  the  Council, 
having  given  up  the  state-house  to  the  troops  at  their  landing,  they 
took  possession  of  the  chambers  where  the  representatives  of  the 
province  and  the  courts  of  law  held  their  meetings,  and  (except  the 
council-chamber)  of  all  other  parts  of  that  house,  in  which  they  con- 
tinued a  considerable  time,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  those  courts 
while  they  sat,  and  of  the  merchants  and  gentlemen  of  the  town,  who 
had  always  used  its  lower  floor  as  their  exchange.  They  had  a  right 
so  to  do,  as  the  property  of  it  was  in  the  town ;  but  they  were  deprived 
of  that  right  by  mere  power.  The  governor,  soon  after,  by  every 
stratagem,  and  by  every  method  but  a  forcible  entry,  endeavored  to 
obtain  jjossession  of  the  manuflictory  house,  to  make  a  barrack  of  it 
for  the  troops ;  and  for  that  purpose  caused  it  to  be  besieged  by  the 
troops,  and  the  people  in  it  to  be  used  with  severity,  which  created 
universal  uneasiness,  arising  from  the  apprehension  that  the  troops, 
under  the  influence  of  such  a  man,  would  be  employed  to  effect  the 
most  dangerous  purposes ;  but,  failing  of  that,  other  houses  were  pro- 
cured, in  which,  contrary  to  act  of  Parhament,  he  caused  the  troops 
to  be  quartered.  After  their  quarters  were  settled,  the  main  guard 
was  posted  at  one  of  the  said  houses,  directly  opposite  the  state-house, 
and  not  twelve  yards  distant,  where  the  General  Court  and  all  the  law 
courts  were  held,  with  two  field-pieces  pointed  to  the  state-house. 
This  situation  of  the  main  guard  and  field-pieces  seemed  to  indicate 
an  attack  upon  the  constitution,  and  a  defiance  of  the  law,  and  to  be 
intended  to  affi-ont  the  legislative  and  executive  authority  of  the  prov- 
ince. 

When  the  Superior  Court  met  at  the  state-house,  Nov.  1.  1769, 
a  motion  was  made  by  James  Otis,  Esq.,  one  of  the  bar,  that  the 
court  would  adjourn  to  Faneuil  Hall,  not  only  as  the  stench  occasioned 
by  the  regulars  in  the  representatives'  chamber  may  prove  infectious, 
but  as  it  was  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  the  court  to  administer  justice 
at  the  mouths  of  cannon  and  the  points  of  bayonets. 

In  a  new  liberty  song  at  this  period,  it  was  sung, —  tune  '"Kule 
Britannia,"  — 

"  No  haughty  Bernard,  swoln  with  pride, 
Shall  e'er  fair  Freedom's  sons  subdue  ; 


THE   MASSACRE.  5 

The  rights  old  Britain  —  old  Britain  once  denied, 

We  bravely  purchased  in  the  new. 
Guard,  Americans  !  Americans,  guard  your  land  ! 
And  spurn  a  tyrant's  iron  band  !  " 

A  particular  relation  of  the  occasion  of  the  event  -which  occurred 
on  the  massacre  thus  appears  in  the  narrative  already  gleaned.  It 
was  probably  from  the  hand  of  James  Bowdoin,  chairman  of  the  town's 
committee.  "  A  difference  having  happened  near  Mr.  Gray's  rope- 
walk,  between  a  soldier  and  a  man  belonging  to  it,  the  soldier  chal- 
lenged the  ropemakers  to  a  boxing  match.  The  challenge  was 
accepted  by  one  of  them,  and  the  soldier  worsted.  He  ran  to  .the 
barrack  in  the  neighborhood,  and  returned  with  several  of  his  com- 
panions. The  fray  was  renewed,  and  the  soldiers  were  driven  off. 
They  soon  returned,  with  recruits,  and  were  again  worsted.  This 
happened  several  times,  till  at  length  a  considerable  body  of  soldiers 
was  collected,  and  they  also  were  driven  off,  the  ropemakers  having 
been  joined  by  their  brethren  of  the  contiguous  ropewalks.  By  this 
time,  Mr.  Gray,  being  alarmed,  interposed,  and,  with  the  assistance  of 
some  gentlemen,  prevented  any  further  disturbance.  To  satisfy  the 
soldiers,  and  punish  the  man  who  had  been  the  occasion  of  the  first 
difference,  and  as  an  example  to  the  rest,  he  turned  him  out  of  his 
service,  and  waited  on  Col.  Dalrymple,  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
troops,  and  with  him  concerted  measures  for  preventing  further  mis- 
chief Though  this  affair  ended  thus,  it  made  a  strong  impression  on 
the  minds  of  the  soldiers  in  general,  wdio  thought  the  honor  of  the 
regiment  concerned  to  revenge  those  repeated  repulses.  For  this 
purpose,  they  seem  to  have  formed  a  combination  to  commit  some  out- 
rage ujDon  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  indiscriminately ;  and  this  was 
to  be  done  on  the  evening  of  the  fifth  of  March,  or  soon  after." 
Appended  to  this  relation  of  the  town,  are  the  depositions  of  ninety- 
six  witnesses,  clearly  unfolding  the  circumstances  of  the  massacre. 
The  minute  evidence  in  the  case  advanced  at  the  trials  of  the  regulars 
involved  in  this  event  is,  moreover,  of  greater  importance  than  th« 
town  depositions,  and  a  perpetual  evidence  of  the  blighting  curse  of 
standing  armies. 

The  most  interesting  statement  that  we  find  of  this  memorable  mas- 
sacre, yet  conflicting  with  that  of  the  town,  is  gathered  from  the  work 
of  a  British  author,  entitled  "  The  History  of  the  American  War, 
1* 


6  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

etc.,  by  C.  Stedman,"  wlio  served  under  Sir  William  Hovre,  which  is 
as  folloAYS : 

"On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  of  March,  the  same  day  on  which 
the  British  minister.  Lord  Xorth,  moved  his  resolutions  in  the  House 
of  Commons  for  discontinuing  the  American  duties,  a  quarrel  arose  at 
Boston  between  two  or  three  young  men  of  the  tOwn  and  as  many 
soldiers,  at  or  near  their  barracks.  From  words,  they  proceeded  to 
blows ;  and  the  soldiers,  having  vanquished  their  opponents,  were  seen 
pursuing  them  through  the  streets.  The  alarm  to  the  populace  was 
given  by  ringing  the  bells  of  the  churches,  and  the  people  of  the  town, 
assembling  in  great  numbers  at  the  custom-house,  began  to  crowd 
around  the  sentinel  who  was  posted  there,  and  not  only  insulted  him, 
but  threatened  his  life.  Captain  Preston,  the  officer  on  duty  for  the 
day,  who  had  by  this  time  received  information  of  the  tumult,  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  the  main  guard,  and  hearing  that  the  sentinel 
placed  at  the  custom-house  might  be  in  danger,  sent  a  party,  under  the 
command  of  a  sergeant,  to  protect  the  one  and  secure  the  other ;  and, 
from  greater  precaution,  soon  afterwards  followed,  and  took  command 
of  the  party  himself  He  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  the  people  to 
disperse,  but  in  vain.  The  mob  soon  became  more  riotous,  not  only 
reviling  the  soldiers  with  abusive  language,  but  throwing  stones  at 
them,  and  whatever  else  came  in  their  way.  One  of  the  soldiers 
received  a  blow  from  something  that  was  thrown,  and  levelled  his 
musket ;  the  officer,  stretching  out  his  arm  to  prevent  the  soldier  from 
firing,  was  struck  with  a  club,  and  the  musket  was  discharged.  The 
attack  from  the  mob  became  more  violent,  and  the  rest  of  the  soldiers, 
following  the  example  of  their  comrades,  discharged  their  pieces  singlv 
and  in  a  scattered  manner,  by  Avhich  four  of  the  populace  were  killed, 
and  several  others  wounded.  They  were  intimidated,  and  for  a 
moment  fled ;  but,  soon  afterwards  collecting,  took  their  station  in  an 
adjoining  street.  The  drums  beat  to  arms,  the  rest  of  the  troops 
were  assembled,  and  the  whole  town  was  in  the  utmost  confusion.  A 
town-meeting  was  held,  and  a  deputation  was  sent  to  the  governor, 
requesting  him  to  remove  the  troops  from  the  town.  The  governor 
called  together  the  Council,  and  the  Council  giving  it  as  their  opinion 
that  the  removal  of  the  troops  from  the  town  would  be  for  his 
majesty's  service,  the  commanding  officer  promised  to  comply  with 
their  advice.  Capt.  Preston  surrendered  himself  for  trial,  and  the 
soldiers  under  his  command  at  the   custom-house  were  taken  into 


THE   MASSACRE.  7 

custody ;  the  mob  dispersed,  and  the  following  day  the  troops  were 
removed  to  Castle  William. 

In  the  Diary  of  John  Adams,  it  is  recorded  as  follows: — "The 
evening  of  the  fifth  of  March  I  spent  at  ISIr.  Henderson  Inches' 
house,  at  the  south  end  of  Boston,  in  company  with  a  club,  -with  Avhom 
I  had  been  associated  for  several  years.  About  nine  o'clock  we  were 
alarmed  with  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  supposing  it  to  be  the  signal 
of  fire,  we  snatched  our  hats  and  cloaks,  broke  up  the  club,  and 
went  out  to  assist  in  quenching  the  fire,  or  aiding  our  friends  who 
might  be  in  danger.  In  the  street  we  were  informed  that  the  British 
soldiers  had  fired  on  the  inhabitants,  killed  some  and  wounded  others, 
near  the  town-house.  A  crowd  of  people  were  flowing  down  the  street 
to  the  scene  of  action.  When  we  arrived,  we  saw  nothing  but  some 
field-pieces  before  the  south  door  of  the  town-house,  and  some  engi- 
neers and  grenadiers  drawn  up  to  protect  them.  Mrs.  Adams  was 
then  in  circumstances  to  make  me  apprehensive  of  the  effect  of  the 
surprise  upon  her,  who  was  alone,  excepting  her  maids  and  a  boy,  in 
the  house.  Having,  therefore,  surveyed  round  the  house,  and  seeing 
all  quiet,  I  walked  down  Boylston-alley,  into  Brattle-square,  where  a 
company  or  two  of  regular  soldiers  were  drawn  up  in  front  of  Dr. 
Cooper's  old  church,  with  their  muskets  shouldered,  and  their  bayonets 
all  fixed.  I  had  no  other  way  to  proceed  but  along  the  whole  front, 
in  a  very  narrow  space  which  they  had  left  for  foot-passengers.  Pur- 
suing my  way  without  taking  the  least  notice  of  them,  or  they  of  me, 
any  more  than  if  they  had  been  marble  statues,  I  went  directly  home 
to  Cole-lane." 

We  will  relate  particulars  of  the  town-meeting.  The  excited  Bos- 
tonians,  overwhelmed  with  indignation  at  the  outrage  of  the  British 
regulars,  on  the  very  next  day,  as  with  one  tread,  repaired  to  the 
Cradle  of  Liberty.  The  town  record  of  that  day  states  that  the 
selectmen  not  being  present,  and  the  inhabitants  being  informed  that 
they  were  at  the  council-chamber,  it  was  voted  that  Mr.  William 
Greenleaf  be  desired  to  proceed  there,  and  acquaint  the  selectmen  that 
the  inhabitants  desire  and  expect  their  attendance  at  the  hall.  The 
town-clerk,  William  Cooper,  presided  at  this  meeting  in  the  interim. 
The  selectmen  forthwith  attended,  and  it  was  voted  that  constable 
Lindsey  George  Wallace  wait  on  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  and  acquaint  him 
that  the  inhabitants  desire  him  to  open  the  meeting  with  prayer. 
Hon.  Thomas  Cushing  was  chosen  moderator,  by  hand  vote. 


8  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

The  first  object  of  this  democratic  assembly,  in  defiance  of  British 
control,  Avas  to  hsten  to  relations  of  the  people  respecting  the  massacre 
of  last  night ;  and,  that  the  same  might  be  recorded  by  the  tOAvn-clerk, 
they  -were  requested  to  give  written  statements.  The  persons  that 
appeared  to  give  information  relative  to  the  conduct  of  the  soldiers 
being  many,  it  was  inconvenient  to  receive  them  all  at  that  meeting, 
and  William  Greenleaf,  William  Whitwell  and  Samuel  Whitwell,  were 
appointed  to  take  the  depositions  offered  regarding  the  conduct  of  the 
regulars. 

The  statements  of  four  persons  at  this  meeting  are  on  the  town 
records  in  substance  as  follows :  —  "  Mr.  John  S.  Copley  related  that 
Mr.  Pelham  and  his  wife,  and  some  persons  of  Mr.  Samuel  Winthrop's 
family,  heard  a  soldier  say,  after  the  firing  on  the  last  night,  that  the 
de\nl  might  give  quarters  —  he  should  give  them  none."  Here  we 
will  cease  a  moment  to  relate  further  testimony,  in  order  to  make 
allusions  to  John  Singleton  Copley,  who  was  the  most  eminent 
painter  of  his  day  in  Boston,  a  pupil  of  Smibert,  and  memorable  for 
his  portraits  of  Hancock  and  Warren,  and  for  the  paintings  of  the 
death  of  Chatham,  and  the  siege  of  Gibraltar.  The  associations  that 
twine  around  his  name  are  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  people  of  Boston, 
where  he  was  born,  in  1738.  The  Mr.  Pelham  to  whom  he  alludes  is 
supposed  to  have  been  one  Peter  Pelham,  a  writing  and  dancing 
master,  whose  wife  Mary  was  the  widow  of  Eichard  Copley,  a  tobac- 
conist, his  probable  father.  Mr.  Copley  married  a  daughter  of 
Richard  Clarke,  one  of  the  consignees  of  the  tea  destroyed  in  1773, 
by  whom  his  son  John  S.,  born  in  Boston,  May  21,  1772,  known  as 
Lord  Lyndhurst,  became  Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  Gardiner 
Greene,  the  late  millionaire,  of  Boston,  married  his  daughter  Eliza- 
beth. He  was  one  of  the  addressers  to  Gov.  Hutchinson  in  1774, 
and  departed  for  Londonin  June  of  that  year,  where  he  died,  Septem- 
ber 25,  1815.  Copley's  Pasture  extended  down  Beacon,  from  Walnut 
street  to  the  water,  and  over  Chestnut  and  Mount  Vernon  streets. 
His  residence  was  on  the  present  location  of  David  Sears'  man- 
sion. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  town-meeting.  The  next  relation  was 
that  of  John  Scott,  who  reported  that  a  lad  of  Mr.  Pierpont  had  said 
at  INIr.  Chardon's.  that  a  soldier  was  heard  to  say  his  ofiicer  had 
acquainted  them  that  if  they  went  abroad  at  night,  they  should  go 
armed  and  in  companies.     Mr.  Pierpont  stated  that  before  the  firing 


•  THE   MASSACRE.  9 

on  the  last  night,  he  had  disarmed  a  soldier  -who  had  struck  down  one 
of  the  inhabitants.  Mr.  Pool  SjDcar  related  that  last  week  he  heard 
one  Kilson,  a  soldier  of  O'Hara's  company,  say  that  he  did  not  know 
what  the  inhabitants  were  after,  for  they  had  broken  the  windows  of  an 
officer,  one  Nathaniel  Rogers,  but  they  had  a  scheme  which  would 
soon  put  a  stop  to  our  procedure ;  that  parties  of  soldiers  were  ordered 
with  pistols  in  their  pockets,  and  to  fire  upon  those  who  should  assault 
said  house  again  ;  and  that  ten  pounds  stcrhng  was  to  be  given  as  a 
reward  for  their  kilhng  one  of  those  persons,  and  fifty  pounds  sterhng 
for  a  prisoner. 

A  committee  of  fifteen  was  appointed  to  inform  Lieut.  Gov.  Hutch- 
inson that  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  inhab- 
itants and  soldiers  can  no  longer  dwell  together  in  safety ;  that  nothing 
can  restore  the  peace  of  the  town,  and  prevent  blood  and  carnage,  but 
the  immediate  removal  of  the  troops.  The  hall  was  crowded  to  excess, 
and  adjourned  to  the  Old  South,  to  meet  in  the  afternoon.  Originally, 
Faneuil  Hall  could  accommodate  one  thousand  persons  only.  It  was 
built  of  brick,  two  stories  in  height,  and  measured  one  hundred  feet 
by  forty.  The  offices  of  the  town  were  established  there,  of  the  naval 
office,  and  of  the  notary  public ;  and  underneath  was  the  market-house, 
used  for  that  purpose  until  Aug.  26,  182G,  on  the  erection  of  the 
splendid  Quincy  Market-house. 

We  will  digress  here  to  exhibit  the  prejudiced  and  slanderous  opinion 
of  the  character  of  the  Coopers,  advanced  in  the  London  Political  Reg- 
ister for  1780 :  —  "  William  Cooper  was  formerly  town-clerk  of  Boston, 
and  is  one  of  the  great  knaves  and  most  inveterate  rebels  in  New  Eng- 
land. He  is  a  very  hot-headed  man,  and  constantly  urged  the  most 
violent  measures.  He  was  prompted  secretly  by  his  brother,  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Cooper,  wdio,  though  a  minister  of  peace,  and  to  all  out- 
ward appearance  a  meek  and  heavenly  man,  yet  was  one  of  the  chief 
instruments  in  stirring  up  the  people  to  take  arms.  Hancock,  and 
many  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  were  his  parishioners.  When  the  Boston 
rioters  made  their  concerted  attack  on  the  custom-house  to  plunder  the 
money-chest,  March,  1770,  the  bell  of  tliis  reverend  rogue's  church  was 
the  signal  which  summoned  them  to  the  assault."  This  pastor  of 
Brattle-street  church,  ever  noted  as  the  silver-tongued  orator,  was 
of  such  remarkable  popularity,  that  the  aisles  of  the  church  would  be 
thronged  with  eager  listeners,  and  he  was  a  favorite  of  royalists  and 
rebels.     William  Cooper  had  rendered  himself  specially  obnoxious  to 


10  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

tlie  royalists  by  his  Journal  of  Occurrences  from  the  time  of  the 
arrival  of  the  regulars  to  the  year  1770,  pubhshed  in  the  Boston 
Gazette. 

The  following  effusion,  characterizing  the  Boston  clergy  of  1770, 
ascribed  to  John  Fenno,  keeper  of  the  granary,  and  to  Joseph  Green, 
has  long  been  famous.  It  was  probably  written  by  more  than  one 
hand : — 

The  Mather  race  will  ne'er  disgrace 

Their  ancient  pedigree. 
And  Charles  Old  Brick,'  if  well  or  sick, 

"Will  cry  for  Liberty. 
There  's  pufiing  Pemb,^  who  does  contemn 

All  Liberty's  noble  sons  ; 
And  Andrew  Sly  ,^  who  oft  draws  nigh 

To  Tommy  Skin  and  Bones.* 
In  Brattle  Street  we  seldom  meet 

With  silver-tongued  Sam,^ 
Who  gently  glides  between  both  sides, 

And  thus  escapes  a  jam. 
Little  Hopper,^  when  he  thinks  proper. 

In  Liberty's  cause  is  bold  ; 
And  John  Old  North,"  though  little  worth, 

AVon't  sacrifice  to  gold. 
Penuel  Puff  ^  is  hearty  enough. 

And  so  is  Simeon  Howard  ; 
And  Long  Lane  Teague'  will  join  the  league, 

He  never  was  a  coward. 
Trout's'"  Sunday  aim  is  to  reclaim 

Those  that  in  sin  are  sunk  ; 
When  Monday  comes  he  stills  them  rum. 

And  gets  them  woful  drunk. 
There  's  punning  Byles  provokes  our  smiles, 

A  man  of  sta,tely  parts  ; 
He  visits  folk  to  crack  his  jokes , 

Which  never  mend  their  hearts. 
With  strutting  gait,  and  wig  so  great. 

He  walks  along  the  streets, 
And  throws  out  wit,  or  what 's  like  it, 
To  every  one  he  meets. 

"We  will  further  quote  the  Political  Register,  for  the  allusions  to 
the  moderator  of  this  meeting:  —  "Among  the  rebels  in  Massachu- 

1  Chauncy.     ^  Pemberton.     ^  Eliot.       ''  Gov.  Hutchinson.     ^  Cooper.     ^  Stillman. 
7  Lathrop.    ^  Bowen.    ^  Moorhead.     i"  Troutbec. 


THE   MASSACRE.  H 

setts  there  are  many  jealousies.  The  staunch  repubhcans  have  placed 
John  Hancock  and  Tommy  Gushing  at  the  head  of  their  state, —  the 
first  as  governor,  the  second  as  lieutenant-governor, —  chosen  since  the 
rebellion  commenced.  Bowdoin,  -^vho  had  been  at  the  head  of  their 
affairs  for  these  last  five  years,  as  president  of  the  Council,  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  governorship  in  opposition  to  Hancock,  but  lost  it  by  a 
great  majority ;  he  was  then  offered  the  place  of  lieutenant-governor, 
but  refused  it  on  a  pretence  of  ill  health ;  that  place  was  then  offered 
to  Warren,  of  Plymouth,  who  also  declined  it :  at  length,  that  the 
place  might  not  go  a-begging  any  longer,  they  offered  it  to  Cush 
ing,  who  they  were  sure  would  not  refuse  it."  "We  have  praise 
enough  for  Thomas  Gushing,  to  say  of  him,  in  the  language  of  John 
Adams  in  1765,  that  he  was  "steady  and  constant,  busy  in  the  intei'- 
est  of  liberty  and  the  opposition,  famed  for  secrecy  and  his  talent  in 
procuring  intelligence ; "  indeed,  he  was  the  chief  operator  in  the 
under  current  of  liberty. 

We  gather  from  Tudor's  Life  of  James  Otis  this  graphic  statement 
of  the  meeting  of  the  Gouncil:  —  "The  lieutenant-governor  Hutchin- 
son convened  the  Gouncil :  a  town-meeting  was  held  March  6,  and 
adjourned  to  the  Old  South  Church,  because  Faneuil  Hall  could  con- 
tain only  a  part  of  the  multitude  that  assembled.  The  British 
soldiers  were  all  kept  in  readiness  at  their  quarters,  and  all  the  militia 
of  the  town  were  called  out.  Every  brow  Avas  anxious,  every  heart 
resolute.  A  vote  of  the  town  was  passed  that  '  it  should  be  evac- 
uated by  the  soldiers,  at  all  hazards.'  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
wait  on  the  lieutenant-governor,  to  make  this  demand.  Samuel 
Adams  was  the  chairman  of  this  committee,  and  discharged  its  duties 
with  an  ability  commensurate  to  the  occasion.  Colonel  Dalrymple  was 
by  the  side  of  Hutchinson,  who,  at  the  head  of  the  Council,  received  the 
delegation.  He  at  first  denied  that  he  had  the  power  to  grant  the 
request.  Adams  plainly,  in  few  words,  proved  to  him  that  he  had  the 
power  by  the  charter.  Hutchinson  then  consulted  Avith  Dalrymple  in 
a  whisper,  the  result  of  which  was  an  offer  to  remove  one  of  the 
regiments.  At  this  critical  moment,  Adams  showed  the  most  noble 
presence  of  mind.  The  military  and  civil  officers  were  in  reality 
abashed  before  this  plain  committee  of  a  democratic  assembly.  They 
knew  the  imminent  danger  that  impended ;  the  very  air  was  filled  with 
the  breathings  of  compressed  indignation.  They  shrunk,  fortunately 
shrunk,  from  all  the  arrogance  which  they  had  hitherto  maintained. 


12  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Their  reliance  on  a  standing  army  faltered  before  the  undaunted,  irre- 
sistible resolution  of  free  unarmed  citizens:  and  when  the  orator, 
seeming  not  to  represent,  but  to  personify,  the  universal  feehng  and 
opinion,  with  unhesitating  promptness  and  dignified  firmness  replied, 
'  If  the  heutenant-governor  or  Colonel  Dalrymple,  or  both  together, 
have  authority  to  remove  one  regiment,  they  have  authority  to  remove 
two :  and  nothing  short  of  the  total  evacuation  of  the  town  by  all  the 
regular  troops  will  satisfy  the  public  mind,  or  preserve  the  peace  of 
this  province,'  the  desired  eflect  was  produced.  The  commanding  offi- 
cer pledged  his  honor  that  the  troops  should  leave  the  town,  and  it 
was  immediately  evacuated."  It  is  related  that  when  Lord  North 
was  informed  of  this  remarkable  instance  of  the  dignified  energy  of 
the  town's  chairman,  he  called  the  regulars  Samuel  Adams'  two  regi- 
ments, in  a  tone  of  contempt.  Hutchinson,  who  was  of  a  cowardly 
spirit  of  ambition,  had  declared  publicly  that  he  had  no  authority  over 
the  king's  troops';  that  the  military  force  had  no  separate  command, 
and  he  could  do  nothing  without  Dalrymple;  moreover.  Brigadier 
Ruggles,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Massachusetts  troops,  was 
under  the  command  of  a  British  ensign  for  an  entire  campaign. 

Samuel  Adams  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  we  cannot  resist  the  pleasure  of  citing  the  opinion  of  his 
character  from  the  hand  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  clearest  and  best 
compressed  conception  of  this  dauntless  patriot  ever  written :  — 
"I  can  say  that  he  was  truly  a  great  man, — wise  in  council,  fer- 
tile in  resources,  immovable  in  his  purposes, — and  had,  I  think,  a 
greater  share  than  any  other  member  in  advising  and  directing  our 
measures  in  the  northern  war.  As  a  speaker,  he  could  not  be  com- 
pared with  his  living  colleague  and  namesake,  whose  deep  conceptions, 
nervous  style,  and  undaunted  firmness,  made  him  truly  our  bulwark 
in  debate.  But  Mr.  Samuel  Adams,  although  not  of  fluent  elocution, 
was  so  rigorously  logical,  so  clear  in  his  views,  abundant  in  good  sense, 
and  master  always  of  his  subject,  that  he  commanded  the  most  pro- 
found attention  whenever  he  rose  in  an  assembly  by  which  the  froth 
of  declamation  was  heard  with  sovereign  contempt." 

Samuel  Adams  was  emphatically  the  man  of  the  people ;  and  the 
editor,  who  has  had  conversation  with  his  namesake,  the  ancient  town- 
crier,  now  ninety-two  years  of  age  and  with  clear  memory,  was 
informed  that  Adams  once  remarked  to  him,  —  "We,  the  people,  are 
like  hens  laying  eggs ;  when  they  hatch,  you  must  take  care  of  the 


THE  MASSACRE.  18 

chickens.  You  are  a  young  man,  Samuel,  and  as  you  grow  old,  you 
must  abide  by  our  proceedings."  At  another  time,  our  political  patri- 
arch observed  to  him, —  "It  is  often  stated  that  I  am  at  the  head  of 
the  Revolution,  -whereas  a  few  of  us  merely  lead  the  way  as  the  people 
follow,  and  we  can  go  no  further  than  we  are  backed  up  by  them ;  for, 
if  we  attempt  to  advance  any  further,  we  make  no  progress,  and  may 
lose  our  labor  in  defeat."  Samuel  Adams  was  ever  at  the  head  of 
Boston  deputations  before  the  Revolution,  and  conducted  the  corre- 
spondence with  patriots  in  remote  places  ;  or,  to  adopt  the  language  of 
the  venerable  town-crier,  "  Samuel  Adams  did  the  writing,  and  John 
Hancock  paid  the  postage." 

In  order  to  effect  a  more  clear  apprehension  of  the  indignation  of 
the  Bostonians  ai  this  appalling  crisis,  and  in  justice  to  Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor Hutchinson,  who  descends  to  a  relation  of  full  particulars  of  the 
immediate  occurrences  succeeding  the  massacre,  in  his  History  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  we  glean  at  large  his  statements ;  and  the  reader,  in 
observing  discrepancies  between  his  relation  and  that  of  the  revolu- 
tionists, will  bear  in  mind  that  Hutchinson  was  a  minion  of  the  throne, 
desu'ous  to  assert  British  control.  He  writes  in  the  third  person," 
stating  that  two  or  three  of  the  men  who  had  seen  the  action  ran  to 
the  lieutenant-governor's  house,  which  was  about  half  a  mile  distant 
in  Garden-court,  near  North-square,  and  bogged  for  God's  sake 
he  would  go  to  King-street,  where,  they  feared,  a  general  action 
would  come  on  between  the  troops  and  the  inhabitants.  "He  went 
immediately,  and,  to  satisfy  the  people,  called  for  Capt.  Preston,  and 
inquired  why  he  fired  upon  the  inhabitants  without  the  direction  of  a 
civil  magistrate.  The  noise  was  so  great  that  his  answer  could  not 
be  understood,  and  some,  who  were  apprehensive  of  the  lieutenant- 
governor's  danger,  from  the  general  confusion,  called  out,  '  The  town- 
house  !  the  town-house  ! '  and,  with  irresistible  violence,  he  was  forced 
up  by  the  crowd  into  the  council-chamber.  There,  demand  was  imme- 
diately made  of  him  to  order  the  troops  to  withdraw  from  the  town- 
house  to  their  barracks.  He  refiised  to  comply :  and,  calling  from 
the  balcony  to  the  great  body  of  the  people  which  remained  in  the 
street,  he  expressed  his  great  concern  at  the  unhappy  event,  assured 
them  he  would  do  everything  in  his  power  in  order  to  a  full  and  impar- 
tial inquiry,  that  the  law  might  have  its  course,  and  advised  them  to 
go  peaceably  to  their  several  homes.  Upon  this,  there  was  a  cry, 
'  Home !  home  ! '  and  a  great  part  separated  and  went  home.  He  then 
2 


14  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

signified  his  opinion  to  Lieut.  Col.  Carr,  that  if  the  companies  in  arms 
were  ordered  to  their  barracks,  the  streets  -would  be  cleared  and  the 
town  in  quiet  for  that  night.  Upon  their  retiring,  the  rest  of  the 
inhabitants,  except  those  of  the  council-chamber,  retired  also." 

The  elegant  mansion  of  Gov.  Hutchinson  stood  on  Garden-court, 
adjoining  that  of  Sir  Henry  Frankljn,  in  the  rear  of  which  was  a 
beautiful  garden  extending  to  Hanover  and  on  Fleet  street.  It  was 
erected  of  brick,  painted  in  stone  color.  The  capital  of  a  Corinthian 
pilaster,  -of  which  there  were  six  worked  into  the  wall  of  this  edifice, 
is  deposited  in  the  Historical  Library.  The  crown  of  Britain  sur- 
mounted each  window.  The  hall  of  entrance  displayed  a  spacious 
arch,  from  the  roof  of  which  a  dimly-lighted  lamp  gave  a  rich  twilight 
\iew.  The  finely  carved  and  gilded  arch,  in  massy  magnificence, 
was  most  tastefully  ornamented  with  busts  and  statues,  says  Mrs. 
Child,  in  the  Rebels,  who  visited  the  structure  when  it  was  occupied  by 
William  Little,  Esq.  The  light  streamed  full  on  the  soul-beaming 
countenance  of  Cicero,  and  playfully  flickered  on  the  brow  of  Tulliola, 
the  tenderness  of  whose  diminutive  appellation  delightfully  associates 
the  father  with  the  orator,  and  blends  intellectual  vigor  with  the  best 
affections  of  the  heart.  The  panelling  of  the  parlor  was  of  the  dark 
richly-shaded  mahogany  of  St.  Domingo,  and  elaborately  ornamented. 
The  busts  of  George  III.  and  his  queen  were  in  front  of  a  splendid 
mirror,  with  bronze  lamps  on  each  side,  covered  with  transparencies  of 
the  destruction  of  the  Spanish  Armada  and  the  other  battle-ships  before 
the  rock  of  Gibraltar.  Around  the  room  were  arches  surmounted  with 
the  arms  of  England.  The  library  was  hung  with  canvas  tapestry, 
emblazoning  the  coronation  of  George  II.,  interspersed  with  the  royal 
arms.  The  portraits  of  Anne  and  the  Georges  hung  in  massive 
frames  of  antique  splendor,  and  the  crowded  shelves  of  books  were  sur- 
mounted with  busts  of  the  house  of  Stuart.  In  the  centre  of  the 
apartment  stood  a  table  of  polished  oak.  In  the  year  1832,  this 
building  was  demolished  for  modern  changes. 

Lieut.  Col.  Dalrymple,  at  the  desire  of  the  lieutenant-governor, 
came  to  the  council-chamber,  while  several  justices  were  examining 
persons  who  were  present  at  the  transactions  of  the  evening.  From 
the  evidence  of  several,  it  was  apparent  that  the  justices  would  commit 
Capt.  Preston,  if  taken.  Several  hours  po.ssed  before  he  could  be 
found,  and  the  people  suspected  that  he  would  not  run  the  hazard  of  a 
trial ;  bu*j,.  at  length,  he  surrendered  himself  to  a  warrant  for  appre- 


THE   MASSACRE.  15 

hending  him,  and  having  been  examined,  -was  committed  to  prison. 
The  next  morning,  the  soldiers  who  were  upon  guard  surrendered  also, 
and  were  committed.  This  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  people, 
and  early  in  the  forenoon  they  were  in  motion  again.  The  lieutenant- 
governor  caused  his  Council  to  be  summoned,  and  desired  the  two 
lieutenant-colonels  of  the  regiments  to  be  present.  The  selectmen  of 
Boston  were  waiting  the  lieutenant-governor's  coming  to  Council,  and 
being  admitted,  made  their  representation  that,  from  the  contentions 
arising  from  the  troops  quartered  in  Boston,  and,  above  all,  from  the 
tragedy  of  the  last  night,  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  were  exceedingly 
disturbed ;  that  they  would  presently  be  assembled  in  a  town-meeting ; 
and  that,  unless  the  troops  should  be  removed,  the  most  terrible  con- 
sequences were  to  be  expected.  The  justices,  also,  of  Boston  and 
several  of  the  neighboring  towns,  had  assembled,  and  desired  to  signify 
their  opinion  that  it  would  not  be  possible  to  keep  the  people  under 
restraint,  if  the  troops  remained  in  town.  The  lieutenant-governor 
acquainted  both  the  selectmen  and  the  justices  that  he  had  no  author- 
ity to  alter  the  place  of  destination  of  the  king's  troops;  that  he 
expected  the  commanding  officers  of  the  two  regiments,  and  would  let 
them  know  the  applications  which  had  been  made.  Presently  after  their 
coming,  a  large  committee  from  the  town-meeting  presented  an  address 
or  message  to  the  lieutenant-governor,  declaring  it  to  be  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  meeting  that  nothing  can  rationally  be  expected  to 
restore  the  peace  of  the  town,  "and  prevent  blood  and  carnage,"  but 
the  withdrawal  of  the  troops.  The  committee  withdrew  into  another 
room,  to  wait  for  an  answer.  Some  of  the  Council  urged  the  necessity 
of  complying  with  the  people's  demand.  The  lieutenant-governor 
thereupon  declared  that  he  would  upon  no  consideration  whatever  give 
orders  for  their  removal.  Lieut.  Col.  Dalrymple  then  signified  that, 
as  the  29th  regiment  had  originally  been  designed  to  be  placed  at  the 
Castle,  and  was  now  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  town,  he  was  content 
that  it  should  be  removed  to  the  Castle  until  the  general's  pleasure 
should  be  known.  Gen.  Gage  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  British 
forces  in  America.  The  committee  was  informed  of  this  offer,  and  the 
lieutenant-governor  rose  from  the  Council,  intending  to  receive  no 
further  application  upon  the  subject ;  but  the  Council  prayed  that  he 
would  meet  them  again  in  the  afternoon,  and  Col.  Dalrymple  desiring 
it  also,  he  complied.  Before  the  Council  met  again,  it  had  been  inti- 
mated to  them  that  the  "desire"  of  the  governor  and  Council  to  the 


16  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

commanding  officer  (Maj.  Gen.  Wm.  Keppel  was  colonel  of  the  British 
regiments  at  Boston  and  at  the  Castle)  to  remove  the  troops,  would 
cause  him  to  do  it,  though  he  should  receive  no  authoritative  "order." 
As  soon  as  thej  met,  a  committee  from  the  town-meeting  attended, 
"with  a  second  message,  to  acquaint  the  lieutenant-governor  that  it  was 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  people  assemhled,  consisting,  as  they  said, 
of  near  thi'ee  thousand  persons,  that  nothing  less  than  a  total  and 
immediate  removal  of  the  troops  would  satisfy  them.  Here  Hutchin- 
son adds,  in  a  note,  at  the  end  of  this  page,  as  follows :  —  "The  chair- 
man of  the  committee,  in  conversation  with  Lieut.  Col.  Dalrymple, 
said  to  him,  that  if  he  could  remove  the  29th  regiment,  he  could 
remove  the  14th  also,  and  it  was  at  his  peril  to  refuse  it.  This  was  a 
strong  expression  of  that  determined  spirit  Avhich  animated  all  future 
measures." 

The  Council,  continues  Hutchinson,  who  were  divided  in  the 
forenoon,  were  now  unanimous ;  and  each  of  them,  separately,  declared 
his  opinion,  and  gave  his  reason  for  it ;  and  one  or  more  of  them 
observed  to  the  lieutenant-governor  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  justify 
a  refusal  to  comply  with  the  unanimous  advice  of  the  Council,  and 
that  all  the  consequences  would  be  chargeable  upon  him  alone.  The 
secretary  of  the  province,  Andrew  Oliver,  Esq.,  who  thought  differ^ 
ently  in  the  morning,  the  two  lieutenant-colonels,  and  the  commander 
of  one  of  his  majesty's  ships  then  upon  the  station,  who  were  all 
present  in  Council,  concurred  in  the  necessity  of  his  complying.  He 
had  signified  his  own  opinion  that,  at  all  events,  the  governor  and 
Council  should  avoid  interfering  in  the  destination  of  the  troops,  and 
leave  it  to  the  commanding  officer ;  but  when  he  considered  that,  by 
the  charter,  the  Council  was  constituted  for  advice  and  assistance  to 
him, — that  he  had  called  them  together  for  that  purpose, — that  his 
standing  out  alone  would  probably  bring  on  a  general  convulsion, 
which  the  unanimity  of  the  king's  servants  might  have  prevented, — 
he  consented  to  signify  his  desire,  founded  upon  the  unanimous  opinion 
and  advice  of  the  Council,  that  the  troops  might  be  removed  to  the 
barracks  in  the  Castle ;  at  the  same  time  disclaiming  all  authority  to 
order  their  removal. 

Some  of  the  officers  of  the  regiments  appeared,  the  next  day,  to  be 
greatly  dissatisfied  with  being  compelled  by  the  people  to  leave  the  town 
so  disgracefully.  Expresses  were  sent  away  immediately  to  the  gen- 
eral.    The  jealousy  that  the  general  would  forbid  the  removal  caused 


THE   MASSACRE.  17 

further  measures  to  force  the  troops  from  the  town  before  there  could  be 
sufficient  time  for  his  answer.  Roxbury,  the  next  town  to  Boston, 
assembled,  and  sent  a  committee  of  their  principal  inhabitants  with  an 
address  to  the  lieutenant-governor,  praying  him  to  interpose,  and  to 
order  the  immediate  removal  of  the  troops ;  but  he  refused  to  concern 
himself  any  further  in  the  afifair.  As  the  time  approached  when  a  return 
might  be  expected  from  New  York,  it  was  thought  fit  to  have  another 
meeting  of  the  toAvn  of  Boston,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  further 
to  apply  to  the  lieutenant-governor  to  order  the  troops  out  of  town  ; 
Mr.  Adams,  their  prolocutor,  pressing  the  matter  with  great  vehe- 
mence, and  intimating  that,  in  case  of  refusal,  the  rage  of  the  people 
would  vent  itself  against  the  lieutenant-governor  in  particular.  He 
gave  a  peremptory  refusal,  and  expressed  his  resentment  at  the  men- 
ace. The  committee  then  applied  to  the  commanding  officer,  and  the 
same  day,  March  10,  the  29th  regiment,  and  the  next  morning  the 
14th,  were  removed  to  the  Castle.  This  success,  concludes  Hutchin- 
son, gave  greater  assurances  than  ever  that,  by  firmness,  the  great 
object,  exemption  from  all  exterior  power,  civil  or  military,  would 
finally  be  obtained.  Checks  and  temporary  interruptions  might  hap- 
pen, but  they  would  be  surmounted,  and  the  progress  of  liberty  would 
recommence. 

The  time  for  holding  the  Superior  Court  for  Suffolk  was  the  next 
week  after  the  tragical  action  in  King-street.  Although  bills  were 
found  by  the  grand  jury,  yet  the  court,  says  Hutchinson,  considering 
the  disordered  state  of  the  town,  had  thought  fit  to  continue  the  trials 
to  the  next  term,  when  the  minds  of  people  would  be  more  free  from 
prejudice,  and  a  dispassionate,  impartial  jury  might  be  expected,  after 
there  had  been  sufficient  time  for  the  people  to  cool. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  most  active  persons  in  all  public 
measures  of  the  town  having  dined  together,  relates  Hutchinson, 
went  in  a  body  from  table  to  the  Superior  Court,  then  sitting,  with 
Samuel  Adams  at  their  head,  and,  in  behalf  of  the  town,  pressed  the 
bringing  on  the  trial  at  the  same  term  with  so  much  spirit,  that 
the  judges  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  abide  by  their  OAvn  order,  but 
appointed  a  day  for  the  trials,  and  adjourned  the  court  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  even  this  irregularity  the  lieutenant-governor  thought  it 
best  not  to  notice  in  a  public  message ;  and  for  the  grand  point,  the  rela- 
tion between  the  Parliament  and  the  colonies,  he  had  detei-mined  to 
avoid  any  dispute  with  the  assembly,  unless  he  should  be  forced  into 
2* 


18  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

it.  Therefore,  after  acquainting  them  that  he  should  transmit  the 
remonstrance  to  be  laid  before  the  king,  and  attempting  a  vindication 
of  his  own  character  from  their  charges  against  it,  he  dissolved  the 
assembly, —  the  time,  by  charter,  for  a  new  assembly  approaching. 

The  trials  of  the  soldiers  implicated  in  the  massacre  occurred  on  the 
October  term  of  that  year.  The  evidence  against  the  four  persons 
tried  for  firing  from  the  custom-house  being  only  that  of  a  French 
boy,  the  jury  acquitted  them  without  leaving  the  bar.  It  was  proved 
that  the  boy  was  at  a  remote  part  of  the  town  the  whole  time  that  he 
swore  he  was  at  the  custom-house  and  in  King-street.  The  court 
ordered  that  he  should  be  committed  and  prosecuted  for  wilful  per- 
jury ;  and,  by  his  own  confession,  he  was  convicted. 

Captain  Preston  had  been  well  advised  to  retain  two  gentlemen  of 
the  law,  says  Hutchinson, — Josiah  Quincy  and  John  Adams, — who 
were  strongly  attached  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  to  stick  at  no 
reasonable  fees  for  that  purpose ;  and  this  measure  proved  of  great 
service  to  him.  He  was  also  well  informed  of  the  characters  of  the 
jury,  and  challenged  such  as  were  most  likely  to  be  under  bias. 
Three  or  four  witnesses  swore  that  he  ordered  his  men  to  fire ;  but 
their  evidence  was  encountered  by  that  of  several  other  witnesses,  who 
stood  next  to  him,  and  were  conversing  with  him  at  a  different  place 
from  that  which  the  witnesses  for  the  crown  swore  he  was  in ;  and  the 
judges,  in  summing  up  the  evidence  to  ike  jury,  were  unanimous  in  their 
opinion  that  he  did  not  order  his  men  to  fire ;  but  if  he  did,  they  were 
of  opinion  that,  from  the  evidence  of  many  other  witnesses,  the  assault 
both  upon  the  officer  and  men,  while  upon  duty,  was  so  violent,  that 
the  homicide  could  not  amount  even  to  manslaughter,  but  must  be  con- 
sidered as  excusable  homicide.  The  jury  soon  agreed  upon  a  verdict 
of  not  guilty,  and  the  prisoner,  being  discharged,  retired  to  the  Castle, 
and  remained  there  until  he  sailed  for  England,  where  he  was  pen- 
sioned. A  few  days  after  the  trials,  while  the  court  continued  to  sit, 
an  incendiary  paper  was  posted  in  the  night  upon  the  door  of  the 
town-house,  complaining  of  the  court  for  cheating  the  people  with  a 
show  of  justice,  and  calling  upon  them  to  rise  and  free  the  world  from 
such  domestic  tyrants.  We  refer  to  the  printed  trials  for  the  results 
in  the  other  cases. 

In  order  to  repel  the  insinuation  of  Hutchinson  regarding  abundant 
fees,  we  will  give  the  relation  of  John  Adams  on  this  point.  After 
stating  that  he  accepted  a  single  guinea  as  a  retaining  fee,  Mr.  Adams 


THE   MASSACRE.  19 

states :  —  "From  first  to  last,  I  never  said  a  word  about  fees,  in  any  of 
those  cases ;  and  I  should  have  said  nothing  about  them  here,  if  calum- 
nies and  insinuations  had  not  been  propagated,  that  I  was  tempted  by 
great  fees  and  enormous  sums  of  money.  Before  or  after  the  trial, 
Preston  sent  me  ten  guineas,  and  at  the  trial  of  the  soldiers  after- 
wards, eight  guineas  more,  which  were  all  the  fees  I  ever  received,  or 
were  offered  to  me ;  and  I  should  not  have  said  anytliing  on  the  sub- 
ject to  my  clients,  if  they  had  never  offered  me  anything.  This  was 
all  the  pecuniary  reward  I  ever  had  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  days'  labor 
in  the  most  exhausting  and  fatiguing  causes  I  ever  tried,  for  hazard- 
ing a  popularity  very  general  and  very  hardly  earned,  and  for  incur- 
ring a  clamor  of  popular  suspicions  and  prejudices,  which  are  not  yet 
■worn  out,  and  never  will  be  forgotten  as  long  as  the  history  of  this 
period  is  read."  And,  on  another  occasion,  Mr.  Adams  further 
remarked  :• — "  I  have  reason  to  remember  that  fatal  night.  The  part 
I  took  in  defence  of  Capt.  Preston  and  the  soldiers  procured  me  anxi- 
ety and  obloquy  enough.  It  was,  however,  one  of  the  most  gallant, 
generous,  manly  and  disinterested  actions  of  my  whole  life,  and  one  of 
the  best  pieces  of  service  I  ever  rendered  my  country.  Judgment 
of  death  against  those  soldiers  would  have  been  as  foul  a  stain  upon 
this  country  as  the  executions  of  the  Quakers  or  witches  anciently. 
As  the  evidence  was,  the  verdict  of  the  jury  was  exactly  right.  This, 
however,  is  no  reason  why  the  town  should  not  call  the  action  of  that 
night  a  massacre ;  nor  is  it  any  argument  in  favor  of  the  governor  or 
minister  who  caused  them  to  be  sent  here.  But  it  is  the  strongest  of 
proofs  of  the  danger  of  standing  armies." 

The  Boston  Athen?eum  overlooks  the  cemetery  where  were  deposited 
the  remains  of  our  fellow-citizens  martyred  in  the  cause  of  liberty, 
March  5,  1770.  Here  repose  the  ashes  of  Hancock  and  Gushing,  the 
latter  of  whom  was  lieutenant-governor  during  the  administration  of 
the  former.  Though  Sumner  speaks  of  "Hancock's  broken  column," 
the  idea  is  merely  poetical,  for  no  monument  has  ever  been  erected 
over  his  remains.  It  is  stated  in  the  Boston  News  Letter  that  four 
of  the  victims  were  conveyed  on  hearses,  and  buried  on  the  eighth  of 
March,  in  one  vault,  in  the  Middle  Burying  Ground.  The  funeral 
consisted  of  an  immense  number  of  persons  in  ranks  of  six,  followed 
by  a  long  train  of  carriages  belonging  to  the  principal  gentry  of  the 
town,  at  which  time  the  bells  of  Boston  and  adjoining  towns  were 
tolled.     It  is  supposed  that  a  greater  number  of  people  of  Boston  and 


20  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

vicinity  attended  this  funeral  than  "were  ever  congregated  on  this  con- 
tinent on  any  occasion.  In  tliis  procession  emblematical  banners  ■were 
displayed.  The  following  effusion  appeared  in  Fleet's  Post,  March 
12,  1770: 

"  "With  fire  envrrapt,  surcharged  •with  sudden  death, 
Lo,  the  poised  tube  convolves  its  fatal  breath  ! 
The  flying  ball,  M-ith  heaven-directed  force, 
Eids  the  free  sph-it  of  its  fallen  corse. 
"Well-fated  shades  !  let  no  unmanly  tear 
From  pity's  eye  distain  your  honored  bier. 
Lost  to  their  view,  survi\'ing  friends  may  mourn, 
Yet  o'er  thy  pile  celestial  flames  shall  burn. 
Long  as  in  Freedom's  cause  the  wise  contend, 
Dear  to  your  country,  shall  your  fame  extend  ; 
"O'hile  to  the  world  the  lettered  stone  shall  tell 
How  Caldwell,  Attucks,  Gray  and  Maverick  fell." 

On  the  fourteenth  of  March,  Patrick  Carr,  -who  died  of  the  -wound 
received  in  the  massacre,  vras  buried  from  Faneuil  Hall,  in  the  same 
grave  in  which  the  other  victims  were  deposited. 

The  poet  who  wrote  the  effusion  above  quoted  predicts  that  the  let- 
tered stone  shall  tell  the  tale  of  the  martyred  sons  of  hberty ;  but  no 
stone  appears  on  the  spot  where  they  -were  buried.  Indeed,  if  any 
stone  were  ever  erected  over  their  remains,  it  may  have  been  destroyed 
by  the  British  regulars,  or  removed  in  making  repairs  on  the  gi'ound. 
Let  the  prediction  be  realized  by  the  erection  of  a  beautiful  marble 
monument  on  the  site  to  the  memory  of  this  event,  which,  with  the 
battles  of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  insured  our  independence. 

Our  venerable  native  citizen  of  Boston,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Handy- 
side  Perkins,  probably  the  only  survivor  who  has  any  remembrance 
of  the  Boston  massacre,  stated  to  the  editor  of  this  work,  at  an  inter- 
view with  him  on  Jan.  3,  1851,  that  at  that  period  he  was  five  years 
of  age,  and  asleep  at  home  on  the  evening  of  its  occurrence.  His 
father,  James  Perkins,  a  wine-merchant,  resided  in  King-street,  on 
the  present  location  of  Tappan's  stone  building,  opposite  Mackerel- 
lane,  now  Kilby-street.  On  the  next  day,  his  father's  man-servant, 
being  desirous  that  he  should  witness  the  effects  of  this  occurrence, 
imprudently,  as  Mr.  Perkins  remarked,  went  with  him  to  the  Royal 
Exchange  Tavern,  located  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  custom-house, 
now  the  site  of  the  j\Iessrs.  Gilberts,  brokers,  kept  by  Mr.  Stone. 
Alexander  Cruikshank  testified  that  when  he  was  at  the  head  of 


THE  MASSACRE.  21 

Royal  Excliange-lane,  he  stopped  at  Stone's  tavern,  and  the  people 
were  abusing  the  sentinel,  and  showed  him  the  dead  body  of  Crispus 
Attucks,  one  of  the  victims.  He  then  pointed  to  him  the  frozen  blood 
in  the  gutter,  opposite  the  Exchange  Tavern,  and  proceeded  with  him 
to  the  residence  of  Tuthill  Hubbard,  on  Cornhill,  a  short  distance  from 
the  north  side  of  Queen-street,  where  lay  the  dead  body  of  anotl^er  of 
the  victims ;  and  this  is  the  whole  of  his  recollection  of  the  tragical 
event,  which  has  never  been  effaced  from  his  mind.  Colonel  Perkins 
is  unable  to  state  which  of  the  victims  he  saw  at  Mr.  Hubbard's  resi- 
dence ;  but,  as  Joseph  Hinckley  testified,  according  to  the  trial,  that, 
after  the  regulars  had  fired,  he  assisted  in  the  removal  of  Samuel 
Gray,  who  had  fallen,  to  the  apothecary's  shop  of  Dr.  John  Loring, 
which  was  adjoining  or  very  near  Mr.  Hubbard's  d^velling,  and  could 
not  find  admittance,  as  it  was  closed, —  doubtless,  that  was  the  name 
of  the  other  victim  whose  remains  were  exhibited  to  his  youthful 
eye. 

In  order  to  a  further  elucidation  of  this  matter,  we  have  recurred  to 
the  papers  of  the  day,  by  Avhich  it  appears  that  Gray  was  killed  on 
the  spot,  as  the  ball  entered  his  head  and  broke  the  skull.  He  was  a 
ropemaker,  and,  on  the  day  of  interment,  his  body  was  conveyed 
from  the  residence  of  Benjamin  Gray,  his  brother,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Exchange  Tavern.  Now,  Col.  Perkins  is  either  mistaken  regard- 
ing the  house  where  he  saw  the  pale  corpse,  or  else  it  was  removed 
from  Mr.  Hubbard's  dwelling  on  the  next  day.  James  Caldwell,  also 
killed  on  the  spot  by  two  balls  entering  his  breast,  was  mate  of  Captain 
Morton's  vessel,  and  his  body  was  removed  from  the  captain's  resi- 
dence in  Cole-lane  on  the  clay  of  interment.  Crispus  Attucks  being 
a  stranger,  his  remains  were  conveyed  from  Faneuil  Hall.  He  was 
killed  by  tAvo  balls  entering  his  breast,  and  was  a  native  of  Framing- 
ham  ;  and  Samuel,  a  son  of  widow  Mary  Maverick,  a  promising  youth 
of  seventeen  years,  an  apprentice  to  Mr.  GreenAvood,  a  joiner,  was 
wounded  by  a  ball  that  entered  his  abdomen  and  escaped  through  his 
back,  which  caused  his  death,  and  his  remains  were  removed  from 
his  mother's  house  on  the  day  of  interment.  Patrick  Carr,  who 
died  a  few  days  after,  of  a  ball  that  entered  near  his  hip  and  went  out 
at  his  side,  was  in  the  employ  of  one  Mr.  Field,  leather-breeches 
maker  in  Queen-street,  and  aged  about  thirty  years.  Among  other 
matters  in  the  warrant  for  the  annual  town-meeting  of  Boston,  JNIarch 
12,  1770,  is  the  following  clause:  —  "  Whether  the  town  will  take  any 


22  THE    nrNDRED    BOSTOX    0RAT0K3. 

measures  that  a  public  monument  may  be  erected  on  the  spot  where 
the  late  tragical  scene  was  acted,  as  a  memento  to  posterity  of  that 
horrid  massacre,  and  the  destructive  consequences  of  mihtary  troops 
being  quartered  in  a  well-regulated  city."  We  notice,  on  turning  to 
the  records,  that  no  action  was  taken  on  this  point ;  but  the  town 
voted  their  thanks  to  the  towns  of  Ex)xbury,  Cambridge,  Charlestown 
and  "Watertown,  for  their  kind  concern  in  this  deplorable  event.  As 
the  precise  location  of  this  scene  will  ever  be  a  point  of  great  interest 
to  Bostonians,  we  gather,  from  the  deposition  of  Samuel  Drowne,  that 
it  occurred  between  Crooked,  now  "Wilson's  lane,  and  Royal  Exchange- 
lane.  He  states  that  he  was  standing  on  the  steps  of  the  Exchange 
Tavern,  being  the  next  house  to  the  custom-house ;  and  soon  after  saw 
Captain  Preston,  whom  he  well  knew,  with  a  number  of  soldiers  drawn 
near  the  west  corner  of  the  custom-house,  and  heard  Preston  say, 
"  Damn  your  bloods  !  why  don't  you  fire  7  "  after  which  they  fired. 

At  a  town-meeting,  Boston,  March  19,  1771,  Hon.  Thomas  Cush- 
ing  moderator,  the  committee  appointed  to  consider  of  some  suitable 
method  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  horrid  massacre  perpetrated 
on  the  evening  of  the  fifth  of  March,  1770,  by  a  party  of  soldiers  of 
the  29th  regiment,  reported  as  their  opinion  that,  for  the  present,  the 
town  make  choice  of  a  proper  person  to  deliver  an  oration  at  such 
time  as  may  be  judged  most  convenient,  to  commemorate  the  barbarous 
murder  of  five  of  our  fellow-citizens  on  that  fatal  day,  and  to  impress 
upon  our  minds  the  ruinous  tendency  of  standing  armies  in  free  cities, 
and  the  necessity  of  such  noble  exertions,  in  all  future  times,  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  then  made,  whereby  the  designs  of  the  con- 
spirators against  the  pubhc  liberty  may  be  still  frustrated ;  and  the 
committee,  in  order  to  complete  the  plan  of  some  standing  monument 
of  military  tyranny,  begged  leave  to  be  indulged  with  further  time. 
Their  report  being  accepted,  it  was  voted  unanimously  that  the  town 
will  now  come  to  the  choice  of  an  orator.  A  committee  was  then 
appointed ;  Samuel  Hunt  and  James  Lovell  were  nominated  as  candi- 
dates to  deliver  the  oration.  The  inhabitants  then  voted,  and  the 
latter  was  elected.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  James 
Lovell,  and  invite  his  acceptance. 

In  regard  to  the  location  of  the  site  where  the  victims  of  the  Boston 
massacre  were  deposited,  the  editor  has  the  evidence  of  the  venerable 
Col.  Joseph  May,  a  warden  of  King's  ChapS,  possessing  great  integ- 
rity and  a  tenacious  memory,  stated  previous  to  his  decease  in  1841, 


THE  MASSACRE.  23 

and  who  witnessed  their  interment^  being  then  ten  years  of  age,  and  a 
scholar  in  the  public  Latin  school.  Pointing  to  the  spot  M'hich  is  the 
site  of  a  tomb  once  owned  by  the  city,  in  the  rear  of  the  tomb  of 
Deacon  Richard  Checkley,  an  apothecary.  Col.  May  stated  that  was 
the  place  where  he  saw  them  interred.  A  beautiful  larch-tree  flour- 
ishes at  the  side  of  the  city  tomb,  which  is  opposite  Montgomery-place. 
When,  during  the  mayoralty  of  Jonathan  Chapman,  an  iron  fence 
was  erected  on  the  Granary  cemetery,  in  the  month  of  June,  1840, 
an  excavation  was  made  over  this  spot,  for  the  erection  of  this  city 
tomb,  human  bones,  and  a  skull  with  a  bullet-hole  perforated  through 
it,  were  discovered,  which  probably  were  remains  of  these  victims; 
and  we  have  the  evidence  of  the  late  Martin  Smith,  sexton  of  King's 
Chapel  church,  that  he  assisted  in  throwing  the  skull  and  other  bones 
into  the  earth  near  the  larch-tree. 

When  General  Warren  gave  an  oration  on  the  massacre,  March  5th, 
1772,  James  Allen,  one  of  the  Boston  poets,  commemorated  the  event 
in  verse,  at  his  request ;  and  John  Adams  states  in  his  diary,  probably 
in  allusion  to  this  poem,  that  James  Otis  reads  to  large  circles  of  the 
common  people  Allen's  oration  on  the  beauties  of  liberty,  and  recom- 
mends it  as  an  excellent  production.  Allen  thus  apostrophised  King 
George,  in  these  prophetic  terms : 

"In  vain  shall  Britain  lift  her  suppliant  eye, 
An  alienated  offspring  feels  no  filial  tie. 
Her  tears  in  yain  shall  bathe  the  soldiers'  feet, — 
Remember,  ingrate,  Boston's  crimsoned  street  ! 
Whole  hecatombs  of  lives  the  deed  shall  pay. 
And  purge  the  murders  of  that  guilty  day." 

May  the  sons  of  Boston  be  sure  that  a  centennial  oration,  commem- 
orative of  the  Boston  massacre,  be  pronounced  by  the  most  eminent 
and  eloquent  orator  of  the  day  ! 

One  of  the  most  popular  celebrations  in  Boston,  previous  to  the 
massacre,  was  that  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  which,  according  to  Dr. 
Charles  Chauncy,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Stiles,  dated  May  23d,  1768,  was 
to  that  day  commemorated ;  and  was  in  especial  memorable  to  him,  as 
his  ancestor  was  at  Westminster  school,  adjoining  the  parliament  house, 
pursuing  his  studies,  when  the  plot  was  discovered.  The  latest  date 
of  its  celebration  in  Boston,  of  which  we  find  the  most  particular 
account,  was  on  Monday,  Nov.  6th,  1769,  when  the  guns  at  the  Castle 


24  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

and  at  the  batteries  in  town  were  fired,  and  a  pageantry  exhibited, 
elevated  on  a  stage,  carried  in  derision  through  the  streets,  and  fol- 
lowed by  crowds  of  people,  with  ludicrous  effigies  of  the  Pope  and 
others,  which,  when  they  reached  Copp's  Hill,  were  committed  to  the 
flames.  One  of  the  regulars  was  flogged  by  one  of  the  party,  for 
attempting  to  detain  the  procession,  as  it  passed  the  main  guard  sta- 
tioned at  the  door  of  the  state-house.  On  a  lantern  was  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Pope  in  1769;  on  another  was  inscribed  "Love  and 
Unity.  The  American  whig.  Confusion  to  the  tories ;  and  a  total 
banishment  to  bribery  and  corruption."  And  on  the  right  side  was 
this  profane  acrostic,  below  a  caricature  of  John  Mein,  the  royahst 
editor  of  the  Chronicle,  and  warm  opponent  of  the  people : 

"Insulting  wretch  !  we  '11  him  expose, — 
O'er  the  whole  world  his  deeds  disclose. 
Hell  now  gapes  wide  to  take  him  in  ; 
Now  he  is  ripe  ;  0,  lump  of  sin  ! 
Mean  is  the  man,  —  j\I**n  is  his  name  ; 
Enough  he  's  spread  his  hellish  fame. 
Infernal  furies  hurl  his  soul 
Nine  million  times  from  pole  to  pole." 

"Wilkes  and  Liberty"  was  inscribed  on  another  lantern,  over 
highly  inflammatory  verses.  "We  find  no  allusion  to  this  celebration 
after  1774. 

When  the  evening  of  the  first  anniversary  of  the  massacre  arrived, 
an  address  was  delivered  at  the  Manufactory  House,  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Young.  This  building  was  selected  for  the  occasion,  because  the  first 
opposition  to  the  British  regulars,  October,  1768,  was  made  there, 
when  one  Elisha  Brown,  having  possession  of  the  building,  which  was 
located  at  the  corner  of  Hamilton-place,  as  a  tenant  under  the  province, 
refused  admission  to  the  military.  The  high  sheriff  was  sent  by  Gov. 
Bernard,  for  admission;  and,  on  a  third  attempt,  he  found  an  open 
window,  and  entered  that ;  upon  w^hich  the  people  gathered  about  him, 
and  made  him  prisoner.  This  outrage  occurred  just  after  the  arrival 
of  the  regulars.  We  transcribe  the  particulars  of  this  public  demon- 
stration, from  the  Boston  News  Letter  of  March  7th  and  14th  :  The 
bells  of  the  churches  were  tolled  from  twelve  o'clock  at  noon  until 
one.  An  oration  Avas  delivered  in  the  evening,  by  Dr.  Young,  at  the 
hall  of  the  Manufactory,  a  building  originally  designed  for  encouraging 
manufactories,  and  employing  the  poor.     The  oration,  it  is  said,  con- 


THE   MASSACRE.  25 

tained  a  brief  account  of  the  massacre  ;  of  the  imputations  of  treason 
and  rebellion,  with  which  the  tools  of  power  endeavored  to  brand  the 
inhabitants;  and  a  descant  upon  the  nature  of  treasons,  with  some 
threats  of  the  British  ministry  to  take  away  the  Massachusetts  charter. 
In  the  evening  there  was  a  very  striking  exhibition  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Paul  Revere,  fronting  the  old  North-squai'e,  so  called.  At  one  of  the 
chamber  windows  was  the  appearance  of  the  ghost  of  Christopher 
Snider,  with  one  of  his  fingers  in  the  wound,  endeavoring  to  stop  the 
blood  issuing  therefrom;  near  him  his  friends  weeping;  at  a  small 
distance,  a  monumental  pyramid,  with  his  name  on  the  top,  and  the 
names  of  those  killed  on  the  fifth  of  March  round  the  base ;  under- 
neath, the  following  lines : 

"  Snider's  pale  ghost  fresh  bleeding  stands. 
And  vengeance  for  his  death  demands." 

In  the  next  window  were  represented  the  soldiers  drawn  up,  firing  at 
the  people  assembled  before  them,  —  the  dead  on  the  ground,  and  the 
wounded  falUng,  with  the  blood  running  in  streams  from  their  wounds, 
—  over  which  was  written, "  Foul  Plat."  In  the  third  window,  was 
the  figure  of  a  woman,  representing  America,  sitting  on  the  stump  of 
a  tree,  with  a  stafi"  in  her  hand,  and  the  cap  of  liberty  on  the  top 
thereof;  one  foot  on  the  head  of  a  grenadier,  lying  prostrate,  grasping 
a  serpent ;  her  finger  pointing  to  the  tragedy. 

Another  authority  states  that  the  bells  of  Boston  tolled  from  nine 
to  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  they  were  muffled. 

The  allusion,  in  Dr.  Young's  oration,  to  the  threats  of  Great  Britain, 
and  the  imputations  of  treason,  forcibly  remind  one  of  the  firmness 
with  which  the  Massachusetts  colonists  resisted  every  device  to  decoy 
and  divert,  most  artfully  attempted  by  the  minions  of  the  throne.  The 
eloquence  of  bribery  fell  powerless.  Lord  Paramount  urged,  in  the 
Revolutionary  play,  written  by  the  author  of  the  American  Chron- 
icles of  the  Times,  published  in  1776,  —  "Don't  you  know  there  's 
such  sweet  music  in  the  shaking  of  the  treasury  keys,  that  they  will 
instantly  lock  the  most  babbling  patriot's  tongue  ?  transform  a  tory 
into  a  whig,  and  a  whig  into  a  tory  7  make  a  superannuated  old  miser 
dance,  and  an  old  cynic  philosopher  smile?  How  many  thousand 
times  has  your  tongue  danced  at  Westminster  Hall  to  the  sound  of 
such  music !" 

3 


26  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

The  bold  daring  of  the  times  was  thus  forcibly  expressedj  in  an  old 
almanac,  printed  during  the  contest : 

"  Let  tyrants  rage,  and  sycophants  exclaim  ; 
Let  tories  grumble,  parasites  defame. 
And  all  the  herd  of  trembling  despots  roar. 
And  plot  revenge  ;  dependence  is  no  more. 
'T  is  independence  that  we  will  maintain, 
And  Britain's  tyrant  shall  no  longer  reign. 
Britain,  adieu  !  we  seek  your  aid  no  more  ; 
Nor  call  you  Mother,  as  we  did  before." 

We  know  little  of  Dr.  Thomas  Young.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence  in  1772.  He  was  a  talented  writer  in 
papers  of  the  day,  and  in  the  Royal  American  Magazine,  on  medical, 
political,  and  religious  subjects.  He  was  one  of  the  tea-party  in  1773  ; 
but  a  groundless  tradition  exists,  that  he  was  the  person  who  filled 
his  pockets  with  the  detestable  herb,  which  being  discovered  when  he 
was  on  the  way  home  from  the  ships,  some  one  cut  off  the  skirts  of  his 
coat,  and  threw  away  the  tea.  The  old  crier  witnessed  this  scene, 
but  cannot  state  who  committed  the  act.  John  Adams  writes  of  him 
as  his  physician.     He  was  an  army  surgeon  in  1776. 

In  the  Life  and  Times  of  General  Thomas  Lamb,  of  Revolutionary 
fame,  are  highly  spirited  letters  from  Dr.  Young,  in  one  of  which  he 
says,  that  "  Lord  North  endeavors  to  still  the  rising  rage  of  his  coun- 
trymen, by  assuring  them  that  no  other  pro\ince  will,  in  the  least, 
countenance  the  rebellious  Bostonians."  And,  in  allusion  to  a  town- 
meeting  at  Faneuil  Hall,  Dr.  Young  says,  it  "was  conducted  with  a 
freedom  and  energy  becoming  the  orators  of  ancient  Rome."  We 
descendants  of  the  patriot  fathers  have  no  conception  of  their  perils, 
and  are  prompted  by  emotions  of  veneration,  at  their  decided  tone, 
amid  the  glare  of  royal  bayonets.  In  Edes  and  Gill's  North  American 
Almanac,  printed  in  1770,  we  find  what  is  termed  '*  A  New  Song, 
now  much  in  vogue  in  North  America,"  which  entwines  this  rebel 
passage : 

"  All  ages  shall  speak  with  amaze  and  applause 
Of  the  courage  we  '11  show  in  support  of  our  laws. 
To  die  we  don't  fear,  but  to  serve  we  disdain  ; 
We  had  better  not  be,  than  not  freemen  remain. 
In  freedom  we  're  born,  and  in  freedom  we  '11  live  ; 
Our  purses  arc  ready,  — 
Steady,  friends,  steady  ; 
Not  as  slaves,  but  as  freemen,  our  money  we  '11  give." 


THE   MASSACRE.  27 

The  earliest  orations  were  delivered  in  the  Old  Brick  Church,  on  the 
site  of  Cornhill-square,  or  at  the  Old  South  Church,  and  attended  by 
immense  crowds  of  people.  Originally,  a  small  stage  was  erected  in 
the  northern  section  of  the  church,  on  which  were  exhibited  the  sur- 
vivors wounded  at  the  massacre,  and  a  contribution  was  taken  for  their 
benefit.  These  patriotic  orations  are  a  protective  shield  to  our  consti- 
tution, as  they  illustrate  the  principles  of  civil  liberty. 

The  honored  successor  of  Washington  to  the  presidency  of  this  glo- 
rious Union,  when  writing  to  Dr.  Morse  in  allusion  to  the  memorable 
orations  on  the  massacre,  and  those  succeeding  on  the  national  inde- 
pendence, from  the  peace  of  1783  down  to  the  year  1816,  thus 
emphasizes  :  —  "  These  orations  were  read,  I  had  almost  said,  by  every- 
body that  could  read,  and  scarcely  ever  with  dry  eyes.  They  have 
now  been  continued  for  forty-five  years.  Will  you  read  them  all? 
They  Avere  not  long  continued  in  their  original  design  ;  but  other  gen- 
tlemen, with  other  views,  had  influence  enough  to  obtain  a  change 
from  '  standing  armies '  to  'feelings  which  produced  the  Revolution.' 
Of  these  forty- five  orations,  I  have  read  as  many  as  I  have  seen. 
They  have  varied  with  all  the  changes  of  our  politics.  They  have 
been  made  the  engine  of  bringing  forward  to  public  notice  young 
gentlemen  of  promising  genius,  whose  connections  and  sentiments 
were  tolerable  to  the  prevailing  opinions  of  the  moment.  There  is 
juvenile  ingenuity  in  all  that  I  have  read.  There  are  few  men  of 
consequence  among  us  who  did  not  commence  their  career  by  an  ora- 
tion on  the  fifth  of  March.  I  have  read  these  orations  with  a  mixture 
of  pleasure  and  pity.  Young  gentlemen  of  genius  describing  scenes 
they  never  saw,  and  descanting  on  feelings  they  never  felt, — and 
which  great  pains  had  been  taken  they  never  should  feel.  When  will 
these  orations  end  ?  And  when  will  they  cease  to  be  monuments  of 
the  fluctuations  of  public  opinion,  and  general  feeling,  in  Boston,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  the  United  States  7  They  are  infinitely  more  indica- 
tive of  the  feelings  of  the  moment  than  of  the  feelings  that  produced 
the  Revolution."  And,  in  the  conclusion  of  this  letter,  he  remarks, 
"  If  I  could  be  fifty  years  younger,  and  had  nothing  better  to  do,  I 
would  have  these  orations  collected  and  printed  in  volumes,  and  then 
write  the  history  of  the  last  forty-five  years  in  commentaries  upon 
them."'  The  conception  of  this  work  was  matured,  and  the  materials 
mostly  gathered,  in  relation  to  every  one  of  the  orators  introduced, 
before  the  editor  ever  read  or  was  aware  of  the  paragraph  last  quoted 


28  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

from  tlie  venerable  Adams  the  elder.  An  entire  collection  of  the 
orations  noticed  in  this  book,  and  published  in  a  connected  form,  •would 
prove  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  history  and  literature  of  our 
country.  Our  plan  differs  materially  from  that  suggested  by  the 
great  Nestor  of  this  repubhc.  We  exhibit  striking  specimens  from 
some  of  the  best  of  those  performances,  with  opinions  respecting  their 
character,  and  present  a  statement  of  the  lives  of  their  authors,  inter- 
spersed with  political,  historical,  and  literary  reminiscences,  unfolding 
a  period  of  eighty  years. 

Our  plan  extends,  moreover,  to  the  orators  of  the  Massachusetts 
Cincinnati,  the  Washington  Benevolent,  and  the  Democratic  Washing- 
ton Societies ;  the  eulogists  on  the  deceased  presidents,  on  Warren,  on 
Lafayette  and  INIarshall,  and  almost  every  other  political  occasion  in 
the  gi-eat  head-quarters  of  the  Revolution, — our  own  noble  Boston!  — 
tending  to  estabhsh  the  permanence  of  republican  institutions.  While 
we  mainly  concur  with  President  Adams  in  opinion  regarding  the 
merits  of  those  which  he  had  examined,  we  venture  to  assert  that  a 
large  portion  of  these  productions  indicate  an  ability  and  patriotic 
spirit  that  would  honor  the  heads  and  the  hearts  of  the  most  eminent 
politicians  of  any  age  or  nation :  and  we  should  view  the  period  when 
such  orations  would  cease  as  a  strong  indication  of  the  dechne  of  this 
great  exemplar  of  all  nations. 

A  large  portion  of  the  materials  for  this  production  were  gathered 
from  the  libraries  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  of  the  Gore 
Library  at  Cambridge,  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical 
Society,  of  the  State  Library,  of  the  Boston  Library,  and  of  the 
Boston  Athenaeum ;  to  the  librarians  of  which  institutions  the  editor 
renders  his  grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  ready  facihty  extended 
during  the  research  for  information.  The  editor  is  more  especially 
indebted  to  the  jNIassachusetts  Historical  Society  for  the  generous  per- 
mission of  access  to  valuable  unpublished  manuscripts  in  their  posses- 
sion, from  which  passages  are  embodied  in  this  work,  greatly  enhanc- 
ing its  value.  Moreover,  the  editor  renders  his  grateful  thanks  to  Rev. 
Joseph  Barlow  Felt,  the  courteous  librarian  of  this  institution,  and 
author  of  an  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England,  and  to  Lucius 
Manlius  Sargent,  Esq.,  whose  experience  in  historical  research  ranks 
them  with  the  most  profound  antiquarians  in  our  country ;  to  Sam- 
uel G.  Drake,  Esq.,  the  chronicler  of  Indian  History;  and  to  Dr. 
John  C.  Warren,  for  the  free  use  of  the  Revolutionary  manuscript 


JAMES  LOVELL.  29 

journal  of  Dr.  John  Warren,  his  patriotic  father.  The  editor  -will 
never  forget  the  courtesy  of  gentlemen  of  the  leading  pi-ofessions,  in 
rendering  information  essential  to  the  accuracy  of  tliis  work,  the  cata- 
logue of  whose  names  would  fill  a  chapter ;  and  to  recount  the  mass 
of  facts  furnished  would  embrace  a  large  appendix. 


JAMES   LOVELL. 

APRIL  2,  1771.    ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

As  the  father  and  son  were  remarkable  men,  and  effected  much  in 
moulding  the  intellects  of  the  principal  actors  of  the  Revolution,  we 
will  exhibit  first  the  scanty  materials  regarding  the  father.  Master 
John  Lovell  was  the  eldest  son  of  John  Lovell,  who  married  Priscilla 
Gardiner,  June  16th,  1709;  and  was  born  at  Boston,  June  16th,  1..710. 
He  entered  the  pubhc  Latin  school  in  1717;  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1728;  became  usher  of  the  Latin  school  in  1729,  until 
he  was  appointed  principal  in  1734 ;  which  station  he  occupied  until 
April  19th,  1775,  when  the  school  was  dispersed  by  the  siege  of  the 
town,  and  consequent  occupation  of  the  royalists.  ]\Ir.  Lovell  married 
Abigail  Green,  Sept.,  1734.  He  was  an  excellent  critic,  and  one  of 
the  best  classical  scholars  of  his  day.  Though  a  severe  teacher,  yet 
he  was  remarkably  humorous,  and  an  agreeable  companion.  It  is 
worthy  of  record,  that  he  delivered  the  first  published  address  in 
Faneuil  Hall,  March  14th,  1742,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  town, 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  Peter  Faneuil,  Esq.,  the  noble  donor  of  the 
hall  to  the  town  of  Boston.  In  the  peroration  of  Mr.  Lovell's  funeral 
oration,  he  said  :  "May  this  hall  be  ever  sacred  to  the  interests  of 
truth,  of  justice,  of  loyalty,  of  honor,  of  liberty.  May  no  private 
views,  nor  party  broils,  ever  enter  these  walls."  Heaven,  in  mercy, 
however,  otherwise  decreed,  and  to  the  permanence  of  repubhcan  insti- 
tutions. When  the  royal  troops  evacuated  Boston,  there  was  left 
unremoved,  at  the  residence  of  Master  Lovell,  adjoining  the  public 
3* 


30  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Latin  school  in  School-street,  the  coach  of  General  Gage,  whose  head- 
quarters were  at  the  Province  House,  together  with  a  phaeton  and 
harness  entire.  Moreover,  a  chariot  of  the  governor  was  taken  out 
of  the  dock  on  Long  Wharf,  greatly  defaced.  He  was  a  wann  advo- 
cate for  the  crown,  and  embarked  with  the  British  troops  for  Halifax, 
when  they  evacuated  the  town,  March  14th,  1776.  We  find  no 
particulars  of  his  history  at  Halifax,  Avhere  he  died  in  1778.  In  the 
gallery  of  paintings  at  Harvard  College  is  his  portrait,  taken  by 
Nathaniel,  son  of  John  Smybert,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1728, 
in  company  with  Bishop  Berkeley.  Judge  Cranch  once  remarked,  "  I 
remember  that  one  of  his  first  portraits  was  the  picture  of  his  old 
master  Lovell,  drawn  while  the  terrific  impressions  of  the  pedagogue 
were  yet  vibrating  upon  his  nerves.  I  found  it  so  perfect  a  likeness  of 
my  old  neighbor,  that  I  did  not  wonder  when  my  young  friend  told 
me  that  a  sudden,  undesigned  glance  at  it,  had  often  made  him 
shudder." 

Master  Lovell  was  a  contributor  to  the  Pietas  et  Gratulatio  Collegii 
Cantabrigiensis,  etc.,  published  in  1761.  The  numbers  2,  25,  26, 
and  27,  are  ascribed  to  his  hand.  The  following  is  the  twenty-seventh 
article  in  the  Pietas  : 

"  While  Halley  views  the  heavens  with  curious  eyes. 
And  notes  the  changes  in  the  stormy  skies,  — 
What  constellations  'bode  descending  rains, 
Swell  the  proud  streams,  and  fertilize  the  plains, — 
What  call  the  zephyrs  forth,  with  favoring  breeze 
To  waft  Britannia's  fleets  o'er  subject  seas  ;  — 
In  different  orbits  how  the  planets  run. 
Reflecting  rays  they  borrow  from  the  sun  ;  — 
Sudden,  a  distant  prospect  charms  his  sight, — 
Venus  encircled  in  the  source  of  light ! 
Wonders  to  come  his  ravished  thought  unfold. 
And  thus  the  Heaven-instructed  bard  foretold 
What  glorious  scenes,  to  ages  past  unknown, 
Shall  in  one  summer's  rolling  months  be  shown. 
Auspicious  omens  yon  bright  regions  wear  ; 
#  Events  responsive  in  the  earth  appear. 

A  golden  Phoebus  decks  the  rising  morn,  — 
Such,  glorious  George  !  thy  youthful  brows  adorn  ; 
Nor  sparkles  Venus  on  the  ethereal  plain, 
Brighter  than  Charlotte,  midst  the  virgin  train. 
The  illustrious  pair  conjoined  in  nuptial  ties, 
Britannia  shines  a  rival  to  the  skies  ! ' ' 


JAMES   LOVELL.  31 

Master  Lovell  was  author,  also,  of  "  The  Seasons,  an  Interlocutory 
Exercise  at  the  South  Latin  School,"  spoken  at  the  annual  visitation, 
June  26,  1765,  by  Daniel  Jones  and  Jonathan  Wilhams  Austin,  in 
which  the  latter  exclaims : 

"  Happy  the  man,  -when  age  has  spread 
Its  hoary  honors  on  his  head, 
Whose  mmd,  on  looking  back,  sur^s 
A  fruitful  life  and  well-spent  days. 
As  on  the  verge  of  both  he  stands, 
Both  worlds,  at  once,  his  view  commands  : 
Sees  earth  unwished  for,  wished  for  skies,  — 
Contented  lives,  and  joyful  dies." 

The  British  troops  ascribed  their  repulse  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
PEll  to  the  following  circumstance :  Directly  after  they  had  landed, 
it  was  discovered  that  most  of  the  cannon-balls  which  had  been 
brought  over  were  too  large  for  the  pieces,  and  that  it  was  necessary 
to  send  them  back,  and  obtain  a  fresh  supply.  "This  wretched 
blunder  of  over-sized  balls,"  says  Gen.  Howe,  "arose  from  the  dotage 
of  an  officer  of  rank  in  the  ordnance  department,  who  spends  all  his 
time  with  the  schoolmaster's  daughter."  It  seems  that  Col.  Cleveland, 
who,  "though  no  Samson, 'must  have  his  Delilah,"  was  enamored  of 
the  beautiful  daughter  of  old  Master  Lovell,  and  in  order  to  win  favor 
with  the  damsel,  had  given  her  younger  brother  an  appointment  in  the 
ordnance,  for  which  he  was  not  qualified ;  and  Dr.  Jeffit'ies  confirmed 
this  relation.  This  error,  to  whatever  cause  it  might  have  been  owing, 
created  delay,  and  somewhat  diminished  the  effect  of  the  British  fire 
during  the  first  two  attacks.  A  tradition  exists  that  during  the  battle 
suddenly  the  fire  of  the  British  artillery  ceases.  Gen.  Howe,  in  con- 
sternation, demands  the  reason.  "  The  balls  are  too  large."  "  Fatal 
error!"  says  Howe;  "what  delusion  drives  Col.  Cleveland  to  pass  all 
his  time  with  the  schoolmaster's  daughter,  instead  of  minding  his 
business?  Pour  in  grape!"  The  forthcoming  allusion  to  this  affair 
appears  in  a  song  ascribed  to  a  British  soldier,  written  after  the  battle : 

% 

"  Our  conductor,  he  got  broke 

For  his  misconduct,  sure,  sir  ; 
The  shot  he  sent  for  twelve-pound  guns, 

Were  made  for  twenty-four,  sir. 
There  's  some  in  Boston  pleased  to  say. 

As  we  the  field  were  taking, 


82  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

We  Tvent  to  kill  their  countrymen 

"While  they  their  hay  were  making. 
For  such  stout  whigs  I  never  saw,  — 

To  hang  them  all,  I  'd  rather, 
For  making  hay  ■with  musket-halla 

And  buck-shot  mixed  together." 

We  ■ffill  now  exhibit^the  outline  of  the  history  of  Master  James 
Lovell,  who  was  born  at  Boston,  Oct.  31,  1737 ;  entered  the  pubhc 
Latin  school  in  1744,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1756.  He 
became  the  usher  of  this  school  in  1757,  which  station  he  filled  until 
April  19,  1775,  when  the  school  was  suspended  by  the  war.  He  was 
also  master  of  the  North  Grammar,  now  the  Eliot  school.  The  Latin 
school  was  revived,  Nov.  8,  1776.  He  married,  at  Trinity  Church, 
INIary,  daughter  of  Alexander  JMiddleton,  a  native  of  Scotland,  Nov. 
24,  1760. 

On  the  morning  before  the  town  committee  had  reached  his  resi- 
dence, to  invite  him  to  deliver  an  oration  on  the  massacre,  his  father 
took  occasion,  at  the  breakfast-table,  according  to  the  tradition,  to 
advise  him  not  to  accept  the  appointment,  as  his  inexperience  in  public 
matters  was  not  equal  to  the  effort ;  nor  could  he  expect,  if  he  were, 
that  the  undertaking  would  result  in  any  public  benefit,  or  personal 
advantage  to  himself.  "Besides,  my  son,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
"there  is  a  consideration  in  this  matter,  above  all  others:  there  is 
danger  in  the  attempt,  —  your  hfe  will  be  in  jeopardy."  "  Is  that  the 
case,  father?"  said  Lovell;  "then  my  mind  is  decided;  my  resolu- 
tion is  fixed,  that  I  will  attempt  it  at  every  hazard !  "  Whether  or  not 
this  relation  be  fact,  it  was  perfectly  characteristic  of  the  man.  The 
people  assembled  at  Faneuil  Hall  to  listen  to  the  young  orator,  when 
the  throng  being  too  great,  the  audience  forthwith  adjourned  to  the 
Old  South  Church,  and  after  a  fervent  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Chauncy,  an  oration  was  pronounced  by  James  Lovell,  that  received 
"the  universal  acceptance  of  the  audience;"  after  which,  the  thanks 
of  the  town  Avere  voted  him,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  request  a 
copy  for  the  press.  He  remarked,  in  this  performance,  that  "the 
design  of  this  ceremony  was  decent,  wise,  and  honorable.  Make  the 
bloody  fifth  of  jSIarch  the  era  of  the  resurrection  of  your  birthrights, 
which  have  been  murdered  by  the  very  strength  that  nursed  them  in 
their  infancy."  And  towards  the  close  of  the  oration,  he  remarks: 
"  Ha\ing  declared  myself  an   American   son    of  hberty,   of   true 


JAMES   LOVELL.  33 

charter  principles,  —  having  shown  the  critical  and  dangerous  situation 
of  our  birthrights,  and  the  true  course  for  speedy  redress,  —  I  sliall 
take  the  freedom  to  recommend  with  boldness  one  previous  step.  Let 
us  show  we  understand  the  true  value  of  what  we  are  claiming." 

Mr.  Lovell  was  an  excellent  scholar,  and  of  famous  reputation ;  but 
detraction,  ever  seeking  to  wound  those  most  esteemed,  frowned  its 
odious  visage  upon  him.  John  Adams  says,  in  his  diary,  under  date 
of  January  7,  1766 :  "  Samuel  Waterhouse,  of  the  customs,  the  most 
notorious  scribbler,  satirist,  and  libeller,  in  the  service  of  the  conspira- 
tors against  the  liberties  of  America,  made  a  most  malicious,  ungen- 
erous attack  upon  James  Lovell,  Jr.,  the  usher  of  the  grammar  school, 
as  others  had  attacked  him  about  idleness,  and  familiar  spirits,  and 
zanyship,  and  expectancy  of  a  deputation." 

The  residence  of  James  Lovell,  during  the  Revolution,  was'  on  the 
estate  where  Chapman  Hall  is  now  located,  and  his  family  witnessed 
on  the  house-top  the  burning  of  Charlestown  during  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  While  Mr.  Lovell  was  imprisoned  in  the  Boston  jail,  in 
Queen-street,  in  consequence  of  General  Howe  having  discovered  a 
prohibited  correspondence,  proving  his  adherence  to  the  Revolutionary 
cause,  his  devoted  wife  was  daily  accustomed  to  convey  his  food  to  the 
prison  door.  They  had  eight  sons,  and  one  daughter,  Mary,  who  was 
married  to  Mark  Pickard,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  whose  daughter  was 
the  wife  of  Rev.  Henry  Ware,  of  Harvard  College.  After  the  Revo- 
lution, Mr.  Lovell  resided  in  Hutchinson-street,  located  on  Sturgis- 
place. 

After  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  thirty-one  captives  were  imprisoned 
in  Boston  jail,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Lovell,  who  wrote  a  pathetic 
letter  to  Washington,  dated  Provost's  Prison,  Boston,  Nov.  19,  1775, 
in  which  he  said:  "Your  excellency  is  already  informed  that  the 
powers  of  the  military  government  established  in  this  town  have  been 
wantonly  and  cruelly  exercised  against  me,  from  the  29th  of  June  last. 
I  have  in  vain  repeatedly  solicited  to  be  brought  to  some  kind  of  trial 
for  my  pretended  crimes.  Li  answer  to  a  petition  of  that  sort,  pre- 
sented on  the  16th  of  October,  I  am  directed,  by  Col.  Balfour,  aid-de- 
camp to  Gen.  Howe,  to  seek  the  release  of  Col.  Skene  and  his  son, 
as  the  sole  means  of  my  enlargement. 

"This  proposition  appears  to  me  extremely  disgraceful  to  the  party 
from  which  it  comes ;  and  a  compliance  with  it  pregnant  with  danger- 
ous consequences  to  my  fellow-citizens.     But,  while  my  own  spirit 


34  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

prompts  me  to  reject  it  directly  with  the  keenest  disdain,  the  impor- 
tunity of  my  distressed  "wife,  and  the  advice  of  some  whom  I  esteem, 
have  checked  me  down  to  a  consent  to  give  your  excellency  this  inform- 
ation. I  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  your  wisdom,  and  I  shall  be 
perfectly  resigned  to  your  determination,  whatever  it  may  be.  I  must 
not,  however,  omit  to  say,  that  should  you  condescend  to  stigmatize 
the  proceeding  of  my  enemies  by  letter,  the  correction  might  work 
some  change  in  favor  of  myself,  or  at  least  of  my  family;  which  must, 
I  think,  perish  through  want  of  fuel  and  provisions,  in  the  approach- 
ing winter,  if  they  continue  to  be  deprived  of  my  assistance."' 

Master  Lovell  addressed  another  letter,  Dec.  6,  1775,  to  General 
Washington,  in  which  he  remarked:  "  Charged  with  being  a  spy,  and 
giving  intelligence  to  the  rebels,  I  have  been  suffering  the  pains  and 
indignities  of  imprisonment  from  the  29th  of  June  last,  without  any 
sort  of  trial.  Capt.  Ealfour,  aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Howe,  some  time 
ago  directed  Mrs.  Lovell  to  tell  me,  from  the  commander-in-chief,  that 
I  must  obtain  the  exchange  of  Col.  Skene  and  his  son,  as  the  only 
condition  of  my  enlargement ;  and  I  have  waited  weeks  in  a  vain  hope 
of  being  enabled  to  write  with  more  precision  to  your  excellency.  I 
have  no  argument  but  of  a  private  nature  to  make  use  of,  upon  this 
occasion ;  and  it  is  addressed  to  your  excellency's  humanity,  which  I 
am  well  satisfied  will  attend  the  decision  of  your  wisdom.  I  myself 
am  reduced  to  such  a  risk  of  life,  and  my  family  to  such  miseries,  by 
my  imprisonment,  as  to  make  both  objects  of  compassion  to  all  who  are 
not  learnedly  barbarous  and  cruel." 

Washington  wrote  to  Hancock,  in  a  letter  dated  Jan.  30, 1776  :  "I 
shall,  in  obedience  to  the  order  of  Congress,  though  interdicted  by 
Gen.  Howe,  propose  an  exchange  of  Col.  Skene  for  ]Mr.  Lovell  and 
his  family ;  and  shall  be  happy  to  have  an  opportunity  of  putting  this 
deserving  man,  who  has  shown  his  fidelity  and  regard  to  his  country 
to  be  too  great  for  persecution  and  cruelty  to  overcome,  in  any  post 
agreeable  to  liis  wishes  and  inclinations."  Here  is  a  tribute  Ho  Lovell 
from  the  immortal  Washington,  of  greater  value  than  the  most 
renowned  heraldry. 

Mr.  Lovell  was  detained  in  prison,  regardless  of  the  intercession  of 
Washington,  until  the  British  army  evacuated  the  town,  when  he  was 
conveyed  to  Halifax,  where  he  was  kept  in  close  confinement.  Thus, 
while  the  father  was  at  Halifax  an  honored  follower  of  the  crown,  the 
son  was  degraded  for  an  adherence  to  the  eagle.     His  family  were  pro- 


JAMES   LOVELL.  35 

tected  bj  the  respected  Dr.  Joseph  Gardner,  in  whose  dwelling  they 
resided,  —  located  on  Marlboro' -street, — until  his  return  from  cap- 
tivity. ]\Ir.  Lovell  happened  to  be  doomed  to  the  same  prison  in 
which  the  famous  Col.  Ethan  Allen  was  confined,  with  several  other 
Americans.  Allen  had  been  a  wanderer  during  his  captivity,  having 
been  first  sent  from  Montreal  to  England  in  irons,  and  then  trans- 
ported back  to  Halifax,  by  way  of  Ireland  and  North  Carolina.  ]\Ir. 
Lovell  was  finally  exchanged  for  Gov.  Skene,  of  Ticonderoga,  on  Nov. 
1776,  and  arrived  in  Boston  on  the  30th  day,  by  way  of  New  York. 
The  hardships  of  imprisonment  rather  impaired  his  intellect,  though 
its  power  was  never  dethroned.  There  was  a  deep  rancor  against 
Mr.  Lovell,  when  in  Boston  jail,  for  having  publicly  repeated,  in  his 
oration  on  the  massacre,  what  the  royalists  had  taught  Jiim  by  experi- 
ence, "that  slaves  envy  the  freedom  of  others,  and  take  malicious 
pleasure  in  contributing  to  destroy  it; "  — being  a  citation  from  Black- 
stone.  And  another  matter  that  excited  prejudice  was  the  getting 
possession  of  a  note  written  to  one  going  to  Point  Shirley,  which  Gen. 
Howe  had  intercepted.  Consequently  he  was  closely  locked  up,  and 
debarred  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  though  he  declared  his  inno- 
cence of  any  forbidden  correspondence. 

In  Dec.  1776,  James  Lovell  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, for  his  native  state.  On  the  third  of  May,  1778,  Mr.  Lovell 
wrote  to  Arthur  Lee  as  follows  :  "In  the  month  of  October,  1775,  I 
used  the  freedom  of  writing  to  you  from  Boston  prison,  by  a  Mr. 
William  Powell,  who  had  also  in  charge  some  papers  to  enable  you  to 
stigmatize  the  mean  cruelties  of  Gage,  who  was  then  exulting  in  his 
command ;  but  the  papers  which  I  afterwards  sent  you  from  Halifax 
jail,  by  an  amiable  lady,  afforded  proofs  of  scientific  barbarity  jn 
Howe,  which  tended  to  obhterate  the  memory  of  what  I  had  endured 
under  his  predecessor.  I  had  the  imagination,  at  that  time,  of  pur- 
suing those  men  personally  to  Europe ;  but  when  I  heard  my  country- 
men had  wisely  declared  independence,  I  felt  myself  instantly  repaid 
for  all  my  losses  and  bodily  injuries.  I  will  not  endeavor  to  constrain 
you  to  believe  that  I  am  governed,  at  this  day,  by  feelings  and 
motives  of  the  most  laudable  patriotism.  I  am  not  anxious  to  disavow 
a  degree  of  the  spirit  of  retaliation,  which  our  enemies  seem  to  have 
been  industrious  to  excite  in  us.  It  would  be  false  affectation  of 
universal  benevolence  to  say  I  lament  the  present  disgrace  of  Britain. 


S6  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Whether  she  mends  upon  it  or  not,  I  must  rejoice  at  it,  though  upon 
different  principles." 

It  is  a  singular  coincidence  to  this  remark,  that  the  editor,  "while 
■writing  in  the  book-store  of  Drake  the  antiquarian,  had  his  attention 
directed  to  a  passage  in  Boswell's  Johnson,  which  Mr.  Drake  held  in 
his  hand  at  the  moment,  where  Johnson,  in  conversing  with  Miss 
Seward,  says,  April  15th,  1778,  "  I  am  willing  to  love  all  mankind, 
except  an  American."  Miss  Seward,  looking  at  him  with  mild  and 
steady  astonishment,  said,  "  Sir,  this  is  an  instance  that  we  are  always 
most  violent  against  those  we  have  injured." 

We  find  in  the  London  Political  Register  for  1780  the  following 
severe  remarks  on  the  character  of  ]\Ir.  Lovell,  because  of  his  repub- 
lican course :  ','  In  the  pockets  of  Warren,  the  rebel  commander,  killed 
at  Bunker  Hill,  were  found  letters  from  James  Lovell,  a  rebel  spy, 
stating  the  number  and  disposition  of  the  troops  in  Boston,  with  a 
variety  of  other  information.  The  spy,  instead  of  being  sentenced  to 
the  gallows  and  executed,  was  only  taken  up  and  detained  in  custody ; 
and  when  our  army  was  at  New  York,  he  was  discharged,  at  the 
request  of  some  of  the  rebel  chiefs.  The  deputy  commissary  of 
prisoners  saw  him  safely  on  board  the  cartel  ship,  and  laid  in  for  him 
the  best  provisions  the  place  could  supply.  Lovell,  instead  of  being 
grateful  for  this,  the  instant  he  landed  in  the  rebel  territory,  wrote 
the  commissary  a  most  abusive  letter ;  and,  by  this  infamous  behavior, 
having  arrived  at  the  summit  of  villany,  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
rebels  of  Massachusetts,  deemed  a  fit  person  to  represent  them  in  Con- 
gress ;  accordingly,  as  soon  as  he  set  his  foot  in  Boston,  he  was  chosen 
one  of  .their  delegates  to  Congress.  The  rebel  spies  and  prisoners 
taken  by  our  troops  have  been  always  treated  with  a  lenity  nearly 
akin  to  folly ;  the  rebels  never  imputed  it  to  our  humanity,  but  to  our 
timidity  and  dread  of  them." 

The  Political  Register  quotes  a  passage  from  an  intercepted  letter 
of  Mr.  Lovell,  dated  Phfladelphia,  Nov.  20,  1780,  addi-essed  to  Mr. 
Gerry,  in  which  he  said :  "  Is  it  not  time  to  pay  a  visit  to  Massachu- 
setts 1  Does  my  wife  look  as  if  she  wanted  a  toothless,  grayheaded, 
sciatic  husband  near  her  ?  I  am  more  benefit  to  her  at  a  distance 
than  in  conjunction,  as  the  almanac  has  it." 

In  1784  Mr.  Lovell  was  appointed  receiver  of  Continental  taxes, 
and  during  the  confederacy  of  1788  and  "89  he  was  the  collector  for 


DR.    BENJAMIN    CHURCH.  37; 

f 

the  port  of  Boston.     He  was  the  naval  officer  of  Boston  from  1790 
until  his  decease,  at  Windham,  Maine,  July  14,  1814. 

Mr.  Lovell  published  several  tracts.  In  1760  he  delivered  an 
oration  in  Latin,  to  the  memory  of  the  venerable  Henry  Flint,  -who 
was  fifty-five  years  a  tutor  of  Harvard  College.  In  1808,  Propaga- 
tion of  Truth,  or  Tyranny  Anatomized ;  Sketches  of  Man  as  He  is, 
connected  with  the  Past  and  Present  Mode  of  Education ;  A  Letter 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  supposed  by  the  writer  to  be 
fitted  specially  for  the  Age  and  Courage  of  the  Young  Federal  Repub- 
licans of  Boston,  and  also  to  be  calculated  generally  to  promote  the 
comfort  of  all  gray-headed  as  well  as  green-headed  free  citizens  every- 
where :  dated,  July  4,  1805. 


DR.   BENJAMIN    CHURCH. 

MARCH  5, 1773.   ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Church  was  a  son  of  Deacon  Benjamin  Church, 
of  Mather  Byles'  church,  in  Boston;  and  was  born  at  Newport,  R.  I., 
Aug.  24,  1734.  He  entered  the  Latin  school  in  1745,  and  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1754.  He  was  a  student  in  the  London  Med- 
ical College,  and  walked  the  hospitals,  daily  visiting  all  the  wards. 
He  married  Miss  Hannah  Hill,  of  Ross,  in  Herefordshire,  a  sister  of 
his  early  friend,  a  young  student  in  London.  He  returned  to  Boston, 
and  had  Benjamin,  who  married  a  lady  of  London,  and  became  a 
surgeon  in  the  British  army ;  James  ^Miller,  born  1759  ;  Sarah, 
born  1761,  who  married  Benjamin  Weld,  a  tory  refugee ;  Hannah, 
born  1764,  who  married  William  Kirkby,  a  merchant  of  London,  and 
had  sixteen  children.  It  is  to  a  descendant  of  this  branch  that  the 
editor  is  indebted  for  information. 

Dr.  Church  was  the  surgeon  who  examined  the  body  of  Crispus 
Attacks,  killed  by  the  British  soldiers  in  the  massacre  of  1770  ;  and 
his  deposition  is  printed  in  the  narrative  of  the  town.     He  was  the 


38  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

first  Grand  Master  of  the  Rising  Sun  Lodge,  instituted  in  1772.  Dr. 
Churcli  pronounced  the  oration  on  the  massacre,  at  the  Old  South ;  and 
so  vast  Avas  the  throng  of  people  to  hear  it,  that  the  orator,  and  John 
Hancock,  the  moderator  of  this  adjourned  town-meeting,  were  obliged  to 
be  taken  in  at  a  window.  It  was  received  "  with  universal  applause," 
and  directly  after  its  delivery  the  people  unanimously  requested  a  copy 
for  the  press.  Dr.  Eliot  says  of  it,  that  "it  is  certainly  one  of  the 
very  best  of  the  Boston  orations."  He  had  genius  and  taste,  and  was 
an  excellent  writer  in  poetry  and  prose,  consisting  mostly  of  essays  of 
a  witty  and  philological  nature,  which  are  scattered  in  newspapers 
and  publications  almost  obsolete. 

On  the  evening  after  the  delivery  of  this  oration,  the  lantern 
exhibition  appeared  from  Mrs.  Clapham's  balcony,  in  King-street;  and 
in  one  of  the  chamber  windows  "was  inscribed  the  following  impas- 
sioned effusion : 

"  Canst  thou,  spectator,  view  this  crimsoned  scene, 
And  not  reflect  what  these  sad  portraits  mean  ? 
Or  can  thy  slaughtered  bi-ethren's  guiltless  gore 
Revenge,  in  vain,  from  year  to  year  implore  ? 
Ask  not  -where  Preston  or  his  butchers  are  ! 
But  ask,  who  brought  those  bloody  villains  here  ? 
Never  for  instruments  forsake  the  cause. 
Nor  spare  the  wretch  who  would  subvert  the  laws  ! 
That  ruthless  fiend,  who,  for  a  trifling  hire, 
"Would  murder  scores,  or  set  a  town  on  fire. 
Compared  with  him  who  would  a  land  enslave. 
Appears  an  inconsiderable  knave. 
And  shall  the  first  adorn  the  fatal  tree. 
While,  pampered  and  caressed,  the  last  goes  free? 
Forbid  it,  thou  whose  eye  no  bribe  can  blind, 
Nor  fear  can  influence,  nor  favor  bind  ! 
Thy  justice  drove  one  murderer  to  despair  ; 
And  shall  a  number  live  in  riot  here  ? 
Live  and  appear  to  glory  in  the  crimes 
Which  hand  destruction  down  to  future  times  ? 
Yes,  ye  shall  live  !  but  live  like  branded  Cain, 
In  daily  dread  of  being  nightly  slain  ; 
And  when  the  anxious  scene  on  earth  is  o'er, 
Tour  names  shall  stink  till  time  shall  be  no  more  !  " 

We  cannot  restrain  the  desire  to  present  the  peroration  of  the 
oration  so  much  applauded:  "  By  Heaven,  they  die  !  Thus  nature 
spoke,  and  the  swollen  heart  leaped  to  execute  the  dreadful  purpose. 
Dire  was  the  interval  of  rage,  —  fierce  was  the  conflict  of  the  soul.    In 


DK.  BENJAMIN    CnURCH.  39 

that  important  hour,  did  not  the  stalking  ghosts  of  our  stern  fore- 
fathers ppint  us  to  bloody  deeds  of  vengeance?  Did  not  the  con- 
sideration of  our  expiring  liberties  impel  us  to  remorseless  havoc? 
But,  hark !  the  guardian  God  of  New  England  issues  his  awful  man- 
date, —  Peace,  be  still !  Hushed  was  the  bursting  war ;  the  lowering 
tempest  frowned  its  rage  away.  Confidence  in  that  God,  beneath 
whose  wing  we  shelter  all  our  cares,  —  that  blessed  confidence  released 
the  dastard,  the  cowering  prey;  with  haughty  scorn  we  refused  to 
become  their  executioners,  and  nobly  gave  them  to  the  wrath  of 
Heaven.  But  words  can  poorly  paint  the  horrid  scene.  Defenceless, 
prostrate,  bleeding  countrymen,  —  the  piercing,  agonizing  groans,  — 
the  mingled  moan  of  weeping  relatives  and  friends,  —  these  best  can 
speak,  to  rouse  the  luke-warm  into  noble  zeal,  — to  fire  the  zealous  into 
manly  rage  against  the  foul  oppression  of  quartering  troops  in  pop- 
ulous cities  in  times  of  peace." 

There  is  but  one  sentence  in  this  admired  production  that  could  be 
construed  in  the  least  degree  to  indicate  the  fear  that  this  vigorous 
mind  would  ever  forsake  the  cause  of  injured  humanity,  wherein  he 
says,  "  The  constitution  of  England  I  revere  to  a  degree  of  idolatry." 
This,  however,  is  directly  quahfied.  for  he  continues,  "but  my  attach- 
ment is  to  the  common  weal.  The  magistrate  will  ever  command  my 
respect  by  the  integrity  and  wisdom  of  his  administrations." 

Dr.  Church  was  a  Boston  representative,  a  member  of  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  in  1774,  and  physician-general  to  the  patriot  army  in 
that  year. 

About  the  year  17G8,  Dr.  Church  erected  an  elegant  mansion  at 
Raynham,  on  the  side  of  Nippenickit  pond,  "  allured,  perhaps,"  says 
Dr.  Allen,  "by  the  pleasures  of  fishing."  Probably  it  was  thus  that 
he  created  a  pecuniary  embarrassment,  which  led  to  his  defection  from 
the  cause  of  his  country.  A  letter  written  in  cipher,  to  his  brother 
in  Boston,  was  intrusted  by  him  to  a  young  woman,  with  whom  he  was 
said  to  be  living  in  crime.  The  mysterious  letter  was  found  upon  her ; 
but,  the  doctor  having  opportunity  to  speak  to  her,  it  was  only  by  the 
force  of  threats  that  the  name  of  the  writer  was  extorted  from  her. 
It  was  for  some  time  difficult  to  find  any  person  capable  of  decipher-  , 
ing  Dr.  Church's  letter,  but  at  length  it  was  effected  by  Bev.  Dr. 
Samuel  West,  of  New  Bedford.  When  Washington  charged  him  with 
his  baseness,  he  never  attempted  to  vindicate  himself. 

Washington  stated,  in  a  letter  to  Hancock,  dated  Cambridge,  Oct.  5, 


40  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

1775:  "I  have  now  a  painful,  thougli  a  necessary  duty  to  perform, 
respecting  Dr.  Churcli,  director-general  of  the  hospital.  About  a 
week  ago,  Mr.  Secretary  Ward,  of  Providence,  sent  up  to  me  one 
Wainwood,  an  inhabitant  of  Newport,  with  a  letter  directed  to  Major 
Cane,  in  Boston,  in  characters ;  which,  he  said,  had  been  left  with 
Wainwood  some  time  ago,  by  a  woman  who  was  kept  by  Dr.  Church. 
She  had  before  pressed  Wainwood  to  take  her  to  Capt.  Wallace,  at 
Newport,  ]\Ir.  Dudley  the  collector,  or  George  Rowe,  which  he 
declined.  She  then  gave  him  a  letter,  with  a  strict  charge  to  deliver 
it  to  either  of  those  gentlemen.  He,  suspecting  some  improper  cor- 
respondence, kept  the  letter,  and  after  some  time  opened  it :  but,  not 
being  able  to  read  it,  laid  it  up,  where  it  remained  until  he  received  an 
obscure  letter  from  the  woman,  expressing  an  anxiety  after  the  original 
letter.  He  then  communicated  the  whole  matter  to  Mr.  Ward,  who 
sent  him  up  with  the  papers  to  me.  I  immediately  secured  the 
woman ;  but  for  a  long  time  she  was  proof  against  every  threat  and 
persuasion  to  discover  the  author.  However,  at  length  she  was 
brought  to  a  confession,  and  named  Dr.  Church.  I  then  immediately 
secured  him,  and  all  his  papers.  Upon  his  firet  examination,  he  readily 
acknowledged  the  letter ;  said  it  was  designed  for  his  brother  Fleming, 
and  when  deciphered  would  be  found  to  contain  nothing  criminal. 
He  acknowledged  his  never  having  communicated  the  correspondence  to 
any  person  here,  but  the  girl,  and  made  many  protestations  of  the 
purity  of  his  intentions.  Having  found  a  person  capable  of  decipher- 
ing the  letter,  I,  in  the  mean  time,  had  all  his  papers  searched,  but 
found  nothing  criminal  among  them.  But  it  appeared,  on  inquiry, 
that  a  confidant  had  been  among  the  papers  before  my  messenger 
arrived." 

We  select  this  passage  from  Dr.  Church's  intercepted  letter:  "  For 
the  sake  of  the  miserable  convulsed  empire,  repeal  the  acts,  or  Britain 
is  undone.  This  advice  is  the  result  of  warm  aifection  to  my  king 
and  the  realm.     Remember,  I  never  deceived  you." 

He  was  convicted  by  court-martial,  Oct.  3,  1775,  of  which  Wash- 
ington was  president,  ' '  of  holding  a  criminal  correspondence  with  the 
enemy."  He  was  imprisoned  at  Cambridge.  On  Oct.  27,  he  was 
called  to  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  examined.  His 
defence  before  the  house,  printed  in  the  Historical  Collections,  was  a 
specimen  of  brilliant  talents  and  great  ingenuity.  That  the  letter  was 
designed  for  his  brother,  but,  not  being  sent,  he  had  communicated  no 


DK.    BENJAMIN    CHURCH.  41 

intelligence :  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  letter  but  notorious  facts : 
that  his  exaggerations  of  the  American  force  could  only  be  designed 
to  favor  the  cause  of  liberty  :  and  that  the  object  -was  purely  patriotic. 
"Confirmed,"  said  he,  "in  assured  innocence,  I  stand  prepai-ed  for 
your  keenest  searchings.  The  warmest  bosom  here  does  not  flame  with 
a  brighter  zeal  for  the  security,  happiness,  and  liberties,  of  America." 
He  was  expelled  from  the  house  ;  and  the  Continental  Congress  after- 
wards resolved  that  he  should  be  confined  in  jail  in  Connecticut,  and 
"debaiTcd  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper."  He  was  afterwards 
allowed  to  occasionally  ride  out,  under  a  trusty  guard.  Madam 
Adams,  in  alluding  to  the  treachery  of  Dr.  Church,  remarked  at 
that  time :  "  You  may  as  well  hope  to  bind  up  a  hungry  tiger  with 
a  cobweb,  as  to  hold  such  debauched  patriots  in  the  visionary  chains 
of  decency,  or  to  charm  them  with  the  intellectual  beauty  of  truth 
and  reason."  His  residence,  in  Boston,  was  at  the  south  corner  of 
Avon-place.  Dr.  Thatcher  says,  "  There  were  not  a  few  among  the 
most  respectable  and  intelligent  in  the  community  who  expressed 
strong  doubts  of  a  criminal  design  in  his  conduct."  Our  readers, 
however,  need  only  to  examine  the  statement  of  Paul  Revere,  in  the 
succeeding  paragraphs,  to  have  their  minds  satisfied  of  his  treacherous 
conduct.  It  appears  in  a  letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  John  Eliot,  corresponchng 
secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  dated  Boston,  Jan. 
1,  1798:  "In  the  fall  of  1774,  and  winter  of  1775,  I  was  one  of 
upwards  of  thirty,  chiefly  mechanics,  who  formed  ourselves  into  a 
committee,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  movements  of  the  British 
soldiers,  and  gaining  every  intelligence  of  the  movements  of  the  tories. 
We  held  our  meetings  at  the  Green  Dragon  Tavern.  We  were  so  care- 
ful that  our  meetings  should  be  kept  secret,  that  every  time  we  met, 
every  person  swore  upon  the  Bible  that  they  would  not  discover  any 
of  our  transactions,  but  to  Hancock,  Adams,  Drs.  Warren,  Church, 
and  one  or  two  more.  About  November,  when  things  began  to  grow 
serious,  a  gentleman  who  had  connections  with  the  tory  party,  but 
was  a  whig  at  heart,  acquainted  me  that  our  meetings  were  discovered, 
and  mentioned  the  identical  words  that  were  spoken  among  us  the 
night  before.  We  did  not  then  distrust  Dr.  Church,  but  supposed  it 
must  be  some  one  among  us.  We  removed  to  another  place,  which 
we  thought  was  more  secure ;  but  here  we  found  that  all  our  transac- 
tions were  communicated  to  Gov.  Gage.  This  came  to  mc  through 
the  then  secretary,  Flucker.  He  told  it  to  the  gentleman  mentioned 
4# 


42  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

above.  It  was  then  a  common  opinion  that  there  was  a  traitor  in  the 
Provincial  Congress,  and  that  Gage  was  possessed  of  all  their  secrets. 
Dr.  Church  appeared  to  be  a  high  son  of  hberty.  He  frequented  all 
the  places  where  they  met ;  was  encouraged  by  all  the  leaders  of  the 
sons  of  liberty ;  and  it  appeared  he  was  respected  by  them,  though  I 
knew  that  Dr.  Warren  had  not  the  greatest  respect  for  him.  Though 
it  was  known  that  some  of  the  liberty  songs  Avhich  he  composed  were 
parodized  by  him  in  favor  of  the  British,  yet  none  dare  charge  him 
with  it.  I  was  a  constant  and  critical  observer  of  him,  and  I  must 
say  that  I  never  thought  him  a  man  of  principle,  and  I  doubted  much, 
in  my  own  mind,  whether  he  was  a  real  whig.  I  knew  that  he  kept 
company  with  a  Capt.  Price,  a  half-pay  British  officer ;  and  that  he 
frequently  dined  with  him  and  Robinson,  one  of  the  commissioners. 
I  know  that  one  of  his  intimate  acquaintance  asked  him  why  he  was 
so  often  with  Robinson  and  Price.  Ilis  answer  was,  that  he  kept 
company  with  them  on  purpose  to  find  out  their  plans.  The  day  after 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  I  met  him  in  Cambridge,  when  he  shew  me 
some  blood  On  his  stocking,  which,  he  said,  spirted  on  him  from  a  man 
who  was  killed  near  him,  as  he  was  urging  the  militia  on.  I  well 
remember  that  I  argued  with  myself,  if  a  man  will  risk  his  life  in  a 
cause,  he  must  be  a  friend  to  that  cause ;  and  I  never  suspected  him 
after,  till  he  was  charged  with  being  a  traitor. 

"The  same  day,  I  met  Dr.  Warren.  He  was  president  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety.  He  engaged  me  as  a  messenger  to  do  the  out- 
of-doors  business  for  the  committee,  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
being  frequently  with  them.  The  Friday  evening  after,  about  sunset, 
I  was  sitting  with  some  or  near  all  that  committee,  in  their  room, 
which  was  at  ]Mr.  Hastings'  house,  in  Cambridge.  Dr.  Church,  all  at 
once,  started  up.  'Dr.  Warren,'  said  he,  'I  am  determined  to  go 
into  Boston  to-morrow.'  It  set  them  all  a  staring.  Dr.  Warren 
rephed,  '  Are  you  serious.  Dr.  Church  ?  They  will  hang  you,  if  they 
catch  you  in  Boston.'  He  replied,  'I  am  serious,  and  am  determined 
to  go,  at  all  adventures.'  After  a  considerable  conversation.  Dr.  War- 
ren said,  'If  you  are  determined,  let  us  make  some  business  for  you.' 
They  agreed  that  he  should  go  to  get  medicine  for  their  and  our 
wounded  officers.  He  went  the  next  morning,  and  I  think  he  came 
back  on  Sunday  evening.  After  he  had  told  the  committee  how 
things  were,  I  took  him  aside,  and  inquired  particularly  how  they 
treated  him.      He  said,  that  '  as  soon  as  he  got  to  their  lines,  on 


DR.    BENJAMIN   CHURCH.  43 

Boston  Neck,  -tliej  made  bim  a  prisoner,  and  carried  him  to  Gen. 
Gage,  where  he  was  examined ;  and  then  he  was  sent  to  Gould's  bar- 
racks, and  was  not  suffered  to  go  home  but  once.  After  he  was  taken 
up  for  hokhng  a  correspondence  with  the  British,  I  came  across  Dea. 
Caleb  Davis.  We  entered  into  conversation  about  him.  He  told  me 
that  the  morning  Church  went  into  Boston,  he  (Davis)  received  a 
billet  for  Gen.  Gage ;  —  (he  then  did  not  know  that  Church  was  in 
town.)  When  he  got  to  the  general's  house,  he  was  told  the  general 
could  not  be  spoke  with,  —  that  he  was  in  private  with  a  gentleman ; 
that  he  waited  near  half  an  hour,  when  Gen.  Gage  and  Dr.  Church 
came  out  of  a  room,  discoursing  together  like  persons  who  had  been  long 
acquainted.  He  appeared  to  be  quite  surprised  at  seeing  Dea.  Davis 
there ;  that  he  (Church)  went  where  he  pleased,  while  in  Boston,  only 
a  Major  Caine,  one  of  Gage's  tools,  went  with  him.  I  Avas  told  by 
another  person,  whom  I  could  depend  upon,  that  he  saw  Church  go  into 
Gen.  Gage's  house  at  the  above  time ;  that  he  got  out  of  the  chaise 
and  went  up  the  steps  more  like  a  man  that  was  acquainted  than  a 
prisoner. 

"  Some  time  after,  —  perhaps  a  year  or  two,  —  I  fell  in  company 
with  a  gentleman  who  studied  with  Church.  In  discoursing  about  him, 
I  related  what  I  have  mentioned  above.  He  said  he  did  not  doubt  that 
he  was  in  the  interest  of  the  British,  and  that  it  was  he  who  informed 
Gen.  Gage ;  that  he  knew  for  certain  that,  a  short  time  before  the 
Battle  of  Lexington,  —  for  he  then  hved  with  him,  and  took  care  of  his 
business  and  books,  —  he  had  no  money  by  him,  and  was  much  drove 
for  money;  that,  all  at  once,  he  had  several  hundred  new  British 
guineas ;  and  that  he  thought  at  the  time  where  they  came  from." 

When  released  from  his  imprisonment  in  Norwich  jail,  Conn.,  May, 
1776,  he  set  sail  from  Boston  for  London,  —  some  say  for  the  West 
Indies ;  and,  according  to  a  family  tradition,  the  vessel  was  wrecked 
near  the  Boston  Light-house,  and  all  on  board  perished.  Our  prin- 
cipal authorities  state,  however,  that  after  he  left  Boston  he  was  never 
heard  from.     His  family  was  pensioned  by  the  crown. 

We  cannot  conclude  this  article  before  introducing  an  incident. 
Col.  Revere  was  the  first  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Mechanics' 
Charitable  Association,  and  a  copper-plate  engraver.  In  the  year 
1768,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  voted  to  send  a  circular  letter 
to  the  several  Provinces,  on  the  alarming  state  of  this  country,  and 
inviting  a  convention  to  oppose  a  taxation  without  the  consent  of  the 


44  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

representatives  of  the  people.  The  king  directed  Governor  Bernard 
to  demand  that  the  said  vote  be  rescinded  and  obliterated.  A  vote  was 
passed,  June  80, 1768,  not  to  conform  to  it,  seventeen  members  only 
voting  in  favor  of  it,  and  ninety-two  in  the  negative.  The  seventeen 
members  were  stigmatized  with  the  name  of  Rescinders,  and  treated 
with  contempt.  Paul  Revere  engraved  a  caricature,  entitled  "A  Warm 
Place  —  Hell."  The  dehneation  was  a  pair  of  monstrous  open  jaws, 
resembling  those  of  a  shark,  with  flames  issuing ;  and  Satan,  with  a 
large  pitchfork,  driving  the  seventeen  Rescinders  into  the  flames, 
exclaiming,  "Now  I've  got  you!  A  fine  haul,  by  Jove!"  As  a 
reluctance  is  shown  by  the  foremost  man  at  entering,  who  is  supposed 
to  represent  the  Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles,  afterward  a  brigadier-general 
of  "Worcester  county,  another  devil  is  drawn,  with  a  fork,  flying 
towards  him,  and  crying  out,  "  Push  on,  Tim ! "  Over  the  upper 
jaw  is  seen,  in  the  back-ground,  the  cupola  of  the  Province-house, 
with  the  Indian  and  bow  and  arrow,  the  arms  of  the  Province,  where 
was  the  residence  of  the  governor.  When  Revere  was  engaged  in 
executing  this  caricature.  Dr.  Benj.  Church  came  into  his  ofiSce,  and 
seeing  what  he  was  about,  took  a  pen  and  m'ote  the  following  hnes  as 
an  accompaniment : 

"  On,  brave  Rescinders  !  to  yon  yawning  cell,  — 
Seventeen  such  miscreants  sure  will  startle  liell. 
There  puny  villains,  damned  for  petty  sin. 
On  such  distinguished  scoundrels  gaze  and  grin  ; 
The  outdone  Devil  will  resign  his  sway,  — 
He  never  curst  his  millions  in  a  day." 

"  Instead  of  subject  colonies,"  remarks  Daniel  Webster,  "  England 
now  beholds  on  these  shores  a  mighty  rival,  rich,  powerful,  intelhgent, 
like  herself  And  may  these  countries  be  forever  friendly  rivals.  May 
their  power  and  greatness,  sustaining  themselves,  be  always  directed 
to  the  promotion  of  the  peace,  the  prosperity,  the  enlightenment,  and 
the  liberty  of  mankind ;  and,  if  it  be  their  united  destiny,  in  the  course 
of  human  events,  that  they  be  called  upon,  in  the  cause  of  humanity 
and  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  to  stand  against  a  world  in  arms,  they 
are  of  a  race  and  of  a  blood  to  meet  that  crisis,  without  shrinking  from 
danger,  and  without  quailing  in  the  presence  of  earthly  power." 


JOSEPH  WARREN,    M.   D.  45 


JOSEPH  WARREN,   M.   D. 

MARCH  5, 1772.  ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

The  name  of  Warren  appears  on  the  Roll  of  Battle  Abbey,  as 
being  of  those  engaged  in  the  Battle  of  Hastings,  under  William  the 
Conqueror,  Oct.  14,  1066.  It  appears  also  in  Doomsday  Book,  pub- 
lished in  1081.  William  de  Warrene,  the  first  of  the  name  according 
to  Duncan's  Dukes  of  Normandy,  related  to  Duke  William  on  the  side 
of  his  mother,  who  was  niece  to  the  Duchess  Gouner,  took  his  name 
from  the  fief  of  Varenne,  or  Warrene,  in  the  district  of  St.  Aub-in-le- 
Cauf  Warrene  received  from  the  Conqueror  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  manors,  and  in  1073  he  was  adjoined  to  Richard  de  Bienfaite 
as  Grand  Justiciary  of  England.  He  was  created  Earl  of  Surrey,  by 
Wilham  Rufus,  in  1089,  and  died  shortly  afterwards.  He  was  buried 
in  the  Abbey  of  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  which  he  had  founded. 

The  ancestry  of  General  Joseph  Warren  has  long  been  a  subject  of 
doubtful  speculation,  as  it  could  not  be  traced  to  the  ancient  families 
either  of  Plymouth  or  Watertown.  After  careful  research,  we  believe 
it  traceable  to  the  public  records  of  Boston.  Doubtless  the  ancestor  of 
this  family  was  Peter  Warren,  a  mariner,  who,  according  to  Suffolk 
Deeds,  purchased  an  estate  of  Theodore  Atkinson,  of  Boston,  March 
8,  1659,  "  situated  on  the  south  side  of  Boston,  next  the  water-side, 
opposite  and  against  Dorchester  Neck."  This  was  a  part  of  ancient 
Mattapan,  now  South  Boston.  On  his  decease,  he  gave  his  dwelling- 
house  and  land  to  his  widow  Esther,  for  and  during  her  natural  life,  in 
case  she  continue  a  widow,  and  not  otherwise.  In  case  she  happen  to 
marry  again,  the  estate  should  revert  to  his  son  Joseph ;  or,  at  her 
decease,  if  a  widow,  he  bequeathed  the  same  to  him.  He  married 
three  times,  and  died  at  Boston,  Nov.  15,  1704,  aged  76  years.  His 
will  is  in  Suffolk  Probate.  His  son  Joseph,  according  to  Suffolk  Deeds, 
conveyed,  April  15, 1714,  this  estate  to  Henry  Hill,  distiller,  for  eighty 
pounds,  with  the  reserve,  that  his  widowed  mother  Esther  should  have 
a  life  occupancy,  and  pi'ofits  and  benefits  of  the  same.  It  was  located 
in  Boston,  at  the  south  part  of  the  town,  and  bounded  southei-ly  at 
the  front  by  Essex-street,  fifty-seven  feet ;  westerly  by  the  land  of 


46  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Isaac  Goose,  eighty-one  feet ;  northerly  by  the  land  of  Henry  Cole, 
thu'ty-one  feet ;  easterly  by  the  land  of  Whitman,  eighty -four  feet ;  — 
•with  the  buildings,  wells,  -water-courses,  &c.  A  distillery  has  long 
been  located  on  this  estate,  bounded  by  South-street,  and  is  improved 
by  "William  E.  French.  This  "was  doubtless  the  ancestral  residence. 
We  find  no  conveyance  of  real  estate  to  Peter  Warren  at  any  other 
period. 

Sarah,  the  first  vrife  of  Peter  Warren,  was  admitted  to  the  Old 
South  Church,  by  dismission,  May  22,  1670.  His  second  wife,  Han- 
nah, was  received  in  the  same  church,  by  dismission  also,  April  30, 
1675 ;  and  his  third  wife,  Esther,  was  admitted  to  that  church,  also 
by  dismission,  Oct.  11,  1687. 

The  baptisms  of  the  children  are  on  the  records  of  the  Old  South 
Church,  and  correspond  with  the  births  on  the  records  of  Boston,  as 
follows  :  Peter  Warren  married  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Robert  Tucker, 
of  Dorchester,  Aug.  1,  1660,  by  whom  he  had  John,  born  Sept.  8, 
1661 ;  Joseph,  born  Feb.  19,  1662 ;  Benjamin,  born  July  25,  1665 ; 
Ehzabeth,  born  Jan.  4,  1667;  Robert,  born  Dec.  14, 1670  ;  Ebenezer, 
born  Feb.  11,  1672 ;  Peter,  born  April  20,  1676 ;.  Hannah,  by  liis 
wife  Hannah,  born  May  19,  1680;  Mary,  born  Nov.  24,  1683; 
Robert,  born  Dec.  24,  1684. 

Joseph,  the  second  son  of  Peter,  who,  according  to  Suffolk  Deeds, 
was  a  housewright,  married  Deborah,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Williams, 
of  Roxbury,  where  he  settled,  and  had  eight  children ;  among  whom 
was  Joseph,  born  Feb.  2, 1696.  He  died  at  Roxbury,  July  13, 1729, 
aged  66 ;  and  this  corresponds  with  the  Boston  record  of  his  birth. 
His  will  was  proved  August  1st  of  that  date. 

Joseph,  Jr.,  son  of  Joseph  of  Roxbury,  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Stevens,  of  that  town.  May  29,  1740.  He  is  named,  on 
Suffolk  Probate,  as  "gentleman."  He  was  a  respectable  farmer,  and 
was  the  fii^st  person  who  cultivated  an  apple,  with  a  fine  blush  on  one 
side,  famous  as  the  Warren  Russet.  The  Boston  News-Letter  thus 
relates  the  tale  of  his  decease,  in  a  note  dated  Roxbury,  Oct.  25, 1755: 

"  On  Wednesday  last  a  sorrowful  accident  happened  here.  As  jNIr. 
Joseph  Warren,  of  this  town,  was  gathering  apples  from  a  tree,  standing 
upon  a  ladder  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  ground,  he  fell  from 
thence,  broke  his  neck,  and  expired  in  a  few  moments.  He  was 
esteemed  a  man  of  good  understanding,  industrious,  upright,  honest, 
and  faithful,  —  a  serious,  exemplary  Christian,  a  useful  member  of 


JOSEPH   WARREN,    M.    D.  47 

society.  He  was  generally  respected  amongst  us,  and  liis  death  is 
universally  lamented." 

Joseph,  3d,  a  son  of  Joseph,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Roxbury,  June  11, 
1741.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  1759,  and  was  a  pubHc- 
school  teacher  at  Roxbury,  in  1760.  The  old  mansion  in  which  he 
was  born  has  been  demolished,  and  an  exact  model  of  it,  made  partly 
of  the  original  materials,  is  retained  in  the  family  of  Dr.  Brown,  who 
married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Warren.  A  painting  of  the  estate 
is  in  the  family  of  Dr.  John  C.  Warren.  An  elegant  stone  building 
has  been  erected  on  the  location.  The  inscriptions  herewith  are  chis- 
eled on  the  front  side  of  the  second  story  of  the  edifice ;  that  on  the 
right  hand  is  as  follows  : 

"  On  this  spot  stood  the  house  erected  in  1720  by  Joseph  WaiTcn,  of 
Boston,  remarkable  for  being  the  birthplace  of  General  Joseph  War- 
ren, his  grandson,  who  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  June 
17,  1775."  The  inscription  on  the  left  hand  is  as  follows  :  "  John 
Warren,  a  distinguished  physician  and  anatomist,  was  also  born  here. 
The  original  mansion  being  in  ruins,  this  house  was  built  by  John  C. 
Warren,  M.  D.,  in  1846,  son  of  the  last  named,  as  a  permanent 
memorial  of  the  spot."  The  estate  is  in  Warren-street,  on  Warren- 
place,  opposite  St.  James' -street. 

Warren  was  ever  remarkable  for  fearless  intrepidity.  When  at 
college,  some  of  his  classmates  were  engaged  in  a  merriment  which 
they  knew  Warren  would  not  approve,  and  adopted  a  plan  to  prevent 
his  attendance.  They  fastened  the  door  of  the  apartment,  which  was 
in  the  upper  story  of  a  college  building.  Warren,  finding  that  he 
could  not  get  in  at  the  door,  and  perceiving  that  there  was  an  open 
window,  determined  to  efiect  his  entrance  by  that  way,  from  the  roof 
He  accordingly  ascended  the  stairs  to  the  top  of  the  building,  and,  getting 
out  upon  the  roof,  let  himself  down  to  the  eaves,  and  thence,  by  the 
aid  of  a  spout,  to  a  level  with  the  open  window,  through  which  he 
leaped  into  the  midst  of  the  conspirators.  The  spout,  which  was  of 
wood,  was  so  much  decayed  by  time,  that  it  fell  to  the  ground  as 
Warren  relaxed  his  hold  upon  it.  His  classmates,  hearing  the  crash, 
rushed  to  the  window,  and  when  they  perceived  the  cause,  loudly  con- 
gratulated him  upon  the  escape.  He  coolly  remarked  that  the  spout 
had  retained  its  position  just  long  enough  to  serve  his  purpose;  and, 
without  further  notice  of  the  accident,  proceeded  to  remonstrate  Avith 


48  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

them  on  the  mischief  they  intended  to  perpetrate,  which  had  the 
desired  effect. 

In  the  period  of  the  Revolution  a  gallows  was  erected  on  the  Neck, 
near  Roxburj,  for  the  public  execution  of  criminals.  One  day,  when 
he  was  passing  the  spot,  he  met  three  British  officers,  one  of  whom 
called  to  him,  saying,  "Go  on,  Warren;  you  will  soon  come  to  the 
gallows !  "  It  was  very  evident  they  meant  to  insult  him,  as  they 
burst  into  a  loud  laugh  as  soon  as  it  was  uttered.  Warren  was  not  a 
man  to  submit  to  an  insult  from  any  one,  least  of  all  from  them.  He 
immediately  turned  back,  walked  up  to  them,  and  calmly  requested  to 
know  which  of  them  had  thus  addressed  him.  Not  one  of  them  had 
the  courage  to  avow  his  insolence.  Finding  he  could  obtain  no  answer, 
he  at  last  left  them,  ashamed  of  themselves  and  each  other,  but  pleased 
to  escape  so  easily.  This  is  related  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  John  C. 
Warren. 

Gen.  Warren  resided  several  years  in  Boston,  on  the  location  of 
the  present  American  House,  nearly  opposite  Elm-street.  Wired 
skulls,  from  his  anatomical  room,  were  discovered,  in  excavating  the 
earth,  about  the  year  1835.  He  was  a  member  of  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper's 
church,  in  Brattle-street,  and  his  pew  was  located  opposite  the  old 
southern  door,  in  the  body  of  the  house,  which  he  selected  for  the  pre- 
vention of  disturbance,  when  abruptly  called  on  for  medical  aid. 

The  late  Governor  Eustis,  who  was,  in  1774,  a  student  of  medicine 
under  Warren,  relates  that,  in  returning  to  his  dwelling,  he  passed 
several  British  officers  in  Queen-street,  among  whom  was  Col.  Wol- 
cott,  who  subsequently  became  notorious  for  a  paltry  insult,  in  address- 
ing General  Washington  as  "Mr.  Wasliington."  in  a  letter  on  the 
subject  of  prisoners ;  and,  as  the  friends  of  Warren  were  then  con- 
stantly expecting  that  some  attempt  would  be  made  to  seize  him  by 
the  regulars,  Eustis  stated  the  circumstance,  and  advised  him  not  to 
leave  the  house.  Warren  replied,  "  I  have  a  visit  to  make  to  a  lady  in 
Cornhill,  this  evening,  and  I  will  go  at  once;  come  with  me."  He 
then  put  his  pistols  in  his  pocket,  and  they  went  out.  They  passed 
several  British  officers,  without  molestation  from  them.  It  was  ascer- 
tained, the  next  day,  that  they  were  watching  for  two  pieces  of  cannon 
which  had  been  removed  by  some  Bostonians,  of  which  a  relation  is 
given  in  the  outhne  of  John  Hancock.  Warren,  having  his  spirit 
fretted,  one  day,  by  some  of  the  taunts  frequently  uttered  by  British 
officers,  exclaimed,  "These  fellows  say  we  won't  fight.     By  heavens' 


JOSEPH    WARREN,    M.    D.  49 

I  hope  I  shall  die  up  to  my  knees  in  blood  !  "     This  was  spoken  but  a 
few  weeks  hpfore  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Gen.  Warren  married  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Richard 
Hooton,  of  Boston,  Sept.  6,  1764.  Their  children  Avere  Joseph,  who 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in  1786, —  died  single  in  1790 ;  Richard, 
who  died  at  tAventy-one  years  of  age ;  Elizabeth,  who  Avas  the  wife  of 
Gen.  Arnold  Welles;  and  Mary,  wife  of  Judge  Newcomb,  of  Greenfield, 
who  died  Feb.  7,  1826.  Their  son  Joseph  Warren  Newcomb,  coun- 
sellor at  Springfield,  has  two  children,  the  last  living  descendants.  The 
three  younger  children  of  Gen.  Warren  Avere  for  a  period  under  the 
care  of  Miss  Mercy  Scollay,  of  Boston,  a  lady  to  Avhom  he  Avas  betrothed 
for  a  second  Avife.  His  Avife  died  April  29, 1773,  aged  tAventy-six  years. 
This  impressive  tribute  to  the  virtues  of  his  lamented  partner  appeared 
in  the  Boston  Gazette  of  that  year : 

"  If  fadiDg  lilies,  when  they  droop  and  die, 
Robbed  of  each  charm  that  pleased  the  gazing  eye, 
AVith  sad  regret  the  grieving  mind  inspire, 
What,  then,  when  virtue's  brightest  lamps  expire? 
Ethereal  spirits  see  the  systems  right, 
But  mortal  minds  demand  a  clearer  sight. 
In  spite  of  reason's  philosophic  art, 
A  tear  must  fall  to  indicate  the  heart. 
Could  reason's  foi'ce  disarm  the  tyrant  foe. 
Or  calm  the  mind  that  feels  the  fatal  blow, 
No  clouded  thought  had  discomposed  the  mind 
Of  him  whom  Heaven  ordained  her  dearest  friend. 
Good  sense  and  modesty  Avith  virtue  crowned 
A  sober  mind,  when  fortune  smiled  or  frowned  ; 
So  keen  a  feeling  for  a  friend  distressed. 
She  could  not  bear  to  see  a  worm  oppressed. 
These  virtues  fallen  enhance  the  scene  of  woe, 
Swell  the  big  drops  that  scai'ce  confinement  know. 
And  force  them  down  in  copious  showers  to  flow. 
But  know,  thou  tyrant  Death,  thy  force  is  spent,  — 
Thine  arm  is  weakened,  and  thy  bow  unbent. 
Secured  from  insults  of  your  guilty  train 
Of  marshalled  slaves,  inflict  disease  and  pain. 
She  rides  triumphant  on  the  aerial  course. 
To  land  at  pleasure's  ineshausted  source  ; 
Celestial  Genii  line  the  heavenly  way. 
And  guard  her  passage  to  the  realms  of  day. ' ' 

Gen.  Warren,  in  the  year  1766,  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
the  Rev.  Edmund  Dana,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1759,  who 
5 


50  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

• 

became  the  Rector  of  Wroxeter,  Salop,  in  England,  Avliere  he  died 
in  1823,  and  was  a  brother  of  Judge  Francis  Dana.  This  letter 
passed  into  the  care  of  his  grandson,  Thomas  Oatlej,  Esq.,  of  Bishton 
Hall,  Salop,  and  has  recently  been  brought  to  this  country  by  Edmund 
Trowbridge  Hastings,  Esq.,  a  relative  of  the  Dana  family.  It  is  a 
precious  relic,  as  presenting  a  view  of  the  state  of  feeling  in  Kew 
England  in  relation  to  the  odious  Stamp  Act. 

''Boston,  New  England,  March  19,  1766. 

"  Dear  Sir  :  — I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  a  line  from  you  since 
you  left  this  country.  I  Avrote  to  you  soon  after  I  knew  of  your  arrival 
in  England,  and  I  have  not  at  any  time  been  negligent  in  inquiring 
concerning  you,  whenever  an  opportunity  presented.  I  have,  with 
great  satisfaction,  heard  of  that  agreeable  life  which  you  lead  amidst 
all  the  gayeties  and  diversions  of  that  jovial  city,  London:  but  I 
received  a  peculiar  pleasure  from  the  intelligence  which  I  have  lately 
had  of  your  happy  marriage  with  a  lady  of  noble  birth,  and  every 
accomplishment,  both  natural  and  acquired.  Accept  the  sincerest 
wishes  of  your  long  absent  (but  I  hope  not  forgotten)  friend,  that  you 
may  long  enjoy,  with  your  charming  consort,  that  unequalled  happi- 
ness which  must  arise  from  an  union  of  persons  so  amiable. ' 

' '  Perhaps  it  may  not  be  disagreeable  at  this  time  to  hear  something 
of  the  present  state  of  your  native  country.  Never  has  there  been  a 
time,  since  the  first  settlement  of  America,  in  which  the  people  had  so 
much  reason  to  be  alarmed,  as  the  present.  The  whole  continent  is 
inflamed  to  the  highest  degree.  I  believe  this  country  may  be 
esteemed  as  truly  loyal  in  their  principles  as  any  in  the  universe ;  but 
the  strange  project  of  levying  a  stamp  duty,  and  of  depriving  the  peo- 
ple of  the  privilege  of  trials  by  juries,  has  roused  their  jealousy  and 
resentment.  They  can  conceive  of  no  liberty  where  they  have  lost 
the  power  of  taxing  themselves,  and  where  all  controversies  between 
the  crown  and  the  people  are  to  be  determined  by  the  opinion  of  one 
dependent ;  and  they  think  that  slavery  is  not  only  the  greatest  mis- 
fortune, but  that  it  is  also  the  greatest  crime  (if  there  is  a  possibility 
of  escaping  it).  You  are  sensible  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  country 
have  ever  been  zealous  lovers  of  their  civil  and  religious  liberties.  For 
the  enjoyment  of  these,  they  fought  battles,  left  a  pleasant  and  pop- 
ulous country,  and  exposed  themselves  to  all  the  dangers  and  hardships 
in  this  new  world;  and  their  laudable  attachment  to  freedom  has  hith- 


JOSEPH    WARREN,    M.    D.  51 

erto  been  transmitted  to  their  posterity.  INIoreovcr,  in  all  new  coun- 
tries (and  especially  in  this,  which  was  settled  by  private  adventurers), 
there  is  a  more  equal  division  of  property  amongst  the  people ;  in  con- 
secjuence  of  which,  their  influence  and  authority  must  be  nearly  equal, 
and  every  man  will  think  himself  deeply  interested  in  the  support  of 
public  liberty.  Freedom  and  equality  is  the  state  of  nature;  but 
slavery  is  the  most  unnatural  and  violent  state  that  can  be  conceived 
of,  and  its  approach  must  be  gradual  and  imperceptible.  In  many  old 
countries,  where,  in  a  long  course  of  years,  some  particular  fimilies 
have  been  able  to  acquire  a  very  large  share  of  property,  from  which 
must  arise  a  kind  of  aristocracy,  —  that  is,  the  power  and  authority 
of  some  persons  or  families  is  exercised  in  proportion  to  the  decrease 
of  the  independence  and  property  of  the  people  in  general ;  —  had 
America  been  prepared  in  this  manner  for  the  Stamp  Act,  it  might 
perhaps  have  met  with  a  more  favorable  reception ;  but  it  is  absurd  to 
attempt  to  impose  so  cruel  a  yoke  on  a  people  who  are  so  near  to  the 
state  of  original  equality,  and  who  look  upon  their  liberties  not  merely 
as  arbitrary  grants,  but  as  their  unalienable,  eternal  rights,  purchased 
by  the  blood  and  treasure  of  their  ancestors,  —  which  liberties,  though 
granted  and  received  as  acts  of  favor,  could  not,  without  manifest 
injustice,  have  been  refused,  and  cannot  now,  or  at  any  time  hereafter, 
be  revoked.  Certainly,  if  the  connection  was  rightly  understood. 
Great  Britain  would  be  convinced  that,  without  laying  arbitrary  taxes 
upon  her  colonies,  she  may  and  does  reap  such  advantages  as  ought  to 
satisfy  her.  Indeed,  it  amazes  the  more  judicious  people  on  this  side 
the  water,  that  the  late  minister  was  so  unacquainted  with  the  state  of 
America,  and  the  manners  and  circumstances  of  the  people ;  or,  if  he 
was  acquainted,  it  still  surprises  them  to  find  a  man,  in  his  high  station, 
so  ignorant  of  nature,  and  of  the  operations  of  the  human  mind,  as 
madly  to  provoke  the  resentment  of  millions  of  men  who  would  esteem 
death,  with  all  its  tortures,  preferable  to  slavery.  Most  certainly,  in 
whatever  light  the  Stamp  Act  is  viewed,  an  uncommon  want  of  pohcy  is 
discoverable.  If  the  real  and  only  motive  of  the  minister  was  to  raise 
money  from  the  colonies,  that  method  should  undoubtedly  have  been 
adopted  which  was  least  grievous  to  the  people.  Instead  of  this,  the 
most  unpopular  that  could  be  imagined  is  chosen.  If  there  was  any 
jealousy  of  the  colonies,  and  the  minister  designed  by  this  act  more  effect- 
ually to  secure  their  dependence  on  Great  Britain,  the  jealousy  was  first 
groundless.  But  if  it  had  been  founded  on  good  reasons,  could  any- 
thing have  been  worse  calculated  to  answer  this  purpose  ?     Could  not 


62  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

the  minister  liave  found  out,  either  from  history  or  from  his  own 
observation,  that  the  strength  of  any  country  depended  on  its  being 
united  within  itself?  Has  he  not,  by  this  act,  brought  about  what  the 
most  zealovts  colonist  never  could  have  expected  ?  The  colonies,  until 
now,  were  ever  at  variance,  and  foolishly  jealous  of  each  other.  They 
are  now,  by  the  refined  policy  of  Mr.  George  Grenville,  united  for 
their  common  defence  against  what  they  believe  to  be  oppression  ;  nor 
will  they  soon  forget  the  weight  which  this  close  union  gives  them. 
The  impossibihty  of  accounting  in  any  other  way  for  the  imposition  of 
the  stamp  duty  has  induced  some  to  imagine  that  the  minister  designed 
by  this  act  to  force  the  colonies  into  a  rebellion,  and  fi'om  thence  to 
take  occasion  to  treat  them  with  severity,  and,  by  military  power, 
reduce  them  to  servitude.  But  this  supposes  such  a  monstrous  degree 
of  wickedness,  that  charity  forbids  us  to  conclude  him  guilty  of  so  black 
a  villany.  But,  admitting  this  to  have  been  his  aim  (as  it  is  known 
that  tyrannical  ministers  have  at  some  time  embraced  even  this  helhsh 
measure  to  accomplish  their  cursed  designs),  should  he  not  have  con- 
sidei'ed  that  every  power  in  Europe  looks  with  envy  on  the  colonies 
which  Great  Britain  enjoys  in  America?  Could  he  suppose  that  the 
povrerful  and  politic  France  would  be  restrained  by  treaties,  when  so 
fair  an  opportunity  ofiered  for  the  recovery  of  their  ancient  possessions  1 
At  least,  was  he  so  ignorant  of  nature  as  not  to  know  that  when  the 
rage  of  the  people  is  raised  by  oppression  to  such  a,  height  as  to  break 
out  in  rebellion,  any  new  alliance  would  be  preferred  to  the  miseries 
which  a  concjuered  country  must  necessarily  expect  to  suffer  7  And 
would  no  power  in  Europe  take  advantage  of  such  an  occasion  7  And, 
above  all,  did  he  not  know  that  his  royal,  benevolent  master,  when  he 
discovered  his  views,  would  detest  and  punish  him  7  But  whatever 
was  proposed  by  the  Stamp  Act,  of  this  I  am  certain,  that  the  regard 
which  the  colonies  still  bear  to  His  Majesty  arises  more  from  an 
exalted  idea  of  His  jNIajesty's  integrity  and  goodness  of  heart  than 
from  any  prudent  conduct  of  his  late  minister. 

"I  have  written,  sir,  much  more  than  I  intended  when  I  first  sat 
down,  but  I  hope  you  will  jxirdon  my  prolixity  upon  so  important  a 
subject. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  sincere  friend  and  humble  servant,  - 

"Joseph  Warren. 
"  To  Mr.  Edmund  Dana. 

"  '•  P.  S.    I  hope  for  the  favor  of  a  hne  from  you.  the  fii'st  opportu- 
nity." 


JOSEPH   WARREN,    M.    D.  53 

Gen.  Warren  published  tliree  highly  spirited  articles,  in  the  Boston 
Gazette,  originated  by  the  exercise  of  the  arbitrary  powers  of  Gov. 
Bernard,  in  negativing  councillore  elected  by  the  representatives;  and 
further,  for  severe  censures  on  leading  members  of  the  house,  unjustly 
expressed  in  letters  addressed  to  Lord  Shelbume,  the  king's  minister 
of  state,  who,  in  reply,  unequivocally  sanctioned  his  measures,  and  also 
expressed  displeasure  that  the  house  should  object  to  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  council,  taking  a  seat  in  that 
body.  In  the  first  of  these  articles,  "Warren's  quotation  from  Roches- 
ter excited  the  ire  of  Bernard,  who  sent  a  message  to  the  house,  and 
another  to  the  council,  declaring  the  article  Hbellous,  and  calling  it  to 
their  serious  consideration.  The  council  pronounced  it  an  insolent  and 
hcentious  attack,  and  that  the  author  deserved  punishment.  The  house 
expressed  a  different  opinion,  and  that  the  liberty  of  the  press  is  a 
great  bulwark  of  the  liberty  of  the  people.  There  Avere  fifty-six  in 
the  affirmative,  to  eighteen  in  the  negative.  It  was  introduced  to  the 
grand  juiy,  who  would  not  find  a  bill  of  indictment.  As  these  are^all 
of  the  political  newspaper  productions  of  Warren  that  we  have  discov- 
ered, and  as  they  are  strongly  characteristic  of  his  energy  of  charac- 
ter, they  are  here  presented  entire.  Bradford,  in  his  History  of  INIas- 
sachusetts,  not  appearing  to  be  aware  that  Warren  was  the  author, 
remarks  of  the  first  communication,  that  it  was  "a  very  scurrilous 
piece."  Pemberton,  Dorr,  and  Rees,  in  the  Cyclopedia,  ascribe  them 
to  him.  Hutchinson  alludes  to  it  as  "  a  most  abusive  piece  against  the 
governor." 

From  Boston  Gazette,  Feb.  29,  1768. 

"Messrs.  Edes  &  Gill, 

"  Please  insert  the  following : 

"May  it  please  your .     We  have  for  a  long  time  known  your 

enmity  to  this  province.  We  have  had  full  proof  of  your  cruelty  to  a 
loyal  people.  No  age  has  perhaps  furnished  a  more  glaring  instance 
of  obstinate  perseverance  in  the  path  of  malice  than  is  now  exhibited 

in  your .     Could  you  have  reaped  any  advantage  from  injuring 

this  people,  there  would  have  been  some  excuse  for  the  manifold  abuses 
with  which  you  have  loaded  them.  But  when  a  diabohcal  tliirst  for 
mischief  is  the  alone  motive  of  your  conduct,  you  must  not  wonder  if 
you  are  treated  with  open  dishke ;  for  it  is  impossible,  how  much 
soever  we  endeavor  it,  to  feel  any  esteem  for  a  man  like  you.  Bad 
as  the  world  may  be,  there  is  yet  in  every  breast  something  which 


64  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

points  out  the  good  man  as  an  object  worthy  of  respect,  and  marks 
the  guileful,  treacherous  man-hater,  for  ^sgust  and  infamy. 

"  Xothiug  has  ever  been  more  intolerable  than  your  insolence  on  a 
late  occasion,  ■^>hen  you  had,  by  your  Jesuitical  insinuations,  induced 
a  ATorthy  minister  of  state  to  form.a  most  unfavorable  opinion  of  the 
pronnce  in  general,  and  some  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  in 
particular.  You  had  the  efirontery  to  produce  a  letter  from  his  lord- 
ship, as  a  proof  of  your  success  in  calumniating  us.  Surely  you 
must  suppose  vre  have  lost  all  feehug.  or  you  would  not  dare  thus 
tauntingly  to  display  the  trophies  of  your  slanders,  and  upbraidingly 
to  make  us  sensible  of  the  inexpressible  misfortunes  -which  you  have 
brought  upon  us.  But  I  refrain,  lest  a  full  representation  of  the  hard- 
ships suffered  by  this  too  long  insulted  people  should  lead  them  to  an 
umvarrantable  revenge.  We  never  can  treat  good  and  patriotic  rulers 
with  too  great  reverence.  But  it  is  certain  that  men  totally  aban- 
doned to  wickedness  can  never  merit  our  regard,  be  their  stations  ever 
sojiigh. 

*If  such  men  are  by  God  appointed, 
The  devil  may  be  the  Lord's  anointed.' 

''A  True  Patriot." 


From  Boston  Gazette,  March  7,  1768. 

"Messrs.  Edes  &  Gill, 

"  Please  to  insert  the  following  : 

"  My  first  performance  has,  by  a  strange  kind  of  compliment,  been 
by  some  apphed  to  his  excellency  Gov.  Bernard.  It  is  not  for  me  to 
account  for  the  construction  put  upon  it.  Every  man  has  a  right  to 
make  his  own  remarks,  and  if  he  satisfies  himself,  he  will  not  displease 
me.  I  will,  however,  inform  the  public  that  I  have  the  most  sacred 
regard  to  the  characters  of  all  good  men,  and  would  sooner  cut  my 
hand  from  my  body  than  strike  at  the  reputation  of  an  honest  member 
of  the  community.  But  there  are  circumstances,  in  which  not  justice 
alone,  but  humanity  itself,  obliges  us  to  hold  up  the  villain  to  view, 
and  expose  liis  guilt,  to  prevent  his  destroying  the  innocent.  "\Mioever 
he  is  whose  conscience  tells  him  he  is  not  the  monster  I  have  por- 
traited,  may  rest  assui'ed  I  did  not  aim  at  him ;  but  the  person  who 
knows  the  black  picture  exhibited  to  be  his  own,  is  welcome  to  take  it 
to  himself.  The  imputation  of  disaffection  to  the  king  and  the  govern- 
ment, brought  against  me  by  His  j\Iajesty's  Council,  I  shall  answer 


JOSEPH    WARREN,    M.    D.  55 

only  by  a  quotation  from  the  paper  wliicli  they  have  been  pleased  to 
censure,  where  I  say,  '  We  can  never  treat  good  and  patriotic  rulers 
with  too  great  reverence.'  In  which  sentence  I  hope  the  honorable 
board  will  not  say  I  have  omitted  to  declare  my  sentiments  of  the  duty 
which  every  good  subject  owes  to  his  present  majesty,  and  all  worthy 
subordinate  magistrates ;  and  I  flatter  myself  that  the  sentiments  of 
the  board  coincide  with  mine.  If  they  do  not,  I  must  dissent  from 
them.  Their  charge  of  profaneness,  I  humbly  apprehend,  was  occa- 
sioned by  their  forcing  a  sense  upon  the  two  last  lines  totally  difierent 
from  what  I  intended  they  should  convey.  My  design  was  to  compare 
wicked  men,  and  especially  wicked  magistrates,  to  those  enemies  to 
mankind,  the  devils ;  and  to  intimate  that  the  devils  themselves  might 
boast  of  divine  authority  to  seduce  and  ruin  mankind,  with  as  much 
reason  and  justice  as  wicked  rulers  can  pretend  to  derive  from  God,  or 
from  his  word,  a  right  to  oppress,  harass,  and  enslave  their  fellow- 
creatures.  The  beneficent  Lord  of  the  universe  delights  in  viewing 
the  happiness  of  all  men.  And  so  far  as  civil  government  is  of  divine 
institution,  it  was  calculated  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  whole  com- 
munity ;  and  whenever  it  ceases  to  be  of  general  advantage,  it  ceases 
to  be  of  divine  appointment,  and  the  magistrates  in  such  a  community 
have  no  claim  to  that  honor  which  the  Divine  Legislator  has  assigned 
to  magistrates  of  his  election.  I  hope  the  honorable  board  will  not 
condemn  a  man  for  expressing  his  contempt  for  the  odious  doctrines 
of  divine  hereditary  right  in  princes,  and  of  passive  obedience,  which 
he  thinks  dishonoraiy  to  Almighty  God,  the  common  and  impartial 
Father  of  the  species,  and  ruinous  both  to  kings  and  subjects  ;  and 
which,  if  adhered  to,  would  dethrone  his  present  majesty,  and  destroy 
the  British  nation.  The  honorable  board  is  humbly  requested  to 
examine  whether  the  above  is  not  the  most  natural  and  obvious  sense 
of  the  quoted  lines.  Certainly,  when  I  read  them,  I  thought  it  the 
only  sense ;  and  I  shall  think  myself  very  unhappy  in  my  readers, 
should  they  generally  put  that  construction  upon  them  which  the 
honorable  board  have  been  pleased  to  adopt. 

"I  shall,  at  all  times,  write  my  sentiments  with  freedom,  and  with 
decency  too,  —  the  rules  of  which  I  am  not  altogether  unacquainted 
with.  While  the  press  is  open,  I  shall  publish  \9hatever  I  think  con- 
ducive to  general  emolument ;  when  it  is  suppressed,  I  shall  look  upon 
my  country  as  lost,  and,  with  a  steady  fortitude,  expect  to  feel  the 
general  shock.  A  True   Patriot." 


56  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

From  Boston  Gazelle,  March  14,  17G8. 

"  Messrs.  Edes  &  Gill. 

"  Please  insert  the  following : 

"  With  pleasure  I  hear  the  general  voice  of  this  people  in  favor  of 
freedom  ;  and  it  gives  me  solid  satisfaction  to  find  all  orders  of  unplaced, 
independent  men,  firmly  determined,  as  far  as  in  them  lies,  to  support 
their  own  rights  and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  The  honorable  House 
of  Representatives  have  showed  themselves  resolute  in  the  cause  of 
justice.  The  Grand  Jurors  have  convinced  us  that  no  influence  is 
able  to  overcome  their  attachment  to  their  country,  and  our  free  consti- 
tution. They  deserve  honor.  But  this  is  one  of  those  cases  in  which, 
by  doing  as  they  have  done,  they  really  merit  praise ;  yet  the  path 
was  so  plain,  that  to  have  done  otherwise  would  have  rendered  them 
indeed ! 

"While  this  people  know  their  true  interest,  they  will  be  able  to 
distinguish  their  friends  from  their  enemies ;  and,  with  uniform  cour- 
age, will  defend  from  tyrannic  violence  all  those  who  generously  offer 
themselves  volunteers  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  humanity.  But  if 
ever  a  mistaken  complaisance  leads  them  to  sacrifice  their  privileges,  or 
the  Avell-meaning  assertors  of  them,  they  will  deserve  bondage,  and 
soon  will  find  themselves  in  chains. 

"Every  society  of  men  have  a  clear  right  to  refute  any  unjust  asper- 
sions upon  their  characters,  especially  when  they  feel  the  ill  effects  of 
such  aspersions ;  and,  though  they  may  not  pursue  the  slanderer  from 
motives  of  revenge,  yet  are  obliged  to  detect  him,  that  so  he  may  be 
prevented  from  injuring  them  again.  This  province  has  been  most 
barbarously  traduced,  and  now  groans  under  the  weight  of  those  mis- 
fortunes which  have  been  thereljy  brought  upon  it.  We  have  detected 
some  of  the  authors :  we  will  zealously  endeavor  to  deprive  them  of 
the  power  of  injuring  us  hereafter.  We  will  strip  the  serpents  of  their 
stings,  and  consign  to  disgrace  all  those  guileful  betrayers  of  their 
country.  There  is  but  one  way  for  men  to  avoid  being  set  up  as 
objects  of  general  hate,  which  is  —  NOT  TO  deserve  it. 

"A  True   Patriot." 

In  the  Diary  of  John  Adams,  it  is  stated  that  he  was  frequently 
solicited  to  attend  the  town-meetings,  in  1768,  after  the  British  troops 
had  arrived  in  Boston,  and  harangue  there,  which  was  constantly 
refused  ;  and  Dr.  AYarren  the  most  frequently  urged  him  to  this,  and 


JOSEPH  WARREN,    M.   D.  57 

his  reply  to  him  always  was,  "  That  way  madness  lies."  The  symp- 
toms of  our  great  friend  Otis,  at  that  time,  suggested  to  Warren  a 
suiBcient  comment  on  those  words,  at  which  he  dways  smiled,  and 
said,  "It  was  true." 

Gen.  Warren  once  said  of  John  Adams,  that  he  thought  he  was 
rather  a  cautious  man,  but  he  could  not  say  he  was  ever  a  trimmer. 
When  he  spoke  at  all,  he  always  spoke  his  sentiments. 

Hutchinson  remarks,  in  his  history,  under  date  of  1772,  that  "Mr. 
Adams  had  been  pressed  to  pronounce  the  oration  upon  the  Boston 
Massacre,  but  declined  it;  and  Dr.  Warren,  whose  popularity  was 
increasing,  undertook  it.  Though  he  gained  no  great  applause  for  his 
oratorical  abilities,  yet  the  fervor,  which  is  the  most  essential  part  of 
such  compositions,  could  not  fail  of  its  eiFect  upon  the  minds  of  the 
great  concourse  of  people  present."  It  was  delivered  in  the  Old 
South  Church.  We  will  select  a  passage  from  this  performance,  Avith 
one  remark  of  wonder  and  admiration,  —  that  he  could  have  the  courage 
to  express  such  opinions  in  the  presence  of  a  British  governor,  amid 
the  glare  of  royal  bayonets.  Here  is  reasoning  of  greater  value  than 
splendid  declamation : 

"I  would  ask  whether  the  members  of  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons are  the  democracy  of  this  province?  If  they  are,  they  are 
either  the  people  of  this  province,  or  are  elected  by  the  people  of  this 
province  to  represent  them,  and  have  therefore  a  constitutional  right 
to  originate  a  bill  for  taxing  them.  It  is  most  certain  they  are  neither, 
and  therefore  nothing  done  by  them  can  be  said  to  be  done  by  the 
democratic  branch  of  our  constitution.  I  would  next  ask,  whether  the 
lords,  who  compose  the  aristocratic  branch  of  the  legislature,  are  peers 
of  America  ?  I  never  heard  it  was,  even  in  these  extraordinary  times, 
so  much  as  pretended  ;  and  if  they  are  not,  certainly  no  act  of  theirs 
can  be  said  to  be  the  act  of  the  aristocratic  branch  of  our  constitution. 
The  power  of  the  monarchic  branch,  we  with  pleasure  acknowledge, 
resides  in  the  king,  who  may  act  either  in  person  or  by  liis  represent- 
ative ;  and  I  freely  confess  that  I  can  see  no  reason  why  a  proclama- 
tion for  raising  money  in  America,  issued  by  the  king's  sole  authority, 
would  not  be  equally  consistent  with  our  own  constitution,  and  there- 
fore equally  binding  upon  us,  with  the  late  acts  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment for  taxing  us,  —  for  it  is  plain,  that,  if  there  is  any  validity  in 
those  acts,  it  must  arise  altogether  from  the  monarchical  branch  of  the 
legislature.     And  I  further  think  that  it  would  be  at  least  as  equita- 


58  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

ble  ;  foi'  I  do  not  conceive  it  to  be  of  the  least  importance  to  us  by 
■wliom  our  property  is  taken  a^vay,  so  long  as  it  is  taken  -without  our 
consent.  And  I  am  very  much  at  a  loss  to  know  by  what  figure  of 
rhetoric  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  can  be  called  free  subjects, 
■when  they  are  obliged  to  obey  imphcitly  such  la-ws  as  are  made  for 
them  by  men  three  thousand  miles  off.  -nhom  they  know  not,  and  -whom 
they  never  have  empowered  to  act  for  them ;  or  how  they  can  be  said 
to  have  property,  when  a  l^ody  of  men,  over  whom  they  have  not  the 
least  control,  and  who  are  not  in  any  way  accountable  to  them,  shall 
obhge  them  to  deliver  up  any  part  or  the  whole  of  their  substance,  with- 
out even  asking  their  consent :  and  yet,  whoever  pretends  that  the  late 
acts  of  the  British  Parliament  for  taxing  America  ought  to  be  deemed 
binding  upon  us,  must  admit  at  once  that  we  are  absolute  slaves, 
and  have  no  property  of  our  own,  —  or  else  that  we  may  be  freemen, 
and  at  the  same  time  under  a  necessity  of  obeying  the  arbitrary 
commands  of  those  over  whom  we  have  no  control  or  influence ;  and 
that  we  may  have  property  of  our  own  which  is  entirely  at  the  disposal 
of  another.  Such  gross  absurdities,  I  believe,  will  not  be  relished  in 
this  enlightened  age ;  and  it  can  be  no  matter  of  wonder  that  the  peo- 
ple quickly  perceived  and  seriously  complained  of  the  inroads  which 
these  acts  must  unavoidably  make  upon  their  liberty,  and  of  the  hazard 
to  which  their  whole  property  is  by  them  exposed,  —  for,  if  they  may 
be  taxed  without  their  consent,  even  in  the  smallest  trifle,  they  may 
also,  without  their  consent,  be  deprived  of  anything  they  possess, 
although  never  so  valuable  —  never  so  dear.  Certainly  it  never 
entered  the  hearts  of  our  ancestors,  that,  after  so  many  dangers  in 
this  then  desolate  wilderness,  their  hard-earned  property  should  be  at 
the  disposal  of  the  British  Parliament :  and  as  it  was  soon  found  that 
this  taxation  could  not  be  supported  by  reason  and  argument,  it  seemed 
necessary  that  one  act  of  oppression  should  be  enforced  by  another  ; 
and.  therefore,  contrary  to  our  just  rights  as  possessing  —  or,  at  least, 
having  a  just  title  to  possess  —  all  the  liberties  and  immunities  of 
British  subjects,  a  standing  army  was  established  among  us  in  a  time 
of  peace,  and  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  that  which  it  was 
one  principal  design  of  the  founders  of  the  constitution  to  prevent, 
when  they  declared  a  standing  army,  in  a  time  of  peace,  to  be  against 
law.  —  namely,  for  the  enforcement  of  obedience  to  acts  which,  upon 
fair  examination,  appeared  to  be  unjust  and  unconstitutional." 

On  the  evening  after  the  dehvery  of  this  effective  oration,  a  lantern 


JOSEPH  WAKREN,   M.    D.  59 

of  transparent  paintings  was  exhibited  on  the  balcony  c^t  Mrs.  Clap- 
ham's,  in  King-street,  well  drawn  by  an  ingenious  young  artist,  repre- 
senting in  front  the  melancholy  scene  which  occurred  near  that  spot, 
over  which  was  inscribed,  "  The  Fatal  Effects  of  a  Standing  Army  in  a 
Free  City."  At  the  east  end  was  a  rej)resentation  of  a  monument, 
inscribed  to  the  memory  of  those  Avho  were  killed,  with  their  names, 
etc. ;  at  the  west  end  was  the  figure  of  America,  sitting  in  a  mourning 
posture,  and  looking  down  on  the  spectators,  with  this  label,  "Behold 
my  sons!"  At  a  quarter  after  nine,  the  painting  was  taken  in,  and 
the  bells  tolled  from  that  time  until  ten  o'clock. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1774,  Gen.  Warren  addressed  a  highly 
patriotic  letter  to  Josiah  Quincy,  from  which  we  select  this  remarkable 
passage : 

"It  is  the  united  voice  of  America  to  preserve  their  freedom,  or 
lose  their  lives  in  defence  of  it.  Their  resolutions  are  not  the  effects 
of  inconsiderate  rashness,  but  the  sound  result  of  sober  inquiry  and 
deliberation.  I  am  convinced  that  the  true  spirit  of  liberty  was  never 
so  universally  diffused  through  all  ranks  and  orders  of  people,  in  any 
country  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  as  it  now  is  through  all  North 
America." 

When  Warren  pronounced  his  second  oration  on  the  Massacre, 
March  5,  1775,  at  the  Old  South  Church,  the  Boston  papers  of  the 
day  merely  stated  that  it  was  an  elegant  and  spirited  performance. 
The  pulpit  stairs  and  the  pulpit  itself  were  occupied  by  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  garrison,  who  were  doubtless  stationed  there  to  overawe 
the  orator,  and  perhaps  prevent  him  by  force  from  proceeding.  War- 
ren, to  avoid  interruption  and  confusion,  entered  from  the  rear  by  the 
pulpit  window ;  and,  unmoved  by  the  hostile  mihtary  array  that  sur- 
rounded him  and  pressed  upon  his  person,  delivered  the  bold  and 
thrilling  oration,  which  was  published,  in  which  he  said:  "If  pacific 
measures  are  ineffectual,  and  it  appears  that  the  only  way  to  safety  is 
through  fields  of  blood,  I  know  you  will  not  turn  your  faces  from  your 
foes,  but  will,  undauntedly,  press  forward,  until  tyranny  is  trodden 
under  foot,  and  you  have  fixed  your  adored  goddess  Liberty  fiist  by 
Brunswick's  side,  on  the  American  throne."  The  editor  of  this  work 
has  seen  the  original  manuscript,  which  is  in  the  care  of  Dr.  John  C. 
Warren,  his  nephew,  and  is  written  on  white  English  laid  folio  post,  in 
a  handsome  round  hand,  with  but  few  interlineations,  and  is  in  a  black 
xiper  cover.     We  know  no  rchc,  of  ancient  or  modern  date,  tending  to 


60  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON  ORATORS. 

inspire  more  thrilling  sensations  of  veneration,  than  tliis  fervent  defence 
of  freedom.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Homer,  late  of  Newton,  who  was  present 
at  its  delivery,  states  there  was  at  least  one  silent,  but  not  wholly 
insignificant,  demonstration  of  feeling  from  the  military.  While  the 
oration  was  in  progress,  a  captain  of  the  Royal  Welsh  Fusileers,  who 
■was  seated  on  the  pulpit  stairs,  held  up  one  of  his  hands  in  view  of 
Warren,  with  several  pistol  bullets  on  the  open  palm,  and,  with  a  vehe- 
ment and  fierce  exclamation,  endeavored  to  alarm  the  audience  with 
<the  cry  of  fire.  Warren  observed  the  action,  and,  without  discontin- 
uing his  discourse,  dropped  a  white  handkerchief  upon  the  officer's 
hand ;  and  William  Cooper,  the  town-clerk,  with  a  voice  of  thunder, 
appeased  the  tumult,  which,  being  silenced,  the  exercises  were  con- 
cluded without  much  further  disturbance. 

We  will  now  revert  to  the  abusive  statement  of  the  royalists,  regard- 
ing this  celebration,  published  in  Rivington's  New  York  Gazetteer, 
March  16, 1775  :  "On  Monday,  the  5th  instant,  the  Old  South  meet- 
ing-house being  crowded  with  mobility  and  fame,  the  selectmen,  with 
Adams,  Church  and  Hancock,  Cooper  and  others,  assembled  in  the 
pulpit,  which  was  covered  with  black ;  and  we  all  sat  gaping  at  one 
another,  above  an  hour,  expecting !  At  last,  a  single  horse  chair 
stopped  at  the  apothecary's,  opposite  the  meeting,  from  which  descended 
the  orator  (Warren)  of  the  day  ;  and,  entering  the  shop,  was  followed 
by  a  servant  with  a  bundle,  in  which  were  the  Ciceronian  toga,  etc. 

' '  Having  robed  himself,  he  proceeded  across  the  street  to  the  meeting, 
and,  being  received  into  the  pulpit,  he  was  announced  by  one  of  his  fra- 
ternity to  be  the  person  appointed  to  declaim  on  the  occasion.  He  then 
put  lumself  into  a  Demosthenian  posture,  with  a  white  handkerchief  in 
his  right  hand,  and  his  left  in  his  breeches, —  began  and  ended  without 
action.  He  was  applauded  by  the  mob,  but  groaned  at  by  people  of 
understanding.  One  of  the  pulpiteers  (Adams)  then  got  up  and  pro- 
posed the  nomination  of  another  to  speak  next  year  on  the  bloody 
massacre, — the  first  time  that  expression  was  made  to  the  audience, — 
when  some  officers  cried,  0  fie,  fie !  The  gallerians,  apprehending 
fire,  bounded  out  of  the  windows,  and  swarmed  down  the  gutters,  like 
rats,  into  the  street.  The  43d  regiment,  returning  accidentally  from 
exercise,  with  drums  beating,  threw  the  whole  body  into  the  greatest 
consternation.  There  were  neither  pageantry,  exhibitions,  processions, 
or  bells  tolling,  as  usual,  but  the  night  was  remarked  for  being  the 
quietest  these  many  months  past." 


JOSEPH  WARllEN,   M.    D.  61 

We  have  seen  an  original  letter  of  Gt)n.  Warren,  addressed  to  Dr. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  London,  accompanied  with  a  pamphlet,  probably 
his  oration  delivered  on  the  5th  of  March,  1775,  -which  he  very  mod- 
estly wishes  was  more  deserving  of  his  notice.  We  will  quote  the 
whole  letter. 

''Boston,  April  Z,  1775. 

"  Sir,  — Although  I  have  not  the  pleasure  either  of  a  personal  or 
epistolary  acquaintance  with  you,  I  have'  taken  the  liberty  of  sending 
you,  by  Mr.  Dana,  a  pamphlet  which  I  wish  was  more  deserving  of 
your  notice.  The  ability  and  firmness  with  which  you  have  defended 
the  rights  of  mankind,  and  the  liberties  of  this  country  in  particular, 
have  rendered  you  dear  to  all  America.  May  you  soon  see  your 
enemies  deprived  of  the  power  of  injuring  you,  and  your  friends  in  a 
situation  to  discover  the  grateful  sense  they  have  of  your  exertions  in 
the  cause  of  freedom. 

"  I  am,  sir,  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect, 

' '  Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  Doctor' Franklix.  Joseph  Warren." 

On  the  day  after  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  when  the  British  troops 
reached  West  Cambridge,  on  their  return  from  Concord,  Warren  was 
at  this  place,  in  attendance  on  the  Committee  of  Safety.  When  the 
British  regulars  were  near,  he  went  out,  in  company  with  Gen.  Heath, 
to  repel  them ;  and,  on  descending  the  elevated  ground  of  jNIenotomy, 
in  West  Cambridge,  toward  the  plain,  the  firing  was  brisk,  and  at  this 
instant  a  musket-ball  came  so  near  the  head  of  Warren  as  to  strike  the 
pin  from  the  hair  of  his  forelock,  and  took  away  one  of  the  long,  close, 
horizontal  curls,  which,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  times,  he  wore 
above  the  ears. 

When  Gov.  Gage  issued  an  extraordinary  proclamation,  on  June 
12,  1775,  denouncing  "the  present  unnatural  rebellion,"  remarking, 
"Li  this  exigency  of  complicated  calamities,  I  avail  myself  of  the  last 
effort  within  the  bounds  of  my  duty  to  spare  the  effusion  of  blood,  to 
offer, — and  I  do  hereby  offer  in  His  Majesty's  name, — offer  and  promise 
His  Majesty's  most  gracious  pardon  to  all  persons  who  shall  forthwith 
lay  down  their  arms,  and  return  to  the  duties  of  peaceable  subjects ; 
excepting  only  from  the  benefit  of  such  pardon  Samuel  Adams  and 
John  Hancock,  whose  offences  are  of  too  flagitious  a  nature  to  admit 
of  any  other  consideration  than  that  of  condign  punishment;  "  — the 
6 


62  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Provincial  Congress  appointed  a  committee,  on  the  next  day,  of  -wluch 
Joseph  Warren, — a  delegate  from  Boston,  in  1774,  elected  its  presi- 
dent. May  31, 1775, — ^yas  the  chairman,  to  report  on  the  subject,  "who 
prepared  also  a  dignified  proclamation,  adopted  by  Congress  on  the  day 
before  its  president  "was  killed  at  Bunker  Hill,  recounting  a  statement 
of  the  oppressions  inflicted  on  the  people,  and  the  treachery  of  Gov. 
Gage ;  extending  "  a  full  and  free  pardon  to  all  persons  "who  have  fled  to 
the  to"wn  of  Boston  for  refuge,  and  to  all  other  public  offenders  against 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  this  country,  of  "what  kind  or  denomination 
soever,  —  excepting  only  from  the  benefit  of  such  pardon,  Thomas 
Gage,  Samuel  Graves ;  those  councillors  "who  "were  appointed  by 
mandamus,  and  have  not  signified  their  resignation,  namely,  Jonathan 
Se"wall,  Charles  Paxton.  Benjamin  Hallo  well ;  and  all  the  natives  of 
America,  not  belonging  to  the  navy  or  army,  "who  "went  out  "\Auth  the 
regular  troops  on  the  19th  of  April  last,  and  "were  countenancing,  aid- 
ing, and  assisting  them  in  the  robberies  and  murders  then  committed, 
•whose  offences  are  of  too  flagitious  a  nature  to  admit  of  any  other  con- 
sideration than  that  of  condign  punishment :  provided  that  they  take 
the  benefit  hereof  by  a  surrender  of  themselves,"  and  subscribe  a 
declaration  of  their  readiness  to  support  and  abide  by  the  decisions  of 
Congress  and  of  the  State  Legislature,  "within  thirty  days  from  date.  It 
is  probable  that  this  "was  the  last  public  act  of  Joseph  "Warren  in  the 
Provincial  Congress. 

The  follo"wing  noble  passage  from  a  letter  of  Dr.  Warren  to  Arthur 
Lee,  dated  May,  1775,  expresses  a  sentiment  that  should  be  inscribed 
on  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  or  on  the  base  of  a  statue^  of  his  per- 
son, in  old  Faneuil  Hall : 

"  God  forbid  that  the  nation  should  be  so  infiituatcd  as  to  do  any- 
thing further  to  irritate  the  colonies !  If  they  should,  the  colonies 
•will  sooner  thro"w  themselves  into  the  arms  of  any  other  po"«^er  on 
earth,  than  ever  consent  to  an  accommodation  "with  Great  Britain. 
That  patience,  "which  I  freqviently  told  you  "would  be  at  last  exhausted, 
is  no  longer  to  be  expected  from  us.  Danger  and  "war  are  become 
pleasing ;  and  injured  virtue  is  no"w  armed  to  avenge  herself" 

"I  verily  believe,"  said  Warren  to  Reed,  in  a  letter  of  May  15, 
1775,  "  that  the  night  preceding  the  barbarous  outrages  committed  by 
the  soldiery  at  Lexington,  Concord,  etc.,  there  "were  not  fifty  people  in 
the  "whole  colony  that  ever  expected  any  blood  "would  be  shed  in  the 
contest  between  us  and  Great  Britain." 


JOSEPH   WARREN,    M.    D.  63 

This  was  one  of  Warren's  last  letters  pre\ious  to  tlie  Eattle  of  Bun- 
ker Hill.  We  have  the  evidence  of  Dr.  John  Jeffries,  -who  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  British  service,  under  Gen.  Howe,  at  Boston,  for  stating 
that  five  days  previous  to  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  the  noble  Warren 
had,  with  his  accustomed  fearlessness,  ventured  in  a  small  canoe  to 
Boston,  that  he  might  personally  gather  information  of  the  designs  of 
the  British,  and  urged  the  surgeon  to  return  and  espouse  the  cause  of 
liberty. 

'  Gen.  Warren,  on  the  ICtli  of  June,  had  a  conversation  with 
Elbridge  Gerry,  at  Cambridge,  with  whom  he  slept  all  night,  respect- 
ing the  determination  of  Congress  to  take  possession  of  Bunker's 
Hill.  He  said  that  for  himself  he  had  been  opposed  to  it,  but 
that  the  majority  had  decided  upon  it,  and  he  would  hazard  his  life 
to  effect  this.  Mr.  Gerry  expressed,  in  strong  terms,  his  disapproba- 
tion of  the  measure,  as  the  situation  was  such  that  it  would  be  in  vain 
to  attempt  to  hold  it ;  adding,  ' '  But  if  it  must  be  so,  it  is  not  worth 
while  for  you  to  be  present.  It  will  be  madness  for  you  to  expose 
yourself,  where  your  destruction  will  be  almost  inevitable."  "  I  know 
it,"  he  answered,  "  but  I  live  within  the  sound  of  their  cannon.  How 
could  I  hear  their  roaring  in  so  glorious  a  cause,  and  not  be  there  !  " 
Again  Mr.  Gerry  remonstrated,  and  concluded  with  saying,  "As 
surely  as  you  go  there,  you  will  be  slain."  Warren  replied,  enthu- 
siastically, "  Dulce  et  decorum,  est  pro  patria  mori."  — It  is  pleasant 
and  honorable  to  die  for  one's  country. — The  next  day  his  princi- 
ples were  sealed  with  his  blood.  Having  spent  the  greater  part  of  the 
night  in  public  business  at  Watertown,  he  arrived  at  Cambridge  at 
about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  being  unwell,  threw  himself  on  a 
bed.  About  noon  he  was  informed  of  the  state  of  preparation  for 
battle  at  Charlestown.  He  directly  arose,  saying  he  was  well  again, 
and  mounting  a  horse,  rode  to  the  place.  He  arrived  at  Breed's  Hill 
a  short  time  before  the  action.  Col.  Prescott,  the  brave,  as  Washing- 
ton was  afterwards  in  the  habit  of  calling  him,  was  then  in  command. 
He  came  up  to  Gen.  Warren  to  extend  it  to  him,  and  asked  what  were 
bis  orders.  Gen.  Warren  told  him  he  came  not  to  command,  but 
to  learn  ;  he  had  not  received  his  commission.  And  having,  as  it  is 
said,  borrowed  a  musket  and  cartouch-box  from  a  sergeant,  who  waa 
retiring,  he  mingled  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  animating  and  encour- 
aging the  men  more  by  his  example  than  it  was  possible  to  do  in  any 
other  way. 


64  THE   HUNDEED   BOSTON   ORATOKS. 

The  revolutionarj  play,  previously  alluded  to,  relates  of  Warren, 
"  His  nervous  arm,  like  a  giant  refreshed  with  wine,  hurled  destruction 
'where'er  he  came,  breathing  heroic  ardor  to  adventurous  deeds ;  and 
long  time  in  even  scale  the  battle  hung.''  After  Col.  Prescott 
ordered  a  retreat,  says  Everett,  it  was  not  without  the  greatest  reluc- 
tance that  Warren  quitted  the  redoubt ;  and  he  was  slowly  retreating 
from  it,  being  still  at  a  few  rods  distance  only,  when  the  British  had  full 
possession.  His  person,  of  course,  was  in  imminent  danger.  At  this 
critical  moment,  Maj.  Small,  whose  life  had  been  saved  in  a  similar 
emergency  by  the  intervention  of  Gen.  Putnam,  attempted  to  requite 
the  service,  by  rendering  one  of  a  like  character  to  Warren.  Col. 
Swett  relates,  that  Maj.  Small  called  to  Warren,  for  God's  sake,  to 
stop  and  save  his  hfe.  He  turned,  and  seemed  to  recognize  him,  but 
still  continued  on.  Small  ordered  his  men  not  to  fire  at  him,  and 
threw  up  the  muskets  with  his  sword.  But  in  vain,  —  the  fatal  ball 
had  sped !  Eighty  yards  from  the  redoubt,  Warren  received  a  musket- 
ball  through  the  head,  which  killed  him  instantly.  Everett  further 
relates,  that  Gen.  Howe,  though  slightly  wounded  in  the  foot,  passed 
the  night  upon  the  field  of  battle.  The  next  morning,  as  he  was  rest- 
ing, wrapped  in  his  cloak,  upon  a  mound  of  hay,  word  was  brought  to 
him  that  the  body  of  Warren  was  found  among  the  dead.  It  had  been 
recognized  by  Gen.  Winslow,  then  a  youth.  Howe  refused,  at  first,  to 
credit  the  intelligence.  It  was  impossible  that  the  president  of  Con- 
gress could  have  exposed  his  hfe  in  such  an  action.  When  assured 
of  the  fact,  he  declared  that  his  death  was  an  offset  for  the  loss  of  five 
hundred  men.  Col.  Swett  relates  that  Dr.  Jefii'ies  was  on  the  field, 
dressing  the  British  wounded  and  the  wounded  American  prisoners, 
with  his  usual  humanity  and  skill.  Gen.  Howe  inquired  of  him  if  he 
could  identify  Warren.  He  recollected  that  he  had  lost  a  finger-nail, 
and  wore  a  false  tooth ;  and  the  general  was  satisfied  of  its  identity. 
The  Cambridge  N.  E.  Chronicle,  of  April  25,  1776,  remarking  on 
the  identity  of  the  remains  of  Gen.  Warren,  relates  that,  "  though  the 
body,  which  our  savage  enemies  scarce  privileged  Avith  earth  enough  to 
hide  it  from  the  birds  of  prey.  Avas  disfigured  when  taken  up,  yet  was 
sufficiently  known  by  two  artificial  teeth,  which  were  set  for  him  a 
short  time  before  liis  glorious  exit."  Everett  states  Warren  was 
buried  at  the  place  where  he  fell.  Kev.  Dr.  Allen  states  of  WaiTen  : 
Just  as  the  retreat  commenced,  a  ball  had  struck  him  on  the  head,  and 
"  he  died  in  the  trenches  " 


JOSEPH   WARREX,    M.    D.  65 

The  Hon.  Needliam  Maynard,  of  Whitestown,  N.  Y.,  a  native  of 
Framingham,  who  states  that  he  acted  as  Warren's  aid  in  the  battle, 
testified,  on  June  20,  1843,  —  then  aged  88  years,— that  on  the 
night  of  the  16th  of  June,  1775,  Coh  Prescott  was  sent  off  with  a 
detachment  of  men  to  break  ground  on  Bunker  Ililh  It  was  found 
that  Breed's  Avas  better,  and  &  ihej  laid  the  fort,  and  went  back  to 
work  there.  We  were  ordered  out  early  in  the  morning.  I  was  in 
Jonathan  Brewer's  regiment.  We  came  there,  at  last,  and  found  them 
at  work.  We  found  Col.  Prescott  there,  and  Col.  Brewer.  The  balls 
were  then  flying  about  us  very  thick.  At  about  eleven  o'clock,  Gen. 
Warren  came  on;  and  when  Col.  Brewer  met  him,  he  said,  "  General,  if 
you  have  come  to  take  the  command,  I  am  glad  to  see  you."  "  No," 
said  Warren,  "  I  have  come  only  as  a  volunteer.  I  did  not  come  to 
take  the  command,  but  to  act  as  a  volunteer,  in  any  station.  Our 
perils  are  commencing,  and  I  have  come  to  take  my  part."  "Well," 
they  said  to  him,  "  do  you  mean  to  stay  with  us,  general 7  "  "Yes," 
said  Warren,  "I  mean  to  stay;"  and  then  the  other  officers  insisted 
upon  his  taking  the  command.  They  said,  We  have  no  officer  to  lead, 
—  that  we  ought  to  have  some  particular  one  for  the  orders  to  come 
from,  —  and  they  urged  him  to  take  the  command ;  and  he  replied  that 
he  did  not  think  it  would  be  proper.  Then  Col.  Brewer  said,  "We 
must  have  a  head,  and  he  ought  to  be  a  general.  We  are  all  colonels 
here,  and  one  colonel  is  as  good  as  another."  Then  he  found  Prescott 
was  there,  and  Warren  said,  "  If  you  will  continue  to  act  as  a  council,  I 
will  give  you  my  views  as  commander;  and  if  you  approve  them,  they 
can  go  as  commands."  And  they  said  that  amounted  to  the  same 
tiling  as  if  he  was  commander ;  and  so  he  went  on,  when  anything  was 
done,  giving  the  orders.  Col.  Maynard  was  not  with  Warren  when  he 
fell,  having  gone  into  the  redoubt,  and  he  was  there  detained  by  Pres- 
cott, who  said  to  him,  "  Stop ;  I  may  want  to  send  you,  in  a  minute : " 
and  then  the  new  contest  of  their  breaking  into  the  redoubt  began. 
Mr.  Maynard  gave  an  account  of  an  interview  betAveen  Washington 
and  the  officers,  on  Bunker  Hill,  subsequently,  Avhen  Washington, 
alluding  to  Warren,  said,  "You  lost  your  commander-in-chief." 
"Why,"  continued  Mr.  Maynard,  "in  that  time,  there  was  nobody 
so  lamented;  "  and  Col.  Brewer  went  on  to  relate  to  Washington,  how 
he  lost  sight  of  Warren  as  he  Avas  going  towards  the  redoubt,  and  sup- 
posed that  he  Avas  gone  on  ahead,  and  followed  on  Avith  as  much  speed  as 
he  could,  but  found  nothing  of  him.  Then  he  thought  he  must  have 
6* 


66  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

been  sliot  down  by  a  dead  shot,  not  many  steps  wiiere  tbey  started 
from.  They  had  started  together  from  the  place  they  had  occupied 
during  the  battle,  just  on  the  other  side  of  the  gap,  against  the  hay 
breastwork,  only  about  one  rod  from  the  gap.  "Warren  had  a  dark 
eye,  was  a  little  under  six  feet  in  height,  well  formed,  with  a  pleasant 
face,  and  a  remarkable  countenance." 

Col.  John  Trumbull,  of  New  York,  who  visited  Col.  John  Small,  at 
London,  in  1786,  received  of  him  the  relation  herewith,  which  is  too 
interesting  to  be  kept  out  of  vieV :  At  the  moment  when  the  troops 
succeeded  in  carrying  the  redoubt,  and  the  Americans  were  in  full 
retreat.  Gen.  Howe,  who  had  been  hurt  by  a  spent  bullet  which 
bruised  his  ankle,  was  leaning  upon  my  arm.  He  called  suddenly  to 
me,  "Do  you  see  that  elegant  young  man  who  has  just  fallen?  Do 
you  know  him?  "  I  looked  to  the  spot  to  which  he  pointed.  "  Good 
God !  "  he  exclaimed;  "I  belie Vfe  it  is  my  friend  Warren.  Leave  me, 
then,  instantly  —  run  —  keep  oif  the  troops  —  save  him,  if  possible." 
I  flew  to  the  spot.  "  My  dear  friend,"  I  said  to  him,  "  I  hope  you  are 
not  badly  hurt."  He  looked  up,  seemed  to  recollect,  smiled,  and 
died.     A  musket-ball  had  passed  through  the  upper  part  of  his  head. 

Dea.  Samuel  Lawrence,  of  Groton,  the  father  of  the  Minister  to  the 
Court  of  St.  James,  who  was  a  minute-man  in  the  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  testified,  in  1818,  in  relation  to  Gen.  Warren,  that,  just  before 
the  battle  commenced,  Gen.  "Warren  came  to  the  redoubt.  He  had  on 
a  blue  coat,  white  waistcoat,  and  I  think  a  cocked  hat, —  but  of  this  I 
am  not  certain.  Col.  Prescott  advanced  to  him,  said  he  was  glad  to 
see  him,  and  hoped  he  would  take  the  command.  Gen.  Warren 
replied,  "  No, —  he  came  to  see  the  action,  but  not  to  take  command; 
that  he  was  only  a  volunteer  on  that  day."  Afterwards  I  saw  him 
when  the  ball  struck  him,  and  from  that  time  until  he  expired.  No 
British  officer  was  within  forty  or  fifty  rods  of  him,  from  the  time  the 
ball  struck  him  until  I  saw  he  was  dead.  This  statement  utterly 
refutes  that  of  Col.  Small,  who  says  he  spoke  to  Warren,  as  he  looked 
at  him  and  expired.  Dr.  John  Warren,  his  brother,  has  related  that, 
when  the  dead  body  of  the  general  was  discovered  after  the  battle,  his 
right  hand  was  covered  with  blood,  though  there  was  no  wound  upon 
it,  occurring  as  if  he  had  raised  his  hand  to  the  back  of  his  head,  on 
the  right  side,  when  the  ball  fractured  his  skull.  What  an  affecting 
scene !  A  small  piece  of  granite,  on  which  is  inscribed  in  gilt  letters, 
"Here  fell  Warren,  June  17,  1775,"  laid  in  the  ground  on  Bunker 


JOSEPH  WARREX,   M.   D.  67 

Hill,  designates  the  spot  where  it  is  supposed  he  was  killed.     It  is  on 
Concord-street,  nearly  opposite  the  high-school. 

The  identical  bullet  by  which  Warren  was  said  to  be  killed  was 
exhibited  to  the  audience,  by  Alexander  H.  Everett,  on  the  delivery 
of  an  oration  at  Charlestown,  June  17,  1836,  in  which  he  exclaimed, 
"  This  is  the  one,  fellow-citizens,  which  I  now  hold  in  my  hand  !  The 
cartridge-paper,  which  still  partly  covers  it,  is  stained,  as  you  see,  with 
the  hero's  blood."  This  ball,  enclosed  in  linen  cartridge-paper,  is  depos- 
ited in  the  library  of  the  New  England  Genealogical  and  Historical 
Society.  If  this  be  not  the  ball  that  entered  his  skull,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  it  was  one  of  the  balls  that  entered  his  body.  TVe  will 
present  the  affidavit  which  is  declared  by  Rev.  William  Montague, 
pastor  of  Christ  Church,  Boston,  from  1786  to  '91  :  "  I,  Wilham 
Montague,  of  Dedham,  County  of  Norfolk,  State  of  Massachusetts, 
clergyman,  do  certify  to  whom  it  may  concern,  that,  in  the  year  1789 
or  1790,  I  was  in  London,  and  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Savage, 
formerly  an  officer  of  the  customs  for  the  port  of  Boston,  and  who  left 
there  when  the  royalists  and  royal  troops  evacuated  that  town  in  1776. 
When  in  London,  Mr.  Savage  gave  me  a  leaden  ball,  which  is  now 
in  my  possession,  Avith  the  following  account  of  it,  namely  :  '  On  the 
morning  of  the  18th  of  June,  1775,  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  or 
Breed's  Hill,  I,  with  a  number  of  other  royalists  and  British  officers, 
among  whom  was  Gen.  Burgoyne,  went  over  from  Boston  to  Charles- 
town,  to  view  the  battle-field.  Among  the  fallen,  we  found  the  body 
of  Dr.  Joseph  AYarren,  with  whom  I  had  been  personally  acquainted. 
When  he  fell,  he  fell  across  a  rail.  This  ball  I  took  from  his  body ; 
and,  as  I  never  shall  visit  Boston  again,  I  will  give  it  to  you  to  take 
to  America,  where  it  will  be  valuable  as  a  rehc  of  your  Revolution.' 
His  sword  and  belt,  with  some  other  articles,  were  taken  by  some  of 
the  officers  present,  and  I  believe  brought  to  England. 

"(Signed)  William  Montague." 

"  Norfolk  ss. 

"  Dedham^  March  5,  1833.  The  above-named  Wilham  Montague 
appeared  before  me,  and  made  oath  to  the  above  statement 

"  (Signed)  Sherman  Leland, 

Justice  of  the  PeaceP 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Montague  received  the  bullet  of  Arthur  Savage,  «t 
the  residence  of  Harrison  Gray,  formerly  Treasurer  of  Massachusetts 


68  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Province ;  and  Mr.  Gray,  in  a  letter  dated  London,  1792.  addressed 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Montague,  alluding  to  the  bullet  supposed  to  have  killed 
Gen.  Warren,  Avrote :  "I hope  you  will  take  good  care  to  preserve 
that  relic  which  was  given  you  at  my  house,  for  in  future  time  it  will 
be  a  matter  of  interest  to  you  rebels."  This  letter  was  found,  by  his 
son,  Mr.  Wilham  Henry  Montague,  among  the  papers  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Montague,  who  was  a  frequent  correspondent  with  Mr.  Gray. 

Letter  from  Hon.  Judge  JVewcomb. 

''Greejifield,  Mass.,  April  U,  1843. 
"William  H.  Montague,  Esq.,  Boston. 

"  My  Dear  Sir, —  I  have  just  seen,  in  the  '  Boston  Daily  American ' 
of  the  8th  inst.,  a  note  under  your  name,  addressed  to  Edward  War- 
ren, Esq.,  junior  editor  of  that  paper,  stating  that  you  have  deposited 
with  him,  till  called  for,  the  ball  that  put  an  end  to  the  life  of  Gen. 
Joseph  Warren.  Mj  object,  in  this  communication,  is  to  inquire 
whether  you  are  wilHng  or  feel  at  liberty  to  part  with  that  fatal  piece 
of  lead.  My  late  wife,  IMary,  was  the  youngest  and  only  surviving 
child  of  the  late  Gen.  J.  Warren.  She  died  on  Feb.  7, 1826,  leanng 
an  only  child, —  a  son, — who  bears  the  name  of  his  grandfather,  Joseph 
Warren.  He  is  an  attorney  at  law,  and  now  lives  at  Springfield,  in 
this  State.  He,  with  the  exception  of  his  two  children,  is  the  only 
descendant,  in  the  du'ect  line,  of  him  who  fell  on  Bunker  Hill,  by  force 
of  that  ball.  If  consistent  with  your  views  of  propriety,  it  would  be 
grateful  to  his  feelings,  as  well  as  my  own,  if  some  arrangement  could 
be  made  by  which  the  ball  might  be  confided  to  his  keeping,  as  a  fam- 
ily relic.  The  interest  I  feel  in  the  subject  is  my  apology  for 
intruding  myself  upon  a  stranger. 

"I  am,  with  much  respect,  your  obed't  serv't, 

"Richard  E.  Newcomb. 

"N.  B.  For  any  inquiries  you  may  wish  to  make,  I  would  refer 
you  to  Dr.  John  C.  Warren  and  Dr.  John  B.  Brown,  Boston. 

"R.  E.  N." 

A  British  soldier,  on  his  return  to  London,  exhibited  a  Psalm-book 
to  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Wilton,  of  that  city,  stating  that  he  took  the  vol- 
ume fi'om  the  pocket  of  Gen.  Warren,  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
The  clergyman,  knowing  that  it  would  be  a  treasure  to  the  Warren 
fafiiily,  purchased  the  book  of  the  soldier,  and  transmitted  it  to  the 


JOSEPH  WARREN,   M.    D.  69 

Rev.  Dr.  William  Gordon,  of  Roxbury,  the  historian,  with  a  request 
that  it  might  be  given  to  the  nearest  relative  of  the  general.  It  was, 
therefore,  given  to  his  youngest  brother,  Dr.  John  Warren,  of  Boston, 
March  15, 1778.  The  title  of  the  volume,  which  the  editor  has  exam- 
ined, is  as  follows:  "The  Boke  of  Psalmes,  wherein  are  contained 
praires,  meditations  and  thanksgivings  to  God,  for  his  benefits  toward 
his  Church,  translated  faithfully  according  to  the  Hebrew.  With  brief 
and  apt  annotations  in  the  margin.  Printed  at  Geneva,  by  Rowland 
Hall.  1559."  It  is  less  than  the  32mo.  size.  On  the  inside  cover 
of  this  book  is  inscribed, —  "  Taken  at  ye  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  June 
IT,  1775,  out  of  Dr.  Warren's  pocket."  On  the  inside  cover,  at  the 
end  of  the  book,  is  written,  "Thomas  Knight," — probably  the  regu- 
lar who  secured  the  book.  Warren's  signature  was  on  a  blank  leaf, 
but  it  has  been  abstracted. 

On  the  session  of  Congress  after  the  decease  of  Warren,  it  was 
resolved  that  a  monument  should  be  erected  to  his  memory  in  Boston, 
and  that  the  eldest  son  should  be  educated  at  the  national  expense ; 
and,  in  July,  1786,  Congress  resolved  further, —  that  it  should  be 
recommended  to  the  executive  of ,  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  his  three  younger  chil- 
dren ;  and  that  Congress  would  defray  the  expense,  to  the  amount  of 
the  half-pay  of  a  major-general,  to  commence  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
a,nd  continue  till  the  youngest  of  the  children  should  be  of  age.  Yet, 
to  this  day,  no  monument  or  statue  has  been  erected  to  his  memory. 
If  the  statue  of  Brutus  was  placed  among  those  of  the  gods,  who  were 
the  preservers  of  Roman  freedom,  should  not  that  of  Warren  fill  a  lofty 
niche  in  old  Faneuil  Hall, —  that  temple  for  the  perpetuation  of  our 
birth-right  as  a  nation  of  freemen  ?  Mrs.  Perez  IMorton,  who  gives  a 
description  of  this  world-renoAvned  battle,  in  a  poem, —  Beacon  Hill, — 
says  of  Warren : 

"  The  prophetic  poet's  piercing  eyes 
Will  guard  the  sod  where  ■wounded  valor  lies, 
Till  a  victorious  country's  grateful  claim 
Shall  bear  his  relics  to  eternal  fame ;  — 
And  genius,  rising  o'er  the  rescued  bier, 
Wake  every  worth,  and  hallow  every  tear  ; 
With  all  the  light  that  eloquence  can  give. 
Shine  round  his  deeds,  and  bid  their  glory  live." 


70  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 


THE    GODLIKE    WARREN. 

From  an  Elegy,  published  July  3,  1775. 

Sure,  godlike  AYarren,  on  thy  natal  hour 
Some  star  propitious  shed  its  brightest  power  ; 
By  nature's  hand  with  taste  and  genius  formed, 
Thy  generous  breast  with  every  vii-tue  warmed  ; 
Thy  mind  endued  with  sense,  thy  form  with  grace, 
And  all  thy  virtues  pencilled  in  thy  face. 
Grave  wisdom  marked  thee  as  his  flivorite  child. 
And  on  thy  youth  indulgent  science  smiled  ; 
"Well  pleased,  she  led  thee  to  her  sacred  bower, 
And  to  thy  hands  consigned  her  healing  power. 
Illustrious  shade  !  forgive  our  mingled  woes, 
Which  not  for  thee,  but  for  our  country,  flows. 
We  mourn  her  less — we  mourn  our  hero  gone  ; 
We  mourn  thy  patriot  soul,  thy  godlike  vii'tue  flown. 


avarren's  ghost. 

From  the  Public  Ledger,  JVovember,  1775. 

Let  little  tyrants,  conscience  gored. 

Their  sable  vigils  keep  ; 
Bute  on  his  downy  pillow  snored,  — 

Thus  greater  tyrants  sleep  ! 
An  hour  ere  day  began  to  break, 

There  Warren's  spectre  stood  ; 
The  curtains  shook,  — it  cried,  "  Awake  !  " 

Awake  !  —  thou  log  of  wood  ! 
Thy  veins  hath  apathy  congealed, 

Un thawed  by  pity's  tear  ; 
One  spai'k  a  flinty  heart  may  yield, 

Struck  by  the  steel  of  fear  ! 
For  know,  that  head  so  proud  of  crest. 

Sunk  on  the  cygnet's  plume. 
May  for  an  eminence  be  dressed, 

To  meet  a  Strafford's  doom  ! 
Or,  crouched  in  abject,  careworn  plight. 

Beneath  its  sorrows  low. 
Its  bread  by  day,  its  rest  by  night, 

To  Bourbon's  bounty  owe. 
Speak,  minion,  which  of  Stuart's  race 

Could  match  thy  cruel  work  ? 
Go,  read  where  Strafibrd  was  in  place,  — 

A  Jeffries,  and  a  Kirk. 


JOSEPH   WARREN,    M.    D. 

Then,  foiling  history's  modern  page, 

Skilled  in  her  ancient  lore, 
Tell  if  Bejanus  in  his  age  — 

If  Borgia  could  do  more  ? 
Tyrant !  dismiss  your  rebel  clans,  — 

The  impious  task  forbear, 
Nor  let  that  blood  imbrue  thine  hands 

Which  brought  a  sceptre  there. 
That  liberty  you  would  invade 

Gave  George  his  only  right ; 
Thus  in  their  sons  our  sires  are  paid. 

Whilst  you  for  slavery  fight. 
Shall  not  for  thee,  sunk  deep  in  hell. 

Grim  Satan  forge  his  tongs, 
And  fiends,  who  guard  his  inmost  cell. 

Twine  scorpions  round  their  throngs  ? 
But,  hark  !  I  hear  the  ill-omened  cock,  — 

The  Gallic  Sun  shall  rise  ; 
Lo  !  commerce  founders  on  a  rock. 

The  British  Lion  dies  I 
Bute  felt  the  dream,  —  fetched  many  a  shriek. 

And,  though  the  ghost  is  gone. 
Starts  from  his  bed,  —  still  hears  it  speak,  — 

A  cold,  damp  sweat  comes  on. 
With  that,  like  Gloster  in  his  tent, 

He  throws  him  on  the  ground. 
And  by  these  words,  seems  to  repent, 

"  Boston  !  bind  up  thy  wound  ! 
Just  Heaven,  give  back  the  blood  that 's  spUt 

Bostonians'  lives  restore  !  " 
He  wakes,  —  and  to  atone  his  guilt, 

Bids  Ga";e  so  slaughter  more. 


ACROSTIC    ON   WARREN. 
Cambridge  Almanac  for  1776. 
Just  as  Joseph  took  his  flight 
Onward  to  the  realms  of  light, 
Satan  hurled  his  hellish  darts,  — 
Evil  spirits  play  their  parts. 
Percy,  Burgoyne,  Howe,  and  Gage, 
Hove  about  infernal  rage. 
Warren  stept  beyond  their  path. 
Awed  by  none,  nor  feared  their  wrath 
Ran  his  race  to  joy  and  rest, — 
Eose  'mongst  the  royal  blest ; 
Entered  in  the  rolls  of  fame, — 
North  and  devil  miss  their  aim. 


72  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 


JOHN   HANCOCK. 

MARCH  5,  1774.     ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

Was  born  at  Braintree,  Jan.  23,  1737,  the  son  of  Rev.  John  Han- 
cock, of  that  town,  whose  wife  was  Mary  Hawke,  of  Hingham.  He  was 
a  grandson  of  Rev.  John  Hancock,  of  Lexington.  His  father  deceased 
when  he  was  but  seven  years  of  age,  on  which  he  was  removed  to  the 
family  of  his  grandfather,  at  Lexington,  who  attended  to  his  early 
education.  He  entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1745,  and  grad- 
uated at  Harvard  College  in  1754.  His  uncle,  Thomas  Hancock,  a 
Boston  bookseller,  who  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  merchants  in 
the  province,  and  died  in  August  1764,  bequeathed  him  more  than 
fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  besides  the  reversion  of  twenty  thou- 
sand pounds  at  the  decease  of  his  widow,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  Henchman,  in  whose  bookstore  he  had  been  a  clerk.  When 
young,  John  visited  London,  in  1760,  on  mercantile  business,  in  com- 
pany with  Gov.  Pownal,  who  was  recalled.  He  witnessed  the  funeral 
obsequies  of  George  the  Second,  and  subsequently  the  coronation  of 
George  the  Third,  not  anticipating  that  he  beheld  the  monarch  who 
was  destined  to  offer  a  reward  for  his  head.  Young  Hancock  learned 
the  art  of  swimming,  in  the  river  Thames.  Gov.  Hutchinson,  who 
very  naturally  indulged  detracting  views  of  John  Hancock,  who  became 
a  powerful  opponent  of  his  administration,  remarks,  in  the  History  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  that  his  ruling  passion  was  a  fondness  for  popular 
applause ;  and  he  changed  the  course  of  his  patron's  business,  in  whose 
counting-room  he  had  been  a  clerk,  and  built  and  employed  in  trade 
a  great  number  of  ships, — and  in  this  way,  and  by  building  at  the  same 
time  several  houses,  he  found  work  for  a  great  number  of  tradesmen, 
made  himself  popular,  was  chosen  selectman,  representative  in  1769, 
moderator  of  town-meetings,  etc.  In  relation  to  the  demeanor  of 
Hancock,  it  is  stated  by  John  Adams,  that  Dr.  Eliot  Rawson  thinks 
Hancock  vain, —  told  a  story :  I  was  at  school  with  him,  and  then 
upon  a  level  with  him.  My  father  was  richer  than  his.  But  I  was 
not  long  since  at  his  store,  and  said  to  ISIr.  Glover,  whom  I  knew, 
"  This,  I  think,  is  Mr.  Hancock.     He  just  asked  my  name,  and  nothing 


JOHN  HANCOCK.  73 

more, —  it  was  such  a  piece  of  vanity  !  There  is  not  the  merest  crea- 
ture that  comes  from  your  way,  but  I  take  notice  of  him, —  and  I 
ought.  What  though  I  am  worth  a  httle  more  than  they  ?  I  am 
glad  of  it,  and  that  I  have  it,  that  I  may  give  some  of  it."  I  tokl  the 
doctor  that  Mr.  Hancock  was  far  from  being  arrogant. 

In  order  to  gratify  persons  of  antiquarian  taste,  we  transcribe  the 
following  advertisement  of  John  Hancock,  when  in  commercial  business, 
which  is  inserted  in  the  Boston  Evening  Post  of  Dec.  25,  1764  : 

"To  be  sold  by  John  Hancock,  at  his  Store  No.  4,  at  the  East  End 
of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  A  general  Assortment  of  English  and  India 
Goods,  also  choice  Newcastle  Coals,  and  Irish  Butter,  cheap  for  Cash. 
Said  Hancock  desires  those  persons  who  are  still  indebted  to  the  Estate 
of  the  late  Hon.  Thomas  Hancock,  Esq.,  deceased,  to  be  speedy  in  paying 
their  respective  balances,  to  prevent  trouble.  N.  B.  In  the  Lydia, 
Capt.  Scott,  from  London,  came  the  following  packages  :  I  W.  No.  1, 
a  Trunk,  No.  2,  a  small  Parcel.  The  owner,  by  applying  to  John 
Hancock  and  paying  freight,  may  have  his  Goods." 

This  store  was  last  occupied  by  Jabez  Fisher  &  Co.,  and  in  1824 
was  demolished,  on  the  erection  of  the  Quincy  Market.  It  was  located 
on  the  present  South  Market-street.  His  warehouses  for  the  storage  of 
foreign  merchandise  were  located  on  the  wharf  well  known  as  Hancock's 
Wharf 

One  day,  John  Adams  and  Samuel  Adams,  relates  Waterhouse,  were 
walking  in  the  Boston  Mall,  and  when  they  came  opposite  the  stately 
mansion  of  John  Hancock,  the  latter,  turning  to  the  former,  said,  with 
emphasis,  "  I  have  done  a  very  good  thing  for  our  cause,  in  the  course 
of  the  past  week,  by  enlisting  the  master  of  that  house  into  it.  He  is 
well  disposed,  and  has  great  riches,  and  we  can  give  him  consequence 
to  enjoy  them."  And  INIr.  Hancock  did  not  disappoint  his  expecta- 
tions ;  for,  in  spite  of  his  occasional  capriciousness,  owing  partly  to 
disease,  he  threw  all  the  weight  of  his  fortune  and  extraordinary  pop- 
ularity into  the  scale  of  opposition  to  British  encroachments. 

"The  natural  powers  of  Hancock  were  moderate,"  says  Hutchin- 
son, "  and  had  been  very  little  improved  by  study  or  application  to  any 
kind  of  science.  His  ruling  passion  kept  him  from  ever  losing  sight 
of  his  object,  but  he  was  fickle  and  inconstant  in  the  means  of  pur- 
suing it ;  and  though  for  the  most  part  he  was  closely  attached  to  IMr. 
Samuel  Adams,  yet  he  was  repeatedly  broken  off  from  all  connection 
with  him  for  several  months  together.  Partly  by  inattention  to  his 
7 


74  TITE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

private  affairs,  and  partly  from  ^yant  of  judgment,  lie  became  greatly 
involved  and  distressed,  and  tlie  estate  ^vas  lost  vrith  mucli  greater 
rapidity  than  it  had  been  acquired."  He  was  unboundedly  lavish  in 
his  liberality.  At  the  time  of  a  great  fii-e  in  Boston,  -vN-hen  many  of 
his  tenements  were  destroyed,  his  tenants  gathered  around  him,  and 
expressed  sympathy  at  his  loss,  knowing  that  was  a  way  to  reach  his 
heart ;  on  which  he  remarked,  they  were  the  greatest  sufferers,  ha-sang 
been  almost  ruined,  while  he  was  able  to  erect  new  buildings, —  at  the 
same  time  passing  a  shower  of  guineas  around  them.  His  generous 
spirit  appeared  in  a  multitude  of  forms.  He  presented  the  Eostoniaus 
a  valuable  fire-engine.  He  distributed  deck-loads  of  wood  to  the  suf- 
fering poor,  in  times  of  great  peril,  and  gave  the  poor  the  free  use  of 
his  extensive  wood-lot  in  the  town  of  Milton ;  and  in  Adams'  Diary  we 
have  an  incident  arising  from  his  liberality,  related  by  James  Otis,  who 
stated  that  Col.  Irving  having  met  Parson  Moorhead  'near  his  meet- 
ing-house, "You  have  a  fine  steeple  and  bell,"  says  he,  "to  your 
meeting-house,  now."  "Yes,  by  the  liberality  of  Mi\  Hancock,  and 
the  subscriptions  of  some  other  gentlemen,  we  have  a  very  handsome 
and  convenient  house  of  it,  at  last."  "  But  what  has  happened  to  the 
vane,  Mr.  Moorhead?  It  don't  traverse, —  it  has  pointed  the  same 
way  these  three  weeks."  "Ay,  I  didn't  know  it;  I  '11  see  about  it." 
Away  goes  Moorhead,  storming  among  his  parish  and  the  tradesmen 
who  had  built  the  steeple,  for  fastening  the  vane  so  that  it  could  not 
move.  The  tradesmen  were  alarmed,  and  went  to  examine  it ;  but 
soon  found  that  the  fault  was  not  in  the  vane,  but  the  weather,  the 
wind  having  set  very  constantly  at  east  three  weeks  before. 

Hutchinson  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and  a  graduate  of  the  same  col- 
lege as  Hancock  and  the  two  Adamses,  toward  each  of  Avhom  his 
detracting  spirit  was  parallel.  He  was  dark,  intriguing,  insinuating, 
haughty,  and  ambitious,  the  extreme  of  avarice  marking  each  feature. 
Oxenbridge  Thacher  gave  Hutchinson  the  soubriquet  of  "Summa 
Potestatis."  Hutchinson  said  of  Samuel  Adams  that  "he  acquired 
a  talent  of  artfully  and  fallaciously  insinuating  into  the  minds  of  his 
readers  a  prejudice  against  the  characters  of  all  whom  he  attacked, 
beyond  any  other;"  and  he  said  of  John  Adams,  that  "his  ambition 
was  without  bounds,  and  he  has  acknowledged  to  his  acquaintance  that 
he  could  not  look  with  complaisance  upon  any  man  who  was  in  pos- 
session of  more  wealth,  more  honors,  or  more  knowledge,  than  him 
self"     These  are  evidently  the  carpings  of  disappointed  ambition; 


JOHN   HAXCOCK.  75 

and  it  is  related  that  -when  Hutchinson  fled  to  England,  he  experienced 
the  neglect  and  contempt  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  died  at  Bramp- 
ton, June,  1780,  in  melancholy  despondence. 
Trumbull  thus  alludes  to  Hutchinson,  who 

"  Affirmed  he  never  ■wrote  a  line, 
Your  chartered  rights  to  undermine  ; 
When  his  own  letters  then  were  by, 
That  proved  his  message  all  a  lie. 
How  many  promises  he  sealed 
To  get  the  oppressive  acts  repealed  ! 
Yet  once  arrived  on  England's  shore. 
Set  on  the  premier  to  pass  more." 

"\Ylien  the  two  regiments  of  British  troops  debarked  in  Boston,  Oct., 
1768,  they  were  received  as  unwelcome  intruders,  and  the  selectmen 
absolutely  refused  to  grant  them  quarters.  One  of  the  regiments 
encamped  on  Boston  Common.  The  other,  after  a  fruitless  attempt  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  Manufactory  House,  marched  at  sunset  to  Fan- 
cuil  Hall,  where  they  waited  several  hours,  before  they  had  leave  of 
occupation ;  Col.  Dalrymple  having  pledged  his  honor  that  Faneuil 
Hall  should  be  cleared  as  soon  as  possible,  otherwise  they  must  have 
suffered  in  the  streets.  The  next  day,  the  State-house,  in  King- 
street,  was  opened,  by  order  of  Gov.  Bernard,  for  their  reception. 
John  Hancock  being  well  known  as  a  decided  advocate  of  the  Provin- 
cialists,  and  the  wealthiest  merchant  of  Boston,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  stigmatize  his  character.  A  writer  in  the  Boston  Gazette,  of  Nov. 
7,  1768,  remarked,  in  an  article:  "I  have  lately  heard,  from  good 
authority,  of  an  attempt  to  sully  the  reputation  of  a  gentleman  of 
great  merit,  as  well  as  superior  fortune,  in  this  town, —  a  gentleman 
who  has  the  entire  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  in  various  public 
stations ;  —  who  has  repeatedly  served  them  in  the  General  Assembly, 
and  the  last  May  had  the  honor  of  being  chosen  a  member  of  His 
Majesty's  Council,  by  a  great  majority  of  the  suffrages  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Assembly,  though  it  must  be  acknowledged  he  was  neg- 
atived by  Gov.  Bernard.  What  could  induce  a  scribbler  to  forge  a 
letter,  and  publish  it  in  a  coffee-house,  in  New  York,  under  the  name 
of  that  gentleman,  requesting  Gen.  Gage  that  he  might  supply  the 
troops  now  in  town  or  expected, —  so  unwelcome  to  the  inhabitants, 
considering  the  errand  on  which  all  agree  they  are  come, —  unless  it 
was  to  induce  a  belief  in  the  minds  of  gentlemen  in  New  York  that, 


76  THE  HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATOKS. 

from  a  sordid  love  of  gain,  he  had  counteracted  his  professed  senti- 
ments, and  so  to  render  him  ridiculous  there  7  I  doubt  not  but  that 
both  the  general  and  Mr.  Hancock  know  it  to  be  a  falsehood."  The 
charge  was  repelled  as  follows,  in  the  very  next  Gazette: 

"Messrs.  Edes  &  Gill: 

"I  observe  in  your  last  paper  a  piece  signed  Veritas,  the  writer 
of  which  says  he  had  it  from  good  authority,  that  a  letter  under 
my  hand  was  pubhshed  in  a  coffee-house,  at  New  York,  requesting 
His  Excellency  Gen.  Gage  that  I  might  supply  the  troops  then 
expected,  and  which  have  since  arrived  in  this  town.  If  such  a  letter 
has  been  produced  there,  or  anywhere  else,  I  declare  it  to  hea.fo)'gery; 
for  I  have  never  made  application  to  any  for  the  supply  of  said  troops, 
nor  did  I  ever  desire  any  person  to  do  it  for  me.  The  person  who  pro- 
duced the  letter  could  have  no  other  design  but  to  injure  my  reputa- 
tion, and  abuse  the  gentlemen  of  New  York.  I  therefore  desire  you 
would  give  this  a  place  in  your  next,  in  which  you  will  oblige 

"  Your  humble  servant,  John  Hancock. 

"Bostoji,  Nov.  12,  1768." 

In  the  fall  of  this  year,  a  great  uproar  was  raised  in  Boston  on 
account  of  the  unlading  in  the  night  of  a  cargo  of  wines  from  the 
sloop  Liberty,  from  Madeira,  belonging  to  John  Hancock,  without  pay- 
ing the  customs.  Mr.  Hancock  was  prosecuted  upon  a  great  number 
of  libels,  for  penalties  upon  acts  of  Parliament,  amounting  to  ninety  or  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds  sterhng.  "  He  thought  fit  to  engage  me  as 
his  counsel  and  advocate,"  says  John  Adams,  "and  a  painful  drudgery 
I  had  of  his  cause.  There  were  few  days,  through  the  whole  winter, 
when  I  was  not  summoned  to  attend  the  Court  of  Admiralty.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  officers  of  the  crown  were  determined  to  examine  the 
whole  town  as  witnesses.  Almost  every  day  a  fresh  witness  was  to  be 
examined  upon  interrogatories.  They  interrogated  many  of  his  near 
relations  and  most  intimate  friends,  and  threatened  to  summon  his 
amiable  and  venerable  aunt,  the  relict  of  his  uncle,  Thomas  Hancock, 
who  had  left  the  greatest  part  of  his  fortune  to  him.  I  was  thoroughly 
weary  and  disgusted  with  the  court,  the  officers  of  the  crown,  the 
cause,  and  even  with  the  tyrannical  bell  that  dangled  me  out  of  my 
house  every  morning ;  and  this  odious  cause  was  suspended  at  last  only 
by  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  which  put  an  end  forever  to  all  such  pros- 


JOHN  HANCOCK.  77 

ecutions."  Hutclunson,  who  enlarges  on  this  affair,  remarks,  that  an 
entry  was  made  at  the  custom-house,  upon  oath,  of  four  or  five  pipes 
only  as  the  whole  cargo ;  and  this  was  as  much  a  submission  to  the 
authority  of  the  act  as  if  the  whole  cargo  had  been  entered.  The 
remainder  was  landed  in  the  night,  or  evening ;  and  the  wines,  or 
freight,  were  sent  to  the  owners,  and  no  duty  demanded.  A  furious 
riot  ensued.  The  collector  and  comptroller  had  their  windows  broken, 
and  a  boat,  belonging  to  the  custom-house,  was  drawn  in  triumph 
through  the  streets  of  Boston,  and  burnt  on  the  Common. 

Hancock  constantly  associated  with  the  avowed  advocates  of  liberty, 
and  was  an  active  member  of  the  North  End  Caucus,  which  frequently 
gathered  at  William  Campbell's  house,  near  the  North  Battery,  orig- 
inated by  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  who,  with  another  person,  drew  up  the 
regulations  of  the  caucus.  Here  the  committees  of  pubhc  service 
were  formed,  the  plan  for  military  companies  and  means  of  defence, 
and  the  resolves  for  the  destruction  of  the  detestable  tea.  Dr.  Thomas 
Young  was  its  first  president,  when  it  consisted  of  sixty-one  members. 
It  was  here,  when  the  best  mode  of  expeUing  the  regulars  from  Boston 
was  discussed,  that  Hancock  exclaimed,  "  Burn  Boston,  and  make 
John  Hancock  a  beggar,  if  the  public  good  requires  it !" 

King  George  the  Third  sanctioned  Lord  North's  bill  repealing 
duties,  excepting  that  on  tea,  Aj)ril  12,  1770.  Shortly  after  this 
decision,  several  cargoes  of  tea  had  arrived  in  Boston,  and  nothing 
would  satisfy  the  people  but  its  immediate  return.  The  ladies  signed 
a  pledge  not  to  drink  any  tea.  except  in  sickness ;  and  John  Hancock 
offered  one  of  his  vessels,  freight  free  of  expense,  for  that  purpose,  and 
a  load  of  the  detestable  weed  was  conveyed  to  the  London  consignees. 
Samuel  Adams  was  the  chief  counsellor  in  the  destruction  of  the  tea, 
Dec,  1773,  and  the  hall  of  council  was  the  back  room  of  the  Boston 
Gazette,  at  the  corner  of  Queen  and  Brattle  streets.  Li  Thomas'  Spy 
we  find  a  poetical  effusion  on  this  subject : 

"Farewell  the  tea-board,  Avitli  its  equipage 
Of  cups  and  saucers,  cream-bucket  and  sugar-tongs  ; 
The  pretty  tea-chest,  also,  lately  stored 
With  hyson,  congo,  and  best  double  fine. 
Full  many  a  joyous  moment  have  I  sat  by  you. 
Hearing  the  girls  tattle,  the  old  maids  talk  scandal. 
And  the  spruce  coxcomb  laugh  at  may-be  nothing. 
No  more  shall  I  dish  out  the  once-loved  liquor, 
Though  now  detestable, 

7* 


78  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Because  I  am  taught,  and  I  believe  it  true. 

Its  use  ydW  fasten  slavish  chains  upon  my  country; 

And  Liberty  's  the  goddess  I  -would  choose 

To  reign  triumpliant  in  America  ! ' ' 

In  the  year  1772  Hancock  -was  elected  to  the  command  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Cadets,  -well  known  as  the  governor's  guard ;  and  we  find,  by  the 
Boston  Gazette  of  May  12,  at  this  date,  the  announcement  of  the  elec- 
tion of  John  Hancock  as  a  Boston  representative,  as  moderator  of  the 
to\>-n-meeting,  and  his  appointment  by  Gov.  Hutchinson  as  commander 
of  the  Cadets,  which  is  stated  as  follows :  "  His  Excellency  the  Captain 
General  has  been  pleased  to  commissionate  John  Hancock,  Esq.,  to  be 
Captain  of  the  Company  of  Cadets,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel :"  and 
the  promptness  with  which  Col.  Hancock  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office  is  shown  by  the  following  advertisement,  which  appears  in  the 
next  column  of  the  Gazette:  "Wanted,  Immediately,  For  his 
Excellency's  Company  of  Cadets,  Two  Fifers  that  understand  Play- 
ing. Those  that  are  ]\Iasters  of  Musick,  and  are  inclined  to  engage 
with  the  Company,  are  desired  to  apply  to  Col.  John  Hancock." 

When  Thomas  Gage  landed  at  Long  Wharf,  May  19,  1774,  this 
company  escorted  the  new  governor,  in  an  extensive  civil  and  military 
procession,  to  the  council-chamber,  at  the  old  State-house,  in  King- 
street,  after  which  they  conducted  Gage,  under  Col.  Hancock,  to  the 
Province-house,  then  the  governor's  residence.  Gov.  Gage  soon 
became  jealous  of  Hancock,  for  in  August  of  this  year  he  was  noti- 
fied, by  Secretary  Flucker,  that  the  governor  had  no  further  occasion 
for  his  services  as  the  commander ;  on  which,  the  corps  disbanded 
themselves,  and  deputed  a  committee  to  wait  on  Gage,  at  Danvers, 
surrendering  to  him  the  standard  with  his  arms,  whieh  his  excellency 
had  presented  them  on  his  arrival  from  London,  informing  him  that  they 
no  longer  considered  themselves  as  the  governor's  Independent  Cadets. 
In  an  address  to  Hancock,  Aug.  18,  1774,  signed  by  fifty-two  mem- 
bers, they  remark,  "At  a  period  when  the  post  of  honor  is  a  private 
station,  it  cannot  be  thought  strange  that  a  gentleman  of  your  distin- 
guished character  should  meet  with  every  discouragement  from  men  in 
power;"  and  Col.  Hancock  said,  in  reply,  "I  am  ever  ready  to 
appear  in  a  public  station,  when  the  honor  or  the  interest  of  the  com- 
munity calls  me ;  but  shall  always  prefer  retirement  in  a  private  sta- 
tion, to  being  a  tool  in  the  hand  of  power  to  oppress  my  countrymen." 
Gage  and  Hancock  never  came  together  again  as  pohtical  friends. 


JOHN   nAXCOCK.  79 

The  orator  on  the  Massaci'e,  in  the  year  1774,  was  Coh  John  Han- 
cock. His  performance  was  remarkably  bold  and  effective,  giving 
great  offence  to  the  executive,  and  more  especially  to  the  officers  of  the 
standing  army  ;  indeed,  it  was  a  striking  act  of  intrepidity.  At  the 
close  of  the  exercises,  a  "very  generous  collection  was  taken  up  for  the 
unfortunate  Christopher  Monk,  now  about  twenty-thite  years  old,  then 
present,  who  was  wounded  on  the  fatal  evening  of  the  Massacre,  and 
was  a  shocking  monument  of  that  horrid  catastrophe.  This  produc- 
tion Avas  elegant,  pathetic,  and  spirited.  The  allusion  of  Hancock  to 
the  attempt  of  Parliament  to  enforce  obedience  to  acts  which  neither 
God  nor  man  ever  authorized  them  to  make,  forcibly  reminds  us  of 
James  Otis,  their  most  effective  opponent,  who  was  as  "a  wedge  to 
split  the  hgnum  vitos  block  ^f  parliamentary  usurpation."  John 
Adams,  who  was  present  on  the  occasion,  remarks,  the  composition, 
the  pronunciation,  the  action,  all  exceeded  the  expectation  of  every- 
body. They  exceeded  even  mine,  which  were  very  considerable. 
Many  of  the  sentiments  came  with  great  propriety  from  him.  His 
invective,  particularly  against  a  preference  of  riches  to  virtue,  came 
from  him  with  a  singular  grace  and  dignity  :  "Despise  the  glare  of 
wealth.  The  people  who  pay  greater  respect  to  a  wealthy  villain  than 
to  an  honest,  upright  man  in  poverty,  almost  deserve  to  be  enslaved. 
They  plainly  show  that  wealth,  however  it  may  be  acquired,  is  in  their 
esteem  to  be  preferred  to  virtue."  The  lantern  exhibition  occurred  on 
the  succeeding  Monday.  In  one  of  the  windows  at  ]\Irs.  Clapham's, 
was  a  painting  of  Gov.  Hutchinson  and  Judge  Peter  Oliver,  in  the 
horrors  occasioned  by  the  appearance  of  the  ghosts  of  Empson  and 
Dudley,  advising  them  to  think  of  their  fate  : 

"  Ye  traitors  !     Is  there  not  some  chosen  curse,  — 
Some  hidden  thunder  in  the  stores  of  heaven, 
Red  witli  uncommon  wratli,  to  blast  the  men 
Who  owe  their  greatness  to  their  country's  ruin  ?  " 

On  turning  to  Hutchinson,  it  is  related  that,  on  the  evening  after 
the  delivery  of  the  oration,  "  a  select  number  of  persons,  styled  in  the 
newspapers  friends  of  constitutional  liberty,  assembled  at  a  house  in 
King-street,  Boston.  Among  them  were  the  speaker  and  divers  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Figures  were  exhibited,  through 
the  windows  of  the  room,  to  the  people  in  the  street,  of  the  governor 
and  chief-justice,  in  derision.     Such  abuse  of  private  characters  it  is 


80  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

generally  best  to  treat  -witli  contempt ; "  and  tlie  Boston  Post  printed 
an  original  song  for  the  Fifth  of  March,  -written  in  eight  verses,  the 
first  of  Avliich  says  : 

« '  'Wlien  the  foes  of  the  land  our  destruction  had  planned. 
They  sent  ragged  troops  for  our  masters  ; 
But,  from  former  defeat,  they  must  now  understand 
Their  ivolves  shall  not  prowl  in  our  pastures." 

As  an  embodiment  of  the  condition  and  spirit  of  the  Bostonians  is 
indicated  in  this  passage,  we  make  no  apology  for  its  insertion  here . 
"It  was  easy  to  foresee  the  consequences  wliich  so  naturally  followed 
upon  sending  troops  into  America,  to  enforce  obedience  to  acts  of  the 
British  Parliament  which  neither  God  nor  man  ever  empowered 
them  to  make.  It  was  reasonable  to  expect  that  troops  who  knew  the 
errand  they  were  sent  upon  would  treat  the  people  whom  they  were  to 
subjugate  with  a  cruelty  and  haughtiness  which  too  often  buries  the 
honorable  character  of  a  soldier  in  the  disgraceful  name  of  an  unfeel- 
ing ruffian.  The  troops,  upon  their  first  arrival,  took  possession  of  our 
senate-house,  and  pointed  their  cannon  against  the  judgment-hall,  and 
even  continued  them  there  whilst  the  Supreme  Court  of  judicature  for 
this  province  was  actually  sitting  to  decide  upon  the  lives  and  fortunes 
of  the  king's  subjects.  Our  streets  nightly  resounded  with  the  noise 
of  riot  and  debauchery ;  our  peaceful  citizens  were  hourly  exposed  to 
shameful  insults,  and  often  felt  the  effects  of  their  violence  and  out- 
rage. But  this  was  not  all.  As  though  they  thought  it  not  enough 
to  violate  our  civil  rights,  they  endeavored  to  deprive  us  of  our  religious 
privileges ;  to  vitiate  our  morals,  and  thereby  render  us  deserving  of 
destruction.  Hence  the  rude  din  of  arms  which  broke  in  upon  your 
solemn  devotions  in  your  temples,  on  that  hallowed  day  by  Heaven,  and 
set  apart  by  God  himself  for  his  peculiar  Avorship.  Hence  impious 
oaths  and  blasphemies  so  often  tortured  your  unaccustomed  ear. 
Hence  all  the  arts  which  idleness  and  luxury  could  invent  were  used 
to  betray  our  youth  of  one  sex  into  extravagance  and  effeminacy,  and 
of  the  other  to  infamy  and  ruin.  And  did  they  not  succeed  but  too 
well  ?  Did  not  a  reverence  for  religion  sensibly  decay  ?  Did  not  our 
infants  almost  learn  to  lisp  out  curses  before  they  knew  their  horrid 
import  1  Did  not  our  youth  forget  they  were  Americans,  and,  regard- 
less of  the  admonitions  of  the  wise  and  aged,  servilely  copy  from  their 
tyrants  those  vices  which  must  finally  overthrow  the  empire  of  Great 


JOHN   nANCOCK.  81 

f 

Britain  ?  And  must  I  be  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  even  the 
noblest,  fairest  part  of  all  the  lower  creation,  did  not  entirely  escape 
the  cursed  snare  ?  When  virtue  has  once  erected  her  throne  within 
the  female  breast,  it  is  upon  so  solid  a  basis  that  nothing  is  able  to 
expel  the  heavenly  inhabitant.  But  have  there  not  been  some  —  few, 
indeed,  I  hope  —  whose  youth  and  inexperience  have  rendered  them  a 
prey  to  wretches,  whom,  upon  the  least  reflection,  they  would  have 
despised  and  hated,  as  foes  to  God  and  their  country  7  I  fear  there 
have  been  such  unhappy  instances ;  or  why  have  I  seen  an  honest 
father  clothed  with  shame  ?  —  or  why  a  virtuous  mother  drowned  in 
tears?" 

Mr.  Hancock  was  a  delegate  from  Suffolk  to  the  first  Provincial 
Congress,  which  convened  at  Concord,  Oct.  11,  1774,  when  he  was 
elected  its  president.  He  was  also  president  of  the  second  Provincial 
-  Congress,  until  he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Joseph  Warren. 

When  Gov.  Gage  sent  the  regular  troops  to  Concord,  for  the 
destruction  of  the  stores  of  the  provincials,  another  design  was  to 
apprehend  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  his  m#st  formidable 
foes. 

In  the  narrative  of  Col.  Revere,  we  find  a  statement  of  the  escape 
of  Hancock  and  Adams,  at  Lexington :  "On  Tuesday  evening,  the  18th 
of  April,  1775,  it  was  observed  that  a  number  of  soldiers  were  march- 
ing towards  Boston  Common.  About  ten  o'clock,  Dr.  Warren  sent  in 
great  haste  for  me,  and  begged  that  I  would  immediately  set  off  for 
Lexington,  where  were  Hancock  and  Adams,  and  acquaint  them  of 
the  movement,  and  that  it  was  thought  they  were  the  objects.  When 
I  got  to  Dr.  Warren's  house,  I  found  he  had  sent  an  express  by  land 
to  Lexington  —  a  Mr.  William  Dawes.  The  Sunday  before,  by  desire 
of  Dr.  Warren,  I  had  been  to  Lexington  to  see  Hancock  and  Adams, 
who  were  at  Rev.  Mr.  Clark's.  I  returned  at  night,  through  Charles- 
town.  There  I  agreed  with  a  Col.  Conant,  and  some  other  gentlemen, 
that  if  the  British  went  out  by  water,  we  would  show  two  lanterns  in 
the  North  Church  steeple,  and  if  by  land,  one,  as  a  signal ;  for  we 
were  apprehensive  it  would  be  difiicult  to  cross  the  Charles  River,  or 
get  over  Boston  Neck.  I  left  Dr.  Warren,  called  upon  a  friend,  and 
desired  him  to  make  the  signals.  I  then  went  home,  took  my  boots 
and  surtout,  went  to  the  north  part  of  the  town,  where  I  had  kept  a 
boat.  Two  friends  rowed  mc  across  Charles  River,  a  little  to  the 
eastward,  where  the  Somerset  man-of-war  lay.     It  was  then  young 


82  THE    nUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

flood ;  the  ship  was  "wintling,  and  the  moon  was  rising.  They  landed 
me  on  the  CharlestoA^Ti  side.  When  I  got  into  town,  I  met  Col. 
Conant  and  several  others.  They  said,  they  had  seen  our  signals.  I 
told  them  what  was  acting,  and  went  to  get  me  a  horse.  I  got  a  hoi'se 
of  Dea.  Larkin.  While  the  horse  was  preparing,  Richard  Devens, 
Esq.,  who  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  came  to  me,  and  told 
me  that  he  came  down  the  road  from  Lexington,  after  sundown,  that 
evening ;  that  he  met  ten  British  officers,  all  well  mounted  and  armed, 
going  up  the  road. 

"I  set  off  upon  a  very  good  horse.  It  was  then  ahout  eleven  o'clock, 
and  very  pleasant.  After  I  had  passed  Charlestown  Neck,  and  got 
nearly  opposite  where  Mark  was  hung  in  chains,  I  saw  two  men  on 
horseback,  under  a  tree.  When  I  got  near  them,  I  discovered  they 
were  British  officers.  One  tried  to  get  ahead  of  me,  and  the  other  to 
take  me.  I  turned  my  horse  very  quick,  and  galloped  towards  Charles- 
town  Neck,  and  then  pushed  for  the  Medford  road.  The  one  who 
chased  me,  endeavoring  to  cut  me  off,  got  into  a  clay-pond,  near  where 
the  new  tavern  is  now  built.  I  got  clear  of  him,  and  went  through 
Medford,  over  the  bridge,  and  up  to  Menotomy.  In  Medford,  I 
awaked  the  captain  of  the  minute-men ;  and  after  that,  I  alarmed 
almost  every  house,  till  I  got  to  Lexington.  I  found  Hancock  and 
Adams  at  the  Bev.  Mr.  Clark's.  I  told  them  my  errand,  and  inquired 
for  Mr.  Dawes.  They  said  he  had  not  been  there.  I  related  the 
story  of  the  two  officers,  and  supposed  that  he  must  have  been  stopped, 
as  he  ought  to  have  been  there  before  me.  After  I  had  been  there 
about  half  an  hour,  ]\Ir.  Dawes  came.  We  refreshed  ourselves,  and 
set  off  for  Concord,  to  secure  the  stores,  etc.,  there.  We  were  over- 
taken by  a  young  Dr.  Prescott,  whom  we  found  to  be  a  high  son  of 
liberty.  I  told  them  of  the  ten  officers  that  Mr.  Devens  met,  and  that 
it  was  probable  we  might  be  stopped  before  we  got  to  Concord  ;  for  I 
supposed  that  after  night  they  divided  themselves,  and  that  two  of 
them  had  fixed  themselves  in  such  passages  as  were  most  likely  to 
stop  any  intelligence  going  to  Concord.  I  likewise  mentioned  that  we 
had  better  alarm  all  the  inhabitants  till  we  got  to  Concord.  The 
young  doctor  much  approved  of  it,  and  said  he  would  stop  with  either 
of  us,  for  the  people  between  that  and  Concord  knew  him,  and  would 
give  the  more  credit  to  what  we  said.  We  had  got  nearly  half  way. 
IVIr.  Dawes  and  the  doctor  stopped  to  alarm  the  people  of  a  house.  I 
was  about  oiie  hundred  rods  ahead.-  when  I  saw  two  men  in  nearly  the 


JOHN    HANCOCK.  83 

same  situation  as  those  officers  were  near  Charlestown.  I  called  for 
the  doctor  and  Mr.  Dawes  to  come  up.  In  an  instant  I  was  sur- 
rounded by  four.  They  had  placed  themselves  in  a  straight  road  that 
inclined  each  way.  They  had  taken  down  a  pair  of  bars  on  the  north 
side  of  the  road,  and  two  of  them  were  under  a  tree  in  the  pasture. 
Dr.  Prescott,  being  foremost,  came  up,  and  we  tried  to  get  past  them ; 
but  they  being  armed  with  pistols  and  swords,  they  forced  us  into  the 
pasture.  The  doctor  jumped  his  horse  over  a  low  stone-wall,  and  got 
to  Concord.  I  observed  a  wood  at  a  small  distance,  and  made  for 
that.  When  I  got  there,  out  started  six  officers  on  horseback,  and 
ordered  me  to  dismount.  One  of  them,  who  appeared  to  have  the 
command,  examined  me,  where  I  came  from,  and  what  my  name  was. 
I  told  him.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  an  express.  I  answered  in  the 
affirmative.  He  demanded  what  tune  I  left  Boston.  I  told  him ;  and 
added,  that  their  troops  had  catched  aground  in  passing  the  river,  and 
that  there  would  be  five  hundred  Americans  there  in  a  short  time,  for 
I  had  alarmed  the  country  all  the  way  up.  He  immediately  rode 
towards  those  who  stopped  us,  when  all  five  of  them  came  down  upon 
a  full  gallop.  One  of  them,  Avhom  I  afterwards  found  to  be  a  Maj. 
Mitchell,  of  the  5th  regiment,  clapped  his  pistol  to  my  head,  called 
me  by  name,  and  told  me  he  was  going  to  ask  me  some  questions,  and 
if  I  did  not  give  him  true  answers,  he  would  blow  my  brains  out.  He 
then  asked  me  similar  questions  to  those  above.  He  then  ordered  me 
to  mount  my  horse,  after  searching  me  for  arms.  He  then  ordered 
them  to  advance,  and  to  lead  me  in  front.  When  we  got  to  the  road, 
they  turned  down  towards  Lexington.  When  we  had  got  about  one 
mile,  Maj.  Mitchell  rode  up  to  the  officer  that  was  leading  me,  and  told 
him  to  give  me  to  the  sergeant.  As  soon  as  he  took  me,  the  major 
ordered  him,  if  I  attempted  to  run,  or  anybody  insulted  them,  to  blow 
my  brains  out.  We  rode  till  we  got  near  Lexington  meeting-house, 
when  the  militia  fired  a  volley  of  guns,  which  appeared  to  alarm  them 
very  much.  The  major  inquired  of  me  how  far  it  was  to  Cambridge, 
and  if  there  were  any  other  road.  After  some  consultation,  the  major 
rode  up  to  the  sergeant,  and  asked  if  his  horse  was  tired.  He  answered 
him,  he  was.  He  was  a  sergeant  of  grenadiers,  and  had  a  small  horse ; 
then  said  he,  Take  that  man's  horse.  I  dismounted,  and  the  sergeant 
mounted  my  horse,  w^hen  they  all  rode  towards  Lexington  meeting- 
house. I  went  across  the  burying-ground  and  some  pastures,  and  came 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark's  house,  where  I  found  Hancock  and  Adams.    I 


84  THE  nUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATOKS. 

told  them  of  my  treatment,  and  they  concluded  to  go  from  that  house 
towards  ^Yoburu.  I  -went  "nith  them  and  a  Mr.  Lowell,  who  was  a 
clerk  to  ]\Ir.  Hancock.  When  we  got  to  the  house  where  they  intended 
to  stop,  Mr.  Lowell  and  myself  returned  to  Mr.  Clark's,  to  find  what 
was  going  on.  When  we  reached  there,  an  elderly  man  came  in.  He 
said  he  had  just  come  from  the  tavern, —  that  a  man  had  come  from 
Boston,  who  said  there  were  no  British  troops  coming.  jSIr.  Lowell 
and  myself  went  towards  the  tavern,  when  we  met  a  man,  on  a  full 
gallop,  who  told  us  the  troops  were  coming  up  the  rocks.  We  after- 
wards met  another,  who  said  they  were  close  by.  Mr.  Lowell  asked 
me  to  go  to  the  tavern  with  him,  to  get  a  trunk  of  papers  belonging  to 
jMr.  Hancock.  We  went  up  chamber,  and  while  we  were  getting  the 
trunk,  we  saw  the  British  very  near,  upon  a  full  march.  We  hurried 
towards  Mr.  Clark's  house.  In  our  way,  we  passed  through  the 
militia.  There  were  about  fifty.  When  we  had  got  about  one  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  meeting-house,  the  British  troops  appeared  on 
both  sides  of  the  meeting-house.  In  their  front  was  an  officer  on 
horseback.  They  made  a  short  halt,  Avhen  I  saw  and  heard  a  gun  fired, 
which  appeared  to  be  a  pistol.  Then  I  could  distinguish  two  guns, 
and  then  a  continued  roar  of  musketry,  when  we  made  off  with  the 
trunk." 

In  Frothingham's  Siege  of  Boston  we  find  it  stated  that  Hancock 
and  Adams,  whose  safety  was  i^egarded  as  of  the  utmost  importance, 
were  persuaded  to  retire  to  the  then  second  precinct  of  Woburn,  to  the 
house  occupied  by  Madam  Jones,  Avidow  of  Rev.  Thomas  Jones,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Marett,  which  is  now  standing  in  Burlington,  and  occupied 
by  Rev.  Samuel  Sewell,  a  descendant  of  the  venerable  chief-justice. 
Dorothy  Quincy  accompanied  her  intended  husband  —  Hancock. 
Here,  at  noon,  they  had  just  sat  down  to  an  elegant  dinner,  when 
a  man  broke  suddenly  in  upon  them  with  a  slu'iek,  and  they  believed 
the  regulars  were  upon  them.  Mr.  Marett  then  piloted  Adams  and 
Hancock  along  a  cartway  to  j\Ir.  Amos  Wyman's  house,  in  a  corner 
of  Billerica,  where  they  were  glad  to  dine  off  of  cold  salt  pork  and 
potatoes,  served  in  a  Avooden  tray.  Thus  the  proud  anticipations  of 
the  British  troops,  in  regard  to  their  capture,  were  blasted.  As  John 
Hancock  was  accustomed  to  wear  a  scarlet  coat  of  red  velvet,  with 
ruffles  on  his  sleeves,  after  the  fashion  of  the  judges  of  the -court.  Gov. 
Gage  is  made  to  say,  in  the  old  revolutionary  play,  at  the  period  of 
the  Battle  of  Lexington,  "  If  Col.  Smith  succeeds  in  his  embassy, — 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  85 

and  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  of  it, — I  shall  have  the  pleasure  this 
evening,  I  expect,  of  having  my  friends  Hancock  and  Adams'  good 
company.  I  '11  make  each  of  them  a  present,  of  a  pair  of  handsome 
iron  ruffles,  and  Maj.  Provost  shall  provide  a  suitable  entertainment." 
In  another  passage  of  the  same  play,  it  is  said,  "  Let  us  have  one  good 
dinner  before  we  part,  and  leave  us  half  a  dozen  pipes  of  Hancock's 
wine  to  drink  your  health;  and  don't  let  us  part  with  dry  lips."  On 
the  12th  of  June  succeeding,  Gov.  Gage  issued  a  proclamation  offering 
pardon  to  all  the  rebels,  excepting  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock, 
"whose  offences  are  of  too  flagitious  a  nature  to  admit  of  any  other 
consideration  than  that  of  condign  j)unishment ; " — 

*'  As  for  their  king,  Jolin  Hancock, 
And  Adams,  if  they  're  taken, 
Their  heads  for  signs  shall  hang  up  high 
Upon  that  hill  called  Beacon  ;" — 

and  the  Provincial  Congress,  as  noticed  more  especially  in  the  memoir 
of  Gen.  Warren,  issued  a  proclamation  of  like  nature,  excepting  Thomas 
Gage,  Admiral  Graves,  and  others. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Gov.  Gage  was  alarmed  at  his  position,  some 
months  previous  to  this  date,  as,  in  his  despatches  to  the  throne,  to  the 
18th  of  March,  acknowledging  the  king's  orders  to  apprehend  ]\Iessrs. 
Gushing,  Adams,  and  Hancock,  and  send  them  over  to  London  for 
trial  (the  second  order,  which  was  to  hang  them  in  Boston,  he  had 
not  received),  he  expressed  his  fears  on  the  occasion;  and,  hoping  a 
reverse  of  the  order,  he  stated  that  he  should  delay  the  execution  a 
while  longer,  because,  if  the  order  were  fulfilled,  he  must  come  to  an 
engagement,  the  event  of  which  he  had  every  reason  to  apprehend 
would  be  fatal  to  the  king's  troops  and  to  himself,  as  the  Massachusetts 
provincials  had  at  least  fifteen  thousand  men  ready  for  the  onset,  and 
every  public  and  private  road  occupied  for  defence.  He  earnestly 
requested  a  reinforcement  of  regulars,  if  that  disagreeable  order  must 
be  enforced. 

About  this  period,  a  party  of  Bi-itish  soldiers  entered  the  residence 
of  John  Hancock,  according  to  the  Gazette,  who  began  to  pillage  and 
break  down  the  fences ;  but  on  complaint  being  made  by  the  selectmen 
to  Gov.  Gage,  he  ordered  the  fences  to  be  repaired,  and  appointed  Earl 
Percy  to  take  possession  of  the  premises.  We  find  additional  partic- 
ulars, in  relation  to  this  affair,  in  the  letter  of  a  gentleman  to  a  friend 


86  THE   HUXDRED    BOSTON   OEATORS. 

in  New  York,  dated  March  22,  1775  :  "In  the  evening  of  the  17th 
instant,  Coh  Hancock's  elegant  seat,  situate  near  the  Common,  was 
attacked  by  a  number  of  officers,  who,  with  their  swords,  cut  and 
hacked  the  fence  before  his  house  in  a  most  scandalous  manner,  and 
behaved  very  abusively,  by  breaking  people's  windows,  and  insulting 
almost  every  person  they  met.  On  the  19th  instant.  Col.  Hancock 
was  again  insulted  by  a  number  of  inferior  officers  and  privates,  who 
entered  his  enclosures,  and  refused  to  retire,  after  his  requesting  them 
so  to  do,  telling  him  that  his  house  and  stables  would  soon  be  theirs, 
and  then  they  would  do  as  they  pleased.  However,  on  his  apphcation 
to  the  general,  he  immediately  sent  one  of  his  aids-de-camp  to  the 
officer  of  the  guard,  at  the  bottom  of  the  Common,  to  seize  any  officer 
or  private  who  should  molest  Col.  Hancock,  or  any  inhabitant,  in  their 
lawful  calhng." 

The  editor  of  the  New  York  Knickerbocker,  who  once  enjoyed  the 
hospitality  of  the  present  Hancock  family,  remarks :  "  From  this  house 
was  driven  the  fair  and  noble-looking  lady  whose  portrait  hangs  in  the 
drawing-room  below,  that  the  Percy,  who 

'  Fought  for  King  George  at  Lexington, 
A  major  of  di'agoons,' 

might  here  establish  his  quarters.  As  I  sat  there,  in  what  was  for- 
merly the  state-chamber,  conjuring  up  thoughts  of  that  past  time,  I 
could  almost  fancy  that  I  heard  the  measured  tread  of  the  red-coated 
sentinel  in  the  grand  old  entrance-hall  below,  and  saw  the  glancing 
bayonets  in  the  remains  of  the  British  intrenchments  on  the  Common, 
nearly  opposite  the  house. 

'  I  wandered  through  the  lofty  halls 

Trod  by  the  Percys  of  old  fame, 
And  traced  upon  the  chapel  walls 

Each  high  heroic  name,  — 
From  him  who  once  his  standard  set 
Where  now,  o'er  mosque  and  minaret. 

Glitter  the  Sultan's  crescent  moons. 
To  him  who,  when  a  younger  son. 
Fought  for  King  George  at  Lexington, 

A  major  of  dragoons  ! '  " 

jLy.  Hancock  married,  at  Fairfield,  Conn.,  Dorothy,  daughter  of 
Edmund  Quincy,  of  Boston,  Aug.  28, 1775.  He  had  a  daughter,  who 
died  in  infancy,  at  Philadelphia,  1776 ;  and  one  son,  John  George 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  87 

Washington,  vfho  received  a  contusion  in  the  head,  -when  skating  at 
Milton,  of  Avhich  he  died,  Jan.  27,  1787,  aged  nine  years.  He  left 
no  descendant.  The  quaint  conceit  of  Lord  Bacon  may  be  applied  to 
Hancock  :  "  Surely,  man  shall  see  the  noblest  works  and  foundations 
have  proceeded  from  childless  men.  "who  have  sought  to  express  the 
imases  of  their  minds  where  those  of  their  bodies  have  failed  ;  so  the 
care  of  posterity  is  most  in  them  that  have  no  posterity." 

In  Quincy's  History  of  Harvard  University  appears  a  statement 
of  the  difficulties  of  the  college  Avith  John  Hancock,  who  was  the 
treasurer  from  1773  to  1777,  which  exhibits  a  dark  shade  in  his  his- 
tory;—  not  that  he  was  wilfully  dishonorable,  but  he  could  not  be 
aroused  to  an  adjustment  of  financial  duties  towards  the  institution ; 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Gray,  of  Roxbury,  relates,  that  Dr.  Samuel  Cooper  and 
Dr.  William  Gordon  agreed  that,  at  an  overseers'  meeting,  the  former 
should '  introduce  a  motion  for  the  immediate  settlement  of  the  treas- 
urer's accounts,  and  which  was  seconded  by  the  latter.  But  Dr.  Gor- 
don spoke  so  plainly  his  mind  of  the  singular  neglect  of  the  treasurer, 
though  so  often  urged  to  do  it,  that  the  manner  was  thought  by  Dr. 
Cooper,  who  was  perfectly  mild  and  polite  in  everything,  to  be  as  gross ; 
and  therefore  he  forbore  to  utter  a  syllable  upon  the  subject,  and  it 
passed  off  at  the  meeting  in  perfect  silence.  This  circumstance  so 
greatly  offended  Gov.  Hancock,  that  he  removed  immediately  from 
Jamaica  Plain  to  his  residence  in  Boston,  and  ceased  all  future  inter- 
course with  Dr.  Gordon. 

No  name  stands  emblazoned  on  the  records  of  the  corporation, 
remarks  Quincy,  as  a  benefactor,  with  more  laudatory  epithets,  than 
that  of  John  Hancock.  But  his  ti|le  to  this  distinction  must  depend 
upon  the  view  which  is  taken  of  his  first  subscription  of  £500.  In 
July,  1767,  when  no  motives  of  policy  influenced  the  corporation,  this 
donation  is  stated  to  be  "  the  proposed  gift  of  Thomas  Hancock ;"  his 
"signified  intention  to  subscribe,  towards  the  restoration  of  the  library, 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  sterhng,  the  completion  of  which  was 
prevented  by  his  sudden  death;"  the  act  of  John  Hancock  is  recorded 
as  a  demonstration  of  his  generous  affection  to  the  college,  and  as  hav- 
ing done  honor  to  the  memory  of  his  uncle,  by  voluntarily  fulfilling 
his  noble  intention.  "  In  the  donation-book  of  the  college,  collected  by 
order  of  the  corporation  in  1773,"  the  year  in  which  Mr.  Hancock,  as 
treasurer,  took  liis  seat  in  that  board,  and  when  he  was  at  the  height 
of  his  popularity,  this  gift  is  recorded  on  one  page  as  exclusively  "  the 


05  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

gift  of  John  Hancock;"  and  on  the  next  but  one,  as  "his  gen- 
erous fulfilment  of  the  intentions  of  his  late  uncle,  the  Honorable 
Thomas  Hancock."  It  was  generally  regarded,  and  probably  by  INIr. 
Hancock,  as  an  indispensable  obligation;  and  it  would  have  been 
almost  impossible  for  a  young  man  ambitious  of  popularity  and  power, 
on  receiving  an  estate,  estimated  at  =£70,000  sterling,  from  the  bounty 
of  a  relative,  to  refuse  to  fulfil  "  his  signified  intention"  to  subscribe 
£500  in  favor  of  an  institution  which  every  man  of  influence  in  the 
province  was  laboring  to  raise  from  its  ruins. 

If  the  subscription  be  placed  to  the  account  of  its  avowed  origin, 
the  good  will  of  Thomas  Hancock,  the  college  was  indebted  to  the 
bounty  of  John  Hancock,  as  stated  in  the  records  of  the  college,  "for 
a  cui'ious  dipping  needle,"  and,  after  that  event,  for  the  sum  of  £54 
4:S.  sterling,  being  the  excess  of  the  cost  of  the  books  ordered  by  the 
corporation  beyond  the  X500  derived  from  the  good  will  of  his  uncle ; 
for  "a  full-length  picture  of  that  benefactor,"  and  also  for  a  set  of 
the  most  elegant  carpets  to  cover  the  floor  of  the  library,  the  apparatus 
and  philosophy  chambers,  and  covering  the  walls  of  the  latter  with  a 
rich  paper  ;  "for  an  Account  of  London  and  its  Environs,  in  six  vol- 
umes," and  "a  curious  Coralline  in  its  natural  bed."  The  entire 
value  of  these  donations  certainly  did  not  greatly  exceed — and  wa's 
probably  less  than  —  the  actual  loss  sustained,  according  to  the  state- 
ment of  treasurer  Storer,  liis  successor,  "by  Mr.  Hancock's  long  denial 
of  the  rights  of  the  college,  and  withholding  its  property."  He  says 
that  "justice  to  a  public  institution,  which  he  essentially  embarrassed 
during  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years,"  etc.,  requires  a  statement  of 
the  facts. 

A  very  obvious  apology  for  the  delinquency  of  John  Hancock  is  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  great  financial  distress  of  the  Old  Bay  State,  inci- 
dent upon  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  rendering  it  almost  impossible  to 
command  funds  for  the  liquidation  of  large  demands,  until  long  after 
the  peace  of  1783.  Did  not  treasurer  Hancock  secure  an  estate  on 
Merchant' s-row,  by  mortgage,  to  Harvard  College,  Dec.  29,  1785? — ■ 
and,  in  two  years  after  his  decease,  did  not  his  nephew,  John  Hancock, 
Esq.,  make  a  payment  of  nine  years'  interest  due  the  college?  —  and, 
Dec.  13,  1802,  did  not  he  discharge  the  payment  of  the  principal  due, 
and  the  interest  in  full  to  that  date,  as  appears  by  the  records  in  the  office 
of  the  Sufiblk  Register  of  Deeds  ?  But  treasurer  Storer  complains  that 
the  heirs  refused  to  pay  compound  interest,  whereby  the  college  was  a 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  89 

loser  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  dollars.  This  was  a  very  natural 
decision  of  the  heirs ;  but  we  will  not  censure  the  memory  of  Gov. 
Hancock  for  this  act  of  the  heirs,  which  was  their  legal  right.  "  Per- 
haps there  is  not  a  person  in  America,"  remarked  the  Rev.  Peter 
Thacher,  his  pastor,  in  the  sermon  at  his  funeral,  "who  has  done  more 
generous  and  noble  actions  than  Gov.  Hancock,  and  Avho  has,  upon  all 
occasions,  contributed  more  liberally  to  public  institutions.  Besides 
the  grand  and  hospitable  manner  in  which  he  entertained  foreigners 
and  others  in  his  house,  he  expended  large  sums  for  every  patriotic 
purpose,  and  for  the  benefit  of  our  university,  and  equalled  the  gen- 
erosity of  his  worthy  patron  to  it  by  his  own  donations.  I  should  be 
guilty  of  base  ingratitude,"  continues  Dr.  Thacher,  "did  I  not  thus 
publicly  acknowledge  numberless  instances  of  kindness,  attention,  and 
liberality,  which  I  have  received  at  his  hands.  These  now  lie  heavy 
at  my  heart,  and  increase  my  sorrow  for  his  loss,  though  they  have  not 
bribed  me  to  exceed  the  truth  in  delineating  his  character."  America 
never  had  a  more  devoted  patriot  than  John  Hancock ;  and  the  secret 
motive  of  his  soul  was  disclosed  in  the  declaration  he  made  on  taking 
the  oath  of  office  in  the  old  State-house,  in  King-street,  Oct.  26,  1780, 
when  he  became  the  first  governor  under  the  new  constitution,  which 
is  another  apology  for  delay,  Avhere  he  remarked,  "Having,  in  the 
early  stage  of  this  contest,  determined  to  devote  my  whole  time  and 
services,  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  all  private  business,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  war,  and  being  ever  reaxiy  to  obey  the  call  of  my  country,  I 
venture  to  offer  myself,  and  shall  endeavor  strictly  to  adhere  to  the 
laws  of  the  constitution." 

Before  we  continue  the  history  of  John  Hancock,  we  will  revert  a 
while  to  an  incident  that  occurred  in  Boston  when  it  was  a  besieged 
town,  as  his  name  is  associated  with  it.  At  the  close  of  1774,  and  in 
the  early  part  of  1775,  Gov.  Gage  began  to  take  possession  of  all  the 
arms  and  military  stores  belonging  to  individuals  and  the  public.  These 
measures,  which  accelerated  hostilities,  occasioned  a  transaction  which 
illustrates  the  popular  feeling.  The  General  Court,  in  Nov.,  1766, 
ordered  four  brass  cannon  to  be  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  artillery 
companies  in  Boston.  Two  of  these  guns,  which  were  three-pounders, 
were  kept  in  a  gun-house  that  stood  opposite  the  Mall,  at  the  corner 
of  West-street.  A  school-house  was  the  next  building,  and  a  yard, 
enclosed  with  a  high  fence,  was  common  to  both.  Maj.  Adino  Pad- 
dock, who  then  commanded  the  artillery,  having  been  heard  to  express 
8* 


90  THE   nrXDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

his  intention  of  surrendering  tliese  guns  to  the  governor,  a  few  indi- 
viduals resolved  to  secure  for  the  country  a  property  vrhich  belonged 
to  it,  and  which  at  this  time  was  of  great  value.  Maj.  Paddock  was  a 
coach-maker,  and  a  devoted  loyahst.  The  row  of  elm-trees  in  front 
of  the  Granary  Cemetery  was  planted  by  him,  and  long  known  as 
Paddock's  Walk.  He  left  Boston  with  the  royal  troops,  in  March, 
1776. 

Having  concerted  their  plan,  the  party  passed  through  the  school- 
house  into  the  gun-house,  and  were  able  to  open  the  doors  which  were 
upon  the  yard  by  a  small .  crevice,  through  which  they  raised  the  bar 
that  secured  them.  The  mouient  for  the  execution  of  the  project  was 
that  of  the  roll-call,  when  the  sentinel,  who  was  stationed  at  one  door 
of  the  building,  would  be  less  hkely  to  hear  their  operations.  The 
guns  were  taken  off  their  carriages,  carried  into  the  school-room,  and 
placed  in  a  large  box  under  the  master's  desk,  in  which  wood  was 
kept.  Directly  after  the  roll-call,  a  heutenant  and  sergeant  came  into 
the  gun-house,  to  look  at  the  cannon,  pre\aously  to  removing  them.  A 
young  man — Samuel  Gore,  captain  of  the  governor's  troop  of  horse, 
of  whom  this  narration  was  received,  and  who  had  assisted  in  their 
removal  —  remained  by  the  building,  and  followed  the  oflBcer,  as  an 
innocent  spectator.  The  persons  who  aided  in  the  plot  were  Nathaniel 
Balch,  Jeremiah  Gridley,  Whiston,  and  others,  together  with  master 
Abraham  Holbrook,  the  schoolmaster.  When  the  carriages  were 
found  without  the  guns,  the  sergeant  exclaimed,  with  an  oath,  "  They 
are  gone  !  These  fellows  will  steal  the  teeth  out  of  your  head,  while 
you  are  keeping  guard."  They  then  began  to  search  the  building  for 
them,  and  afterwards  the  yard  ;  and  when  they  came  to  the  gate,  and 
opened  into  the  street,  the  oflScer  observed  that  they  could  not  have 
passed  that  way,  because  a  cobweb  across  the  opening  was  not  broken. 
They  went  next  into  the  school-house,  which  they  examined  all  over, 
except  the  box,  on  which  the  master  placed  his  foot,  which  was  lame, 
and  the  officer,  with  true  courtesy,  on  that  account  excused  him  from 
rising.  Some  boys  were  present,  but  not  one  lisped  a  word.  The 
officers  went  back  to  the  gun-room,  when  their  volunteer  attendant, 
in  kind  sympathy  for  their  embarrassment,  suggested  to  them  that 
perhaps  they  had  been  carried  into  Mr.  Greenleaf 's  garden,  opposite, 
—  afterwards  the  "Washington  Garden."  On  this,  the  sergeant  took 
him  by  the  collar,  gave  him  a  push,  and  said,  it  was  very  likely  that 
he  was  one  of  the  daring  rebels  who  helped  to  get  them  off,  and  that 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  91 

he  had  better  make  himself  scarce.  This  was  too  near  a  guess  to 
make  it  worth  ^Yhile  to  wait  for  a  second  hint,  and  he  left  them.  They 
soon  after  reti-red,  in  vexation. 

The  guns  remained  in  that  box  for  a  fortnight,  and  many  of  the  boys 
were  acquainted  with  the  fact,  but  not  one  of  them  betrayed  the  secret. 
At  the  end  of  that  time,  the  persons  who  had  withdrawn  them  came, 
in  the  evening,  with  a  large  trunk  on  a  wheelbarrow.  The  guns  were 
put  into  it,  and  carried  up  to  Whiston's  blacksmith's  shop,  at  the  south 
end,  and  there  deposited  under  the  coal.  After  lying  there  for  a 
while,  they  were  put  into  a  boat  in  the  night,  and  safely  transported 
within  the  American  lines.  The  guns  Avere  in  actual  service  through 
the  whole  war.  After  the  peace,  the  State  of  Massachusetts  applied 
to  Congress  for  their  restoration,  which  was  granted,  according  to  this 
resolve,  dated  May  19, 1788  :  "  Congress  assembled.  Present — New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  South  Carolina;  and  from  Rhode  Island,  Mr.  Arnold; 
from  New  York,  Mr.  Hamilton ;  from  North  Carolina,  ]\Ir.  William- 
son ;  and  from  Georgia,  Mr.  Baldwin.  The  Secretary  at  War  having 
represented  to  Congress  that  there  are  in  the  arsenals  of  the  United 
States  two  brass  cannon,  which  constituted  one  moiety  of  the  field 
artillery  with  which  the  last  war  was  commenced  on  the  part  of  Amer- 
ica, and  which  were  constantly  on  service  throughout  the  war ;  that 
the  said  cannon  are  the  property  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  that  the  governor  thereof  hath  requested  that  they  be 
returned;  Therefore,  Resolved,  that  the  Secretary  at  War  cause  a 
suitable  inscription  to  be  placed  on  the  said  cannon  ;  and  that  he 
deliver  the  same  to  the  order  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts." 

Gen.  Knox,  then  Secretary  at  Yf  ar,  who  had  commanded  the  artillery 
of  the  American  army  during  the  Revolution, —  one  of  the  most  gallant, 
generous,  high-minded  men  that  the  army  contained, — well  knew  the 
history  of  these  cannon,  as  they  were  the  fellow-townsmen  of  his  native 
town  of  Boston.  In  pursuance  of  the  orders  of  Congress,  he  caused 
the  arms  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  inscription  herewith,  to  be  chiselled 
upon  them  in  bold  rehef  These  two  cannon  were  in  charge  of  the 
"Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company"  of  Boston,  and  called 
the  Hancock  and  Adams,  in  honor  of  the  two  patriots  proscribed  by 
Gov.  Gage,  from  Avhose  grasp  they  were  rescued ;  and  John  Hancock 
was  governor  of  Massachusetts  when  the  cannon  were  returned  to  the 


92  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

State.     They  are  deposited  on  the  wall  inside  of  the  top  of  the  Bun- 
ker EQU  INIonument,  where  they  hang  perpendicularly  suspended. 

The  Hancock  : 

Sacred  to  Liberty. 

This  is  one  of  four  cannon, 

■which  constituted  the  whole  train. 

of  Field  Artillery 
possessed  by  the  British  Colonies  of 

North  America, 

at  the  commencement  of  the  war, 

on  the  19th  of  April,  1775. 

This  cannon 

and  its  fellow, 

belonging  to  a  number  of  citizens  of 

Boston, 

were  used  in  many  engagements 

during  the  wai*. 

The  other  two,  the  property  of  the 

Government  of  Massachusetts, 

were  taken  hj  the  enemy. 

By  order  of  the  United  States 

in  Congress  assembled. 

May  19,  1788. 

The  other  cannon  referred  to  were  concealed  in  the  stable  of  the  second 
house  west  from  the  court-house,  on  the  south  side  of  Queen-street. 
Mr.  Williams,  a  respectable  farmer  of  Roxbury,  drove  in  his  own  team 
with  a  load  of  hay,  which  was  taken  into  that  stable;  the  cannon 
were  then  put  in  the  bottom  of  the  cart,  which  was  loaded  with  manure, 
and  in  this  way  they  were  taken  out  of  town  without  opposition.  The 
British  officers  heard,  on  the  same  day,  that  the  cannon  were  concealed 
in  that  street,  and  were  to  be  removed  in  the  evening ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, many  of  them  patrolled  the  street  for  several  hours,  but  the 
guns  were  already  safe  within  the  American  lines. 

Hancock  was  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  convened  at 
Philadelphia,  May  10, 1775.  During  his  tour  to  t]jat  city,  he  remained 
at  Worcester  two  days,  waiting  for  a  suitable  escort,  and  for  the  approach 
of  his  colleagues,  when  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  gentle- 
men Committee  of  Safety,  among  whom  were  Joseph  Warren  and  Ben- 
jamin Church,  besides  himself: 

"Worcester,  Ajyril  24,  1775,  Monday  evenbig. 
'•Gentlemen:    Mr.  S.  Adams  and  myself,  just  arrived  here,  find 
no  intelligence  from  you,  and  no  guard.     We  just  hear  an  express  has 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  93 

just  passed  through  this  place  to  you,  from  New  York,  informing  that 
administration  is  bent  upon  pushing  matters  ;  and  that  four  regiments 
are  expected  there.  How  are  we  to  proceed  ?  Where  are  our  brethren  7 
Surely,  we  ought  to  be  supported.  I  had  rather  be  with  you ;  and,  at 
present,  am  fully  determined  to  be  with  you,  before  I  proceed.  I  beg, 
by  the  return  of  this  express,  to  hear  from  you  ;  and  pray,  furnish  us 
with  depositions  of  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  the  certainty  of  their 
firing  first,  and  every  circumstance  relative  to  the  conduct  of  the 
troops  from  the  19th  instant  to  this  time,  that  we  may  be  able  to  give 
some  account  of  matters  as  we  proceed,  especially  at  Philadelphia. 
Also,  I  beg  you  would  order  your  secretary  to  make  out  an  account 
of  your  proceedings  since  what  has  taken  place :  what  your  plan  is ; 
what  prisoners  we  have,  and  what  they  have  of  ours ;  who  of  note  was 
killed,  on  both  sides ;  who  commands  our  forces,  &c. 

"Are  our  men  in  good  spirits?  For  God's  sake,  do  not  suffer  the 
spirit  to  subside,  until  they  have  perfected  the  reduction  of  our  ene- 
mies.    Boston  iniist  be  entered ;    the  troops  must  be  sent  away,  or 

*  *  *  Our  friends  are  valuable,  but  our  country  must  be  saved. 
I  have  an  interest  in  that  town.  What  can  be  the  enjoyment  of  that 
to  me,  if  I  am  obliged  to  hold  it  at  the  will  of  Gen.  Gage,  or  any  one 
else  7  I  doubt  not  your  vigilance,  your  fortitude,  and  resolution.  Do 
let  us  knoAY  how  you  proceed.  We  must  have  the  Castle.  The  ships 
must  be  *  *  Stop  up  the  harbor  against  large  vessels  coming. 
You  know  better  what  to  do  than  I  can  point  out.  Where  is  ]Mr. 
Gushing  7  Are  Mr.  Paine  and  ]\Ir.  John  Adams  to  be  AYith  us  ? 
What  are  we  to  depend  upon  ?  We  travel  rather  as  deserters,  Avhich  I 
will  not  submit  to.  I  will  return  and  join  you,  if  I  cannot  detain  this 
man,  as  I  want  much  to  hear  from  you.  How  goes  on  the  Congress  7 
Who  is  your  president  7  Are  the  members  hearty  7  Pray  remember 
jMr.  S.  Adams  and  myself  to  all  friends.  God  be  with  you. 
"  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  faithful  and  hearty  countryman, 

"John  Hancock." 

On  May  13th  of  this  date,  he  was  chosen  successor  to  Peyton  Ptan- 
dolph,  as  president  of  that  assembly.  When  the  unanimous  election 
was  declared,  he  felt  deeply  embarrassed ;  and  it  was  not  until  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  a  strong-nerved  man  and  noble-hearted,  a  member 
from  Virginia,  had  borne  him  in  his  vigorous  arms,  amid  the  general 
acclamation,  to  the  chair,  that  his  wonted  self-possession  returned. 


94  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  first  appeared  on  the  floor  of 
Congress,  it  was  circulated  over  the  name  of  John  Hancock,  singly  and 
alone,  as  President  of  the  Congress ;  and  the  bold  and  striking  char- 
acters which  form  his  signature  were  the  first  to  proclaim  the  fact. 
He  resigned  this  station  in  October,  1777,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the 
gout. 

The  nomination  of  Washington  to  be  the  commander-in-chief  was 
first  made  by  John  Adams.  The  president,  John  Hancock,  was  then 
in  the  chair,  and  Washington  himself  was  present.  Hancock  was 
ambitious  for  that  ajopointment.  The  efiect  of  Mr.  Adams'  motion 
upon  the  two  patriots  is  thus  related  by  himself  Washington  was  at 
a  subsequent  period,  May  26,  1775,  unanimously  chosen.  At  the 
conclusion  of  a  speech  on  the  state  of  the  colonies,  after  making  a 
motion  that  Congress  would  adopt  the  army  before  Boston  and  appoint 
Col.  Washington  commander  of  it,  Mr.  Adams  remarked,  that  he  was 
"a  gentleman  whose  skill  as  an  officer,  whose  independent  fortune, 
great  talents,  and  excellent  universal  character,  would  command  the 
approbation  of  all  America,  and  unite  the  cordial  exertion  of  all  the 
colonies  better  than  any  other  person  in  the  Union.  Mr.  Washington, 
who  happened  to  be  near  the  door,  as  soon  as  he  heard  me  allude  to  him, 
from  his  usual  modesty,  darted  into  the  library-room.  Mr.  Hancock, 
who  was  our  president,  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  observe  his 
countenance,  while  I  was  speaking  on  the  state  of  the  colonies,  the  army 
at  Cambridge,  and  the  enemy,  heard  me  with  visible  pleasure ;  but 
when  I  came  to  describe  Washington  for  the  commander,  I  never 
remarked  a  more  sudden  and  striking  change  of  countenance.  INIorti- 
fication  and  resentment  were  expressed  as  forcibly  as  his  face  could 
exhibit  them.  Llr.  Samuel  Adams  seconded  the  motion,  and  that  did 
not  soften  the  president's  physiognomy  at  all." 

The  announcement  herewith  is  copied  from  a  Hartford  journal,  under 
date  Nov.  19,  1777:  "On  Friday  last,  passed  through  this  town, 
escorted  by  a  party  of  light  dragoons,  the  Hon.  John  Hancock,  Pres- 
ident of  the  American  Congress,  with  his  lady,  on  his  way  to  Boston, 
after  an  absence,  on  public  business,  of  more  than  two  and  a  half 
years." 

President  Hancock  addressed  a  letter  to  Gen.  Washington,  July  10, 
1775,  in  which  he  proposed  as  follows  :  "  I  must  beg  the  favor  that 
you  will  reserve  some  berth  for  me,  in  such  department  as  you  may 
judge  most  proper  ;  for  I  am  determined  to  act  under  you,  if  it  be  to 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  ~  95 

take  the  firelock  and  join  the  ranks  as  a  volunteer."  It  does  not 
appear,  however,  that  he  joined  the  army,  under  Washington,  in  any 
military  capacity.  Wasliington  addressed  the  following  reply  to  Han- 
cock, dated 

''Cambridge,  Jnlij  21,  1775. 
"Dear  Sir:  I  am  particularly  pleased  to  acknowledge  that  part 
of  your  favor  of  the  10th  instant  wherein  you  do  me  the  honor  of 
determining  to  join  the  army  under  my  command.  I  need  certainly 
make  no  professions  of  the  pleasure  I  shall  have  in  seeing  you.  At  the 
same  time,  I  have  to  regret  that  so  little  is  in  my  power  to  offer  equal 
to  Col.  Hancock's  merits,  and  worthy  of  his  acceptance.  I  shall  be 
happy,  in  every  opportunity,  to  show  the  regard  and  esteem  with  which 
"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"  George  Washington." 

The  official  correspondence  of  John  Hancock,  as  President  of  Con- 
gress, is  rich  in  patriotic  fervor.  In  a  letter  to  Washington,  dated 
Dec.  22,  1775,  he  writes  :  "  For  your  future  proceedings,  I  must  beg 
leave  to  refer  you  to  the  enclosed  resolutions.  I  would  just  inform 
you  that  the  last  resolve,  relative  to  an  attack  upon  Boston,  passed 
after  a  most  serious  debate  in  a  committee  of  the  whole  house.  You 
are  now  left  to  the  dictates  of  prudence  and  your  own  judgment. 
May  God  crown  your  attempt  with  success.  I  most  heartily  wish  it, 
though,  individually,  I  may  be  the  greatest  sufferer."  In  an  address 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Canada,  Hancock  says  :  "  Let  it  be  the  pride  of 
those  whose  souls  are  warmed  and  illuminated  by  the  sacred  flames  of 
freedom,  to  be  discouraged  by  no  check,  and  to  surmount  every  obsta- 
cle that  may  be  interposed  between  them  and  the  darling  object  of  their 
wishes.  We  anticipate,  in  our  pleased  imaginations,  the  happy  period 
when  the  standard  of  tyranny  shall  find  no  place  in  North  America." 
In  addressing  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler,  after  the  surrender  of  Montreal, 
Hancock  writes  :  "  You  have  hitherto  risen  superior  to  a  thousand  dif- 
ficulties, in  giving  freedom  to  a  great  and  an  oppressed  people.  You 
have  already  reaped  many  laurels,  but  a  plentiful  harvest  still  invites 
you.  Proceed,  therefore,  and  let  the  footsteps  of  victory  open  a  way 
for  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  the  happiness  of  a  well-ordered  govern- 
ment to  visit  that  extensive  dominion.  Consider  that  the  road  to  glory 
is  seldom  strewed  with  flowers;  and  that,  when  the  black  and  bloody 
standard  of  tyranny  is  erected  in  a  land  possessed  by  freemen,  patriots 


96  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATOKS.' 

cease  to  remain  inactive  spectators  of  their  country's  fall."  In  an 
address  to  Gen.  ]\Iontgomer  j,  in  relation  to  the  surrender  of  Montreal, 
Hancock  writes  :  "  The  Congress,  utterly  abhorrent  from  every  species 
of  cruelty  to  prisoners,  and  determined  to  adhere  to  this  benevolent 
maxim  till  the  conduct  of  their  enemies  renders  a  deviation  from  it 
indispensably  necessary,  will  ever  applaud  their  officers  for  beautifully 
blending  the  Christian  with  the  conqueror,  and  never,  in  endeavoring 
to  acquire  the  character  of  the  hero,  to  lose  that  of  the  man." 

Hancock  thus  writes  to  Gen.  Washington,  under  date  of  Philadel- 
phia, March  25,  1776  :  "  Sir, —  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  yester- 
day yours  of  the  19th,  containing  the  agreeable  information  of  the 
ministerial  troops  having  abandoned  Boston.  The  partial  victory  we 
have  obtained  over  them  in  that  quarter,  I  hope,  will  turn  out  a  happy 
presage  of  a  more  general  one.  Whatever  place  may  be  the  object  of 
their  destination,  it  must  certainly  give  a  sincere  pleasure  to  every  friend 
of  the  country  to  see  the  most  diligent  preparations  everywhere  making 
to  receive  them.  What  may  be  their  views,  it  is,  indeed,  impossible  to 
tell  with  any  degree  of  exactness.  We  have  all  the  reason,  however, 
from  that  rage  of  disappointment  and  revenge,  to  expect  the  worst. 
Nor  have  I  any  doubt  that,  as  far  as  their  power  extends,  they  will 
inflict  every  species  of  calamity  upon  us.  The  same  Providence  that 
has  baffled  their  attempt  against  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
will,  I  trust,  defeat  the  deep-laid  scheme  they  are  now  meditating 
against  some  other  part  of  our  country. 

"  The  intelligence  that  our  army  had  got  possession  of  Boston,  you 
will  readily  suppose,  gave  me  heartfelt  pleasure.  I  beg,  sir,  you  will 
be  pleased  to  accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  attention  you  have 
showed  to  my  property  in  that  town.  I  have  only  to  request  that 
Capt.  Cazneau  Avill  continue  to  look  after  and  take  care  that  it  be 
noways  destroyed  or  damaged.  This  success  of  our  arms  naturally 
calls  upon  me  to  congratulate  you.  sir,  to  whose  wisdom  and  conduct  it 
has  been  owing.  Permit  me  to  add,  that  if  a  constant  discharge  of 
the  most  important  duties,  and  the  fame  attending  thereon,  can  afford 
genuine  satisfaction,  the  pleasure  you  feel  must  be  the  most  rational 
and  exalted." 

Hancock  says,  on  the  30th  April,  1776  :  "  The  unprepared  state 
of  the  colonies,  on  the  commencement  of  the  war,  and  the  almost 
total  want  of  everything  necessary  to  carry  it  on,  are  the  true  sources 
from  whence  all  our  difficulties  have  proceeded.     This  fact,  however, 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  97 

furnishes  a  proof  most  striking  of  the  weakness  or  wickeclness  of  those 
Avho  charge  them  with  an  original  intention  of  withdrawing  from  the 
government  of  Great  Britain,  and  erecting  an  independent  empire. 
Had  such  a  scheme  been  formed,  the  most  warlike  preparations  would 
have  been  necessary  to  effect  it." 

Hancock,  in  a  letter  to  Gen.  Washington,  dated  Philadelphia,  Maj 
21,  1776,  where  he  renews  an  invitation  to  receive  a  visit  from  him, 
stating,  "I  reside  in  an  airy,  open  part  of  the  city,  in  Arch-street 
and  Fourth-street,"  says:  "Your  favor  of  the  20th  inst.  I  received 
this  morning,  and  cannot  help  expressing  the  very  great  pleasure  it 
Avould  afford  both  Mrs.  Hancock  and  myself  to  have  the  happiness  of 
accommodating  you  during  your  stay  in  this  city.  As  the  house  I 
live  in  is  large  and  roomy,  it  will  be  entirely  in  your  power  to  live  in 
tha;t  manner  you  should  Avish.  Mrs.  "Washington  may  be  as  retired 
as  she  pleases,  while  under  inoculation,  and  Mrs.  Hancock  will  esteem 
it  an  honor  to  have  INIrs.  Washington  inoculated  in  her  house ;  and,  as 
I  am  informed  Mr.  Randolph  has  not  any  lady  about  his  house  to  take 
the  necessary  care  of  Mrs.  Washington,  I  flatter  myself  she  will  be  as 
well  attended  in  my  family.  In  short,  sir,  I  must  take  the  freedom  to 
repeat  my  wish,  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  condescend  to  dwell  under 
my  roof  I  assure  you,  sir,  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  render  your 
stay  agreeable,  and  my  house  shall  be  entirely  at  your  disposal.  I 
must,  however,  submit  this  to  your  determination,  and  only  add  that 
you  will  peculiarly  gratify  Mrs.  H.  and  myself,  in  affording  me  an 
opportunity  of  convincing  you  of  this  truth,  that  I  am,  with  every 
sentiment  of  regard  for  you  and  your  connections,  and  with  much 
esteem,  dear  sip,  your  faithful  and  most  obedient  humble  servant." 

In  a  letter  to  the  convention  of  New  Hampshire,  dated  June  4, 
1776,  Hancock  writes:  "The  militia  of  the  United  Colonies  area 
body  of  troops  that  may  be  depended  upon.  To  their  virtue  their  del- 
egates in  Congress  now  make  the  most  solemn  appeal.  They  are  called 
upon  to  say  whether  they  will  live  slaves,  or  die  freemen.  They  arc 
requested  to  step  forth  in  defence  of  their  wives,  their  children,  their 
liberty,  and  everything  they  hold  dear.  The  cause  is  certainly  a  most 
glorious  one,  and  I  trust  that  every  man  of  New  Hampshire  is  deter- 
mined to  see  it  gloriously  ended,  or  to  perish  in  the  ruins  of  it.  In 
short,  on  your  exertions,  at  this  critical  period,  together  with  those  of 
the  other  colonies,  in  the  common  cause,  the  salvation  of  America  cvi- 
9 


98  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

(Icntlj  depends.  Your  colony,  I  am  persuaded,  will  not  be  behindhand. 
Exert,  therefore,  every  nerve  to  distinguish  yourselves.  Quicken  your 
preparations,  and  stimulate  the  good  people  of  your  government,  and 
there  is  no  danger,  not^Yithstanding  the  mighty  armament  with  which 
we  are  threatened,  but  you  will  be  able  to  lead  them  to  victory,  to 
liberty,  and  to  happiness." 

Under  date  of  July  4,  1776,  John  Hancock  writes  to  the  govern- 
ments of  jNIaryland  and  Delaware,  in  language  breathing  the  fervor  of 
burnincr  patriotism.  We  select  a  passage  from  this  truly  noble  docu- 
ment :  "  Gen.  Howe  having  taken  possession  of  Staten  Island,  and 
the  Jerseys  being  drained  of  their  militia  for  the  defence  of  New  York, 
I  am  directed  by  Congress  to  request  you  will  proceed  immediately  to 
embody  your  militia  for  the  establishment  of  the  flying  camp,  and 
march  them,  with  all  possible  expedition,  either  by  battalions,  detach- 
ments of  battalions,  or  by  companies,  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The 
present  campaign,  I  have  no  doubt,  if  we  exert  ourselves  properly,  will 
secure  the  enjoyment  of  our  liberties  forever.  All  accounts  agree  that 
Great  Britain  will  make  her  greatest  effort  this  summer.  Should  we, 
therefore,  be  able  to  keep  our  ground,  we  shall  afterwards  have  little 
to  apprehend  from  her.  I  do,  therefore,  most  ardently  beseech  and 
request  you,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  Congress,  as  you 
regard  your  own  freedom,  and  as  you  stand  engaged  by  the  most  solemn 
ties  of  honor  to  support  the  common  cause,  to  strain  every  nerve  to 
send  forward  your  militia.  This  is  a  step  of  such  infinite  moment, 
that,  in  all  human  probabihty,  your  speedy  compliance  will  prove  the 
salvation  of  your  country.  It  is  impossible  we  can  have  any  higher 
motives  to  induce  us  to  act.  We  should  reflect,  too,  that  the  loss  of 
this  campaign  will  inevitably  protract  the  war ;  and  that,  in  order  to 
gain  it,  we  have  only  to  exert  ourselves,  and  to  make  use  of  the  means 
which  God  and  nature  have  given  us  to  defend  ourselves.  I  must, 
therefore,  again  repeat  to  you,  that  the  Congress  most  anxiously  expect 
and  request  you  will  not  lose  a  moment  in  carrying  into  effect  this 
requisition,  with  all  the  zeal,  spirit,  and  despatch,  which  are  so  indis- 
pensably required  by  the  critical  situation  of  our  affairs."  On  the  6th 
of  July,  1776,  Hancock,  in  writing  to  Washington,  thus  emphasizes  : 
''  The  Congress,  for  some  days  past,  have  had  their  attention  occupied 
by  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  subjects  that  could  pos- 
sibly come  before  them,  or  any  other  assembly  of  men.     Although  it 


JOHN    HANCOCK.  '  99 

is  not  possible  to  foresee  the  consequences  of  human  actions,  yet  it  is, 
nevertheless,  a  duty  we  owe  ourselves  and  posterity,  in  all  our  public 
counsels,  to  decide  in  the  best  manner  we  are  able,  and  to  trust  the 
event  to  that  Being,  who  controls  both  causes  and  events,  to  bring 
about  his  own  determinations.  Impressed  with  this  sentiment,  and  at 
the  same  time  fully  convinced  that  our  affairs  may  take  a  more  fivora- 
ble  turn,  the  Congress  have  judged  it  necessary  to  dissolve  all  connec- 
tion between  Great  Britain  and  the  American  Colonies,  and  to  declare 
them  free  and  independent  States,  as  you  will  perceive  by  the  enclosed 
Declaration,  which  I  am  directed  by  Congress  to  transmit  to  you,  and 
to  request  you  mil  have  proclaimed  at  the  head  of  the  army,  in  the  way 
you  shall  think  most  proper."  Hancock  says  to  Washington,  in 
another  letter,  written  on  the  memorable  4th  of  July:  "  Sir,— The 
enclosed  resolves,  to  which  I  must  beg  leave  to  refer  your  attention, 
will  inform  you  of  the  steps  Congress  has  taken  to  establish  the  fiying 
camp.  To  the  unhappy  confusion  that  has  prevailed  in  this  colony 
must  be  principally  ascribed  the  delays  that  have  hitherto  attended 
that  salutary  measure.  However,  I  flatter  myself  things  will  now  take 
a  different  turn,  as  the  contest  to  keep  possession  of  power  is  now  at 
an  end,  and  a  new  mode  of  government,  equal  to  the  exigencies  of  our 
affairs,  will  soon  be  adopted,  agreeably  to  the  recommendations  of  Con- 
gress to  the  United  Colonies." 

In  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  thirteen  United  States,  dated  at  Phil- 
adelphia, Sept.  24,  1776,  our  spirited  Hancock  says:  "Let  us  con- 
vince our  enemies  that,  as  we  are  entered  into  the  present  contest 
for  the  defence  of  our  liberties,  so  we  are  resolved,  with  the  firmest 
reliance  on  Heaven  for  the  justice  of  our  cause,  never  to  relinquish  it, 
but  rather  to  perish  in  the  ruins  of  it.  If  we  do  but  remain  firm, — 
if  we  are  not  dismayed  at  the  httle  shocks  of  fortune,  and  are  deter- 
mined, at  all  hazards,  that  we  will  be  free, —  I  am  persuaded,  under  the 
gracious  smiles  of  Providence,  assisted  by  our  own  most  strenuous 
endeavors,  we  shall  finally  succeed,  agreeably  to  our  wishes,  and  thereby 
establish  the  independence,  the  happiness,  and  the  glory,  of  the  United 
States  of  America." 

In  the  same  letter,  he  writes:  "You  will  perceive,  by  the 
enclosed  resolves,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  Congress,  that  they  have  come  to  a  determination  to 
augment  our  army,  and  to  engage  the  troops  to  serve  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  war.     As  an  inducement  to  enlist  on  these  terms,  the 


100  THE    nUXCRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Congress  have  agreed  to  give,  besides  a  bounty  of  twenty  dollars,  a 
hundred  acres  of  land  to  each  soldier ;  and,  in  case  he  should  fall  in 
battle,  they  have  resolved,  that  his  children,  or  other  representatives, 
shall  succeed  to  such  land.  The  many  ill  consequences  arising  from 
a  short  and  limited  enhstment  of  troops  are  too  obvious  to  be  men- 
tioned. In  general,  give  me  leave  to  observe,  that  to  make  men  well 
acquainted  with  the  duties  of  a  soldier  requires  time ;  and  to  bring 
them  under  proper  subordination  and  discipline,  not  only  requires  time, 
but  has  always  been  a  work  of  much  difficulty.  "\Ye  have  had  too  fre- 
quent experience  that  men  of  a  few  days'  standing  will  not  look  for- 
ward, but,  as  the  time  of  their  discharge  approaches,  grow  careless 
of  their  arms,  ammunition,  &c.,  and  impatient  of  all  restraint.  The 
consequence  of  which  is,  the  latter  part  of  the  time  for  which  the  sol- 
dier was  engaged  is  spent  in  undoing  what  the  greatest  pains  had  been 
taken  to  inculcate  at  first.  Need  I  add  to  this,  that  the  fall  of  the  late 
Gen.  Montgomery  before  Quebec  is  undoubtedly  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
hmited  time  for  which  the  troops  were  engaged, —  whose  impatience  to 
return  home  compelled  him  to  make  the  attack,  contrary  to  the  convic- 
tion of  his  own  judgment.  This  fact  alone  furnishes  a  striking  argu- 
ment of  the  danger  and  impropriety  of  sending  troops  into  the  field 
under  any  restriction  as  to  the  time  of  the  enlistment.  The  noblest 
enterprise  may  be  left  unfinished  by  troops  in  such  a  predicament,  or 
abandoned  at  the  very  moment  success  must  have  crowned  the  attempt. 
The  heavy  and  enormous  expenses  consequent  upon  calling  forth  the 
militia,  the  delay  attending  their  motions,  and  the  difficulty  of  keeping 
them  in  camp,  render  it  extremely  improper  to  place  our  whole  depend- 
ence upon  them.  Experience  hath  uniformly  convinced  us  of  this, 
some  of  the  militia  ha^dng  actually  deserted  the  camp  at  the  very 
moment  their  services  were  most  wanted.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
strength  of  the  British  army,  which  is  gi'eat,  is  considered  much  more 
formidable  by  the  superior  order  and  regularity  which  prevail  in  it." 

In  a  manly  letter  to  Gen.  Schuyler,  dated  Philadelphia,  Oct.  4, 
1776,  Hancock  Avrites,  transmitting  the  resolve  of  Congress  expressive 
of  their  high  sense  of  his  past  conduct,  that  "  Congress  cannot  give 
their  consent  to  your  retiring  from  the  army  in  its  present  situation. 
Such  a  step  would  give  your  enemies  occasion  to  exult,  as  they  might 
suppose  you  were  induced  to  take  it  from  an  apprehension  of  the  truth 
and  reality  of  their  charges  against  you.  The  unmerited  reproaches 
of  ignorance  and  mistaken  zeal  are  infinitely  overbalanced  by  the  sat- 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  101 

isfaction  arising  from  a  conscious  integrity.  As  long,  therefore,  as 
you  can  wrap  yourself  in  your  innocence,  I  flatter  myself  you  Avill 
not  pay  so  great  a  regard  to  the  calumnies  of  your  enemies  as  to 
deprive  your  country  of  any  services  "whicli  you  may  have  it  in  your 
povrer  to  render  his."  In  a  spirited  letter  to  six  of  the  States,  dated 
Philadelphia,  Oct.  9, 1776,  Hancock  writes  :  "The  Congress,  for  very 
obvious  reasons,  are  extremely  anxious  to  keep  the  army  together. 
The  dangerous  consequences  of  their  breaking  up,  and  the  difficulty 
of  forming  a  new  one,  are  inconceivable.  Were  this  barrier  once 
removed,  military  power  would  quickly  s|)read  desolation  and  ruin 
over  the  face  of  our  country.  The  importance,  and,  indeed,  the  abso- 
lute necessity,  of  filling  up  the  army,  of  providing  for  the  troops,  and 
engaging  them  to  serve  during  the  war,  is  so  apparent,  and  has  been 
so  frequently  urged,  that  I  shall  only  request  your  attention  to  the 
resolves  of  Congress  on  this  subject ;  and  beseech  you,  by  that  love  you 
have  for  your  country,  her  rights  and  liberties,  to  exert  yourselves  to 
carry  them  speedily  and  effectually,  as  the  only  means  of  preserving 
her  in  this  her  critical  and  alarming  situation."  In  a  letter  to  four  of 
the  States,  dated  Baltimore,  Dec.  25,  1776,  Hancock  writes:  "It  is 
needless  to  use  arguments  on  this  occasion,  or  to  paint  the  dreadful 
consequences,  to  gentlemen  already  fully  acquainted  with  them,  of  leav- 
ing the  back  settlements  of  the  New  England  States  open  to  the  rav- 
ages of  our  merciless  foes.  If  anything  can  add  to  your  exertions,  at 
this  time,  it  must  be  the  reflection  that  your  own  most  immediate  safety 
calls  upon  you  to  strain  every  nerve.  Should  we  heedlessly  abandon 
the  post  of  Ticonderoga,  we  give  up  inconceivable  advantages.  Should 
we  resolutely  maintain  it,  —  and  it  is  extremely  capable  of  defence, — 
we  may  bid  defiance  to  Gen.  Carleton,  and  the  northern  army  under 
his  command.  But  our  exertions  for  this  purpose  must  be  immediate, 
or  they  will  not  avail  anything.  The  31st  of  this  inst.  the  time  will 
expire  for  which  the  troops  in  that  important  garristo  were  enlisted, 
and  Lake  Champlain  will,  in  all  probability,  be  frozen  over  soon  after. 
For  the  sake,  therefore,  of  all  that  is  dear  to  freemen,  be  entreated  to 
pay  immediate  attention  to  this  requisition  of  Congress,  and  let  nothing 
divert  you  from  it.  The  an'airs  of  our  country  are  in  a  situation  to 
admit  of  no  delay.  They  may  still  be  retrieved,  but  not  without  the 
greatest  expedition  and  vigor." 

Gov.  Hancock,  in  writing  to  the  Hon.  Robert  Morris,  Financier 
General  at  Washington,  under  date  Philadelphia,  Sept.  24,  1781,  says: 
9* 


102  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS.  , 

"  Pray,  my  friend,  -when  -svill  bo  the  properest  time  for  me  to  be  con- 
sidered for  my  expenses  wliile  President  of  Congress  ?  They  wrote 
me  on  the  subject  some  two  years  ago ;  but  I  waived  troubhng  them, 
knowing  the  dehcacy  of  their  situation.  Indeed,  I  kept  no  account  of 
my  expenses  ;  nor  had  I  time  for  it,  as  you  well  know  how  my  time 
was  engrossed,  and  the  labors  and  fatigue  I  underwent,  and  the  expenses 
I  must  have  necessarily  incurred.  I  can  speak  plain  to  you :  confident 
I  am  that  fifteen  hundred  pounds  sterling  would  not  amount  to  the 
expenses  I  incurred  as  president.  In  this  I  think  I  merit  considera- 
tion, more  especially  as  grants  have  been  made  to  all  my  successors." 
Had  Congress  remitted  Hancock  twice  that  amount,  it  would  have 
been  no  equivalent  to  the  sacrifices  of  tliis  devoted  patriot. 

President  Hancock  was  appointed,  by  the  General  Court  of  his 
native  State,  Feb.  8,  1778,  first  Major-general  of  the  Massachusetts 
]\Iilitia ;  and,  during  a  recess  of  Congress  in  July,  on  the  very  day 
succeeding  that  when  he  acted  as  moderator  of  a  town-meeting,  Aug. 
6  th  of  that  year,  when  the  people  at  Faneuil  Hall  unanimously  decided 
that  persons  who  have  left  the  to'^yn,  and  have  sought  and  received  pro- 
tection from  the  British  king,  cannot  return  to  it  again  without  greatly 
endangering  the  peace  and  safety  of  Boston,  the  Cadet  company, 
headed  by  Maj.  Gen.  Hancock,  and  commanded  by  Col.  Hichbom, 
and  the  company  of  Light  Infantry,  commanded  by  Capt.  Hinckley, 
both  of  this  town,  set  out  for  head-quarters,  to  engage  in  an  enter- 
prise in  cooperation  with  the  fleet  of  the  French  admiral,  the  Count 
D'Estaing,  against  Newpoi't,  in  Rhode  Island,  conducted  by  a  detach- 
ment from  the  regular  army  of  Washington,  and  seven  thousand  of  the 
mihtia  of  New  England, — an  expedition  which  excited  great  anticipa- 
tions,—  the  whole  under  command  of  Maj.  Gen.  Sullivan,  aided  by  the 
Marquis  De  La  Fayette  and  INIaj.  Gen.  Greene.  On  August  9th  they 
landed  on  Newport  Island,  and  took  possession  of  two  of  the  enemy's 
forts,  under  Lord  Howe,  and  the  whole  island  north  of  their  lines,  with- 
out a  gun  fired  on  either  side.  The  second  line  of  this  army  was  com- 
manded by  Gen.  Hancock,  who,  warm  with  ardor,  despatched  intelli- 
gence, on  the  11th  instant,  to  Hon.  Jeremiah  Powell,  President  of  the 
State  Council.  On  the  arrival  of  these  troops  in  the  island,  the  fleet 
of  Lord  Howe  appeared  upon  the  coast.  We  would  have  our  readers 
revert  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  and  Bradford's 
Massachusetts,  for  a  relation  of  this  contest. 

Count  D'Estaing,  regardless  of  his  obligations  with  the  American 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  103 

troops,  instead  of  defending  them,  hastened  to  the  pursuit  of  the  Brit- 
ish, and  exposed  the  army  of  his  allies  to  all  the  calamities  of  a  defeat; 
and  the  Americans  were  left,  in  the  midst  of  great  danger,  to  a  morti- 
fying retreat,  which  they  achieved,  however,  without  the  loss  of  artil- 
lery or  baggage,  and  the  fleet  arrived  at  the  same  time  in  Boston 
harbor,  shattered  by  a  furious  storm. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  French  were  not  received  in  Boston 
with  the  usual  hospitality  of  its  inhabitants,  says  Sanderson's  Biogra- 
phy, and  with  a  displeasure  which  threatened  unhappy  results ;  but 
Gen.  Hancock,  interposing,  relieved  his  country  from  such  a  calamity, 
by  his  conciliating  manners  and  unbounded  hospitality.  His  elegant 
mansion  was  thrown  open  to  the  French  admiral  and  all  his  officers, 
about  forty  of  whom  dined  every  day  at  his  table,  loaded  with  the  lux- 
uries of  the  season ;  and,  in  addition,  he  gave  a  grand  public  ball  at 
Concert  Hall,  attended  by  the  admiral.  On  turning  to  the  Gazette, 
however,  we  find  that  Admiral  D'Estaing,  Sept.  21,  made  a  splendid 
entry  into  Boston.  He  was  saluted  from  the  Castle,  the  ships  and 
forts  in  the  harbor,  as  he  approached  the  town.  Upon  landing,  he  was 
received  by  the  State  authorities,  at  the  Council-chamber  in  King- 
street,  and  breakfasted  Avith  Gen.  Hancock  at  his  seat ;  and  a  superb 
entertainment  was  given  that  week  at  Faneuil  Hall,  where  were 
upwards  of  five  hundred  guests.  The  retreat  of  the  Americans  was, 
indeed,  a  remarkable  escape.  The  delay  of  a  single  day  Avould  proba- 
bly have  been  fatal ;  for  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  been  detained  by 
adverse  winds,  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  of  four  thousand  men  the 
very  next  day,  when  a  retreat,  it  is  suspected,  wOuld  have  been  imprac- 
ticable. 

In  the  reminiscences  of  John  Trumbull  are  two  allusions  to  Hancock. 
It  appears  that  Gen.  Gates,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  northern  department  in  Canada,  had,  previous  to  his  entrance  on 
the  station,  appointed  Mr.  Trumbull  a  deputy  adjutant-general  on  that 
station,  which  was  rejected  by  Congress  as  premature  and  unmilitary. 
This  occurred  in  1775,  when  Hancock  was  president ;  and  the  circum- 
stance probably  excited  a  prejudice  unfavorable  to  Trumbull,  who 
relates  that,  "  While  I  was  in  Gen.  Washington's  family,  in  1775,  Mr. 
Hancock  made  a  passing  visit  to  the  general,  and,  observing  me,  he 
inquired  of  Mr.  Mifuin  who  I  was ;  and,  when  told  that  I  was  his  fellow 
aid-de-camp,  and  son  of  Gov.  Trumbull,  he  made  the  unworthy  observa- 
tion, that  '  that  family  icas  well  jtrovided  for.''     Mr.  Mifflin  did  not 


104  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

tell  me  tliis  until  after  Mr.  Hancock  had  left  head-quarters,  but  then 
observed  that  he  deserved  to  be  called  to  an  account  for  it.  I  answered, 
'No, —  he  is  right;  my  father  and  his  three  sons  are  doubtless  •well 
provided  for.  We  are  secure  of  four  halters,  if  we  do  not  succeed.'  " 
There  is  a  strong  probability  that  Hancock  regretted  this  remark,  and 
felt  that  Trumbull  -was  wronged ;  and  after  Col.  Trumbull's  service,  as 
aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Sullivan,  in  the  attack  on  Rhode  Island,  in  1778, 
when  he  returned  to  Boston  overcome  with  fatigue  and  severe  indispo- 
sition, before  he  rose  next  morning,  a  visit  from  Gov.  Hancock  was 
announced.  "  He  followed  the  servant  to  my  bedside,"  says  Trumbull, 
•'  and,  with  great  kindness,  insisted  that  I  should  be  removed  to  his  house 
immediately,  where,  if  my  illness  shovild  become  serious,  I  could  be 
more  carefully  attended  than  was  possible  in  a  boarding-house.  I  made 
light  of  my  illness,  and,  with  many  thanks,  declined  his  pressing  invi- 
tation. But  it  was  a  proud  and  consoling  reflection,  that  he,  who  had 
been  President  of  Congress  at  the  time  of  my  resignation,  and  who 
had  both  signed  and  forwarded  the  misdated  commission  which  had 
driven  me  from  the  service,  had  now  witnessed  my  military  conduct, 
and  seen  that  I  was  not  a  man'to  ask,  but  to  earn,  distinction."  No 
doubt  these  patriots  were  soon  reconciled,  as  Gov.  Hancock  sat  to 
Trumbull  for  his  portrait. 

In  1780  Hancock  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention  that 
framed  a  State  constitution,  of  which  James  Bowdoin  was  president. 
At  that  time  the  people  of  the  State  were  divided  into  two  political  par- 
ties, with  one  of  which  the  popularity  of  John  Hancock  was  unbounded  : 
with  the  other,  James  Bowdoin  was  the  favorite.  "In  the  Hancock 
party,"  says  Josiah  Quincy,  "  were  included  many  of  the  known  mal- 
contents with  Harvard  College, — men  who  had  no  sympathy  for  science 
or  classical  education,  and  who  were  ready  to  oppose  any  proposition 
for  the  benefit  of  that  institution."  Is  not  this  a  sweeping  denuncia- 
tion, too  severe  to  credit  ?  On  the  contrary,  the  party  of  which  James 
Bowdoin  may  be  considered  the  exponent  "  included  all  the  active 
friends  of  that  seminary,  and  was  chiefly  composed  of  men  regarded  by 
the  opposite  faction  with  jealousy  and  fear,  to  some  of  whom  Hancock 
then  gave  the  sobriquet  of  'The  Essex  Junto,' — the  delegates  from 
that  county  being  among  the  most  talented  and  efficient  members  of 
the  convention."  Would  it  be  uncandid  to  concede  that  the  Hancock 
party  embraced  a  few  friends  of  Harvard  College  ?  Did  not  Gov. 
Hancock  prove,  by  his  public  messages,  the  paternal  interest  of  his 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  105 

heart  in  the  welfare  of  the  college  ?  Does  not  President  Quincy  prove 
it  by  his  own  statement,  where  he  relates  that  "Gov.  Hancock  was 
induced  to  allude  to  the  necessity  of  legislative  aid,  in  his  speech  to 
the  General  Court,  in  May,  1791,  and  to  introduce,  by  a  special  mes- 
sage, the  memorial  of  Samuel  Adams  and  others,  a  committee  of  the 
overseers  and  corporation,  of  the  necessity  of  making  up  by  the 
arrearages  of  the  usual  grants  to  college  officers, —  without  which,  they 
averred,  that  '  either  the  assessment  on  the  students  must  be  aug- 
mented, or  some  of  the  institutions  of  the  college  must  fail  of  support '  ? 
After  great  debates,  the  subject  was  again  referred  to  the  next  session 
of  the  Legislature;"  and  on  another  occasion,  in  1781,  did  not  Han- 
cock remark,  that  the  college  was,  "in  some  sense,  the  parent  and 
nurse  of  the  late  happy  revolution  in  this  Commonwealth  '"? 

On  the  adoption  of  the  State  constitution  at  that  date,  John  Han- 
cock was  elected  governor,  which  station  he  occupied  until  his  decease, 
with  the  exception  of  the  years  1785  and  6,  when  his  great  rival, 
James  Bowdoin,  became  his  successor. 

One  who  saw  John  Hancock  in  June,  1782,  relates  that  he  had  the 
appearance  of  advanced  age.  He  had  been  repeatedly  and  severely 
afflicted  with  the  gout ;  probably  owing  in  part  to  the  custom  of  di'ink- 
ing  punch, —  a  common  practice,  in  high  circles,  in  those  days.  As 
recollected  at  this  time.  Gov.  Hancock  was  nearly  six  feet  in  height, 
and  of  thin  person,  stooping  a  little,  and  apparently  enfeebled  by  dis- 
ease. His  manners  were  very  gracious,  of  the  old  style  of  dignified 
complaisance.  His  face  had  been  very  handsome.  Dress  was  adapted 
quite  as  much  to  be  ornamental  as  useful.  Gentlemen  wore  wigs  when 
abroad,  and,  commonly,  caps  when  at  home.  At  this  time,  about  noon, 
Hancock  was  dressed  in  a  red  velvet  cap,  within  which  was  one  of  fine 
linen.  The  latter  was  turned  up  over  the  lower  edge  of  the  velvet 
one,  two  or  three  inches.  He  wore  a  blue  damask  gown  lined  with 
silk,  a  white  stock,  a  white  satin  embroidered  waistcoat,  black  satin 
small-clothes,  white  silk  stockings,  and  red  morocco  shppers.  It  was 
a  general  practice,  in  genteel  fiimilies,  to  have  a  tankard  of  punch 
made  in  the  morning,  and  placed  in  a  cooler  when  the  season  required 
it.  At  this  visit,  Hancock  took  from  the  cooler,  standing  on  the 
hearth,  a  full  tankard,  and  drank  first  himself,  and  then  offered  it  to 
those  present.  His  equipage  was  splendid,  and  such  as  is  not  custom- 
ary at  this  day.  His  apparel  was  sumptuously  embroidered  with  gold 
and  silver  and  lace,  and  other  decorations  fashionable  amongst  men  of 


106  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

fortune  of  that  period  ;  and  he  rode,  especially  upon  public  occasions, 
>Yith  six  beautiful  bay  horses,  attended  by  servants  in  livery.  He 
wore  a  scarlet  coat,  with  ruffles  on  his  sleeves,  which  soon  became  the 
prevailing  fashion;  and  it  is  related  of  Dr.  Nathan  Jacques,  the 
famous  pedestrian,  of  West  Newbury,  that  he  paced  all  the  way  to 
Boston,  in  one  day,  to  procure  cloth  for  a  coat  like  that  of  John  Han- 
cock, and  returned  with  it  under  his  arm,  on  foot. 

Hancock  was  hospitable.  There  might  have  been  seen,  at  his  table, 
all  classes,  from  grave  and  dignified  clergy,  down  to  the  gifted  in  song, 
narration,  anecdote,  and  wit,  with  whom  ''noiseless  falls  the  foot  of 
Time,  that  only  treads  on  flowers. '^ 

Madam  Hancock  gratified  the  ambition  of  her  husband,  in  presiding 
with  so  much  graceful  ease  at  his  hospitable  board  and  in  the  social 
circle,  that  her  presence  ever  infused  an  enlivening  charm.  So  famed 
was  Hancock  for  hospitality,  that  his  mansion  was  often  thronged  with 
visiters ;  and  frequently  did  Madam  Hancock  send  her  maids  to  milk 
their  cows  on  Boston  Common,  early  in  the  morning,  to  replenish  the 
exhausted  supply  of  the  previous  evening.  On  July  28,  1796,  widow 
Dorothy  Hancock  was  married,  by  Peter  Thacher,  D.  D.,  to  James 
Scott,  the  master  of  a  London  packet,  formerly  in  the  employ  of  the 
governor.  She  outlived  Capt.  Scott  many  years,  and  retained  her 
mental  faculties  until  near  the  close  of  hfe.  She  was  a  lady  of  superior 
education,  and  delightful  powers  of  conversation. 

Her  last  days  were  retired  and  secluded,  in  the  dwelling  No.  4  Fed- 
eral-street, next  the  corner  of  Milton-place,  in  Boston ;  and  those  were 
most  honored  who  received  an  invitation  to  her  little  supper-table. 
She  spoke  of  other  days  with  cheerfulness,  and  seldom  sighed  that  they 
had  gone.  Her  memory  was  tenacious  of  past  times ;  and  there  were 
but  few  officers  of  the  British  army  quartered  in  Boston  whose  per- 
sonal appearance,  habits,  and  manners,  she  could  not  describe  with 
accuracy.  Her  favorite  was  Earl  Percy,  whose  forces  encamped  on 
Boston  Common  during  the  winter  of  1774-5 ;  and  this  nobleman, 
accustomed  to  all  the  luxuries  of  Old  England,  slept  among  his  com- 
panions in  arms  in  a  tent  on  the  Common,  exposed  to  the  severity  of 
the  weather  as  much  as  were  they.  The  traces  of  those  tents  have 
been  visible,  to  a  very  recent  period,  on  the  Common,  when  the  grass 
was  freshly  springing  from  the  earth,  and  the  circles  around  the  tents 
were  very  distinct.     At  the  dawn  of  day,  Madam  Scott  related,  that 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  107 

Earl  Percy's  voice  Tvas  heard  drilling  the  regulars  near  the  old 
mansion. 

Madam  Plancock  had  an  opportunity,  after  the  capture  of  Burgoyne, 
of  extending  her  courtesies  to  the  ladies  of  his  army,  while  at  Cam- 
bridge, under  the  treaty  with  Gates.  They  were  gratefully  received 
by  the  fair  Britons,  and  ever  remembered.  When  Lafayette  was  in 
Boston,  during  his  last  visit,  in  August,  1824,  he  made  an  early  call 
on  Madam  Scott.  Those  who  witnessed  this  hearty  interview  speak  of 
it  with  admiration.  The  once  youthful  chevalier  and  the  unrivalled 
belle  met  as  if  only  a  summer  had  passed  since  they  had  enjoyed 
social  interviews  in  the  perils  of  the  Revolution.  While  they  both  were 
contemplating  the  changes  effected  by  long  time,  they  smiled  in  each 
other's  faces,  but  no  allusion  was  made  to  such  an  ungallant  subject : 
yet  she  was  not  always  so  silent  on  this  point.  One  of  her  young 
friends  complimented  her  on  her  good  looks.  She  laughingly  replied, 
"What  you  have  said  is  more  than  half  a  hundred  years  old.  My 
ears  remember  it;  but  what  were  dimples  once  are  wrinkles  now." 
To  the  last  day  of  life,  she  was  as  attentive  to  her  dress  as  when  first 
in  the  circles  of  fashion.  "  She  would  never  forgive  a  young  girl," 
she  said,  "who  did  not  dress  to  please,  nor  one  who  seemed  pleased 
with  her  dress."  Madam  Scott  died  in  Boston,  Feb.  3,  1830,  aged 
83  years. 

The  munificence  of  John  Hancock,  in  the  bosom  of  the  church,  was 
as  proverbial  as  it  was  in  forwarding  the  glory  of  the  republic.  In  the 
year  1772  he  officially  proposed  to  contribute  largely  towards  a  new 
meeting-house  for  Brattle-street  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
A  plan  for  an  edifice,  drawn  by  John  S.  Copley,  the  artist,  was 
rejected,  because  of  the  expense;  but  another,  drawn  by  Maj.  Thomas 
Dawes,  father  of  the  judge,  Avas  adopted.  The  admirers  of  genius  will 
ever  deplore  the  loss  of  Copley's  design.  There  were  seventy-five 
"free-gift"  subscribers,  of  whom  Gov.  Bowdoin  gave  £200,  and  Gov. 
Hancock  gave  ,£1000,  reserving  to  himself  the  right  of  erecting  a 
mahogany  pulpit  and  furniture,  a  mahogany  deacon's  seat  and  com- 
munion-table, and  seats  for  poor  widows,  and  others  unable  to  provide 
for  themselves.  When  the  bell,  which  was  his  gift  also,  was  hung  and 
rung  for  the  first  time,  Oct.  28,  1774,  weigliing  3220  pounds,  this 
motto  had  been  inscribed  upon  it : 

"I  to  the  Church  the  living  call, 
And  to  the  grave  I  summons  all." 


108  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

During  the  years  1775-6,  regiments  of  the  British  troops  were 
quartered  in  the  new  church,  in  a  sugar-house  to  the  north  of  it,  and  in 
houses  in  the  near  vicinity.  Dr.  Cooper  was  often  a  subject  of  their 
notice,  in  passing  into  the  church  at  service-time,  when  paraded  in  the 
square;  and  the  provost  once,  in  breaking  open  the  church  door, 
declared  that  if  Dr.  Cooper  and  Dr.  "Warren  were  there,  he  would 
break  their  heads.  The  congregation  was  dispersed,  on  the  16th  of 
April,  1775,  when  it  was  used  as  a  barrack  for  the  British  regulars, 
until  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  ^larch  17,  1776.  Gov.  Gage  had  his 
military  head-quarters  opposite  the  church.  He  told  Mr.  Turell  he 
had  no  fear  of  the  shot  from  Cambridge,  for  his  troops,  while  within 
such  walls.  The  morning  on  which  the  British  evacuated,  Dea.  New- 
ell and  Mr.  Turell  entered  the  church,  and  quenched  the  fires  which 
they  had  left  burning.  A  shot  which  struck  the  tower  the  night  before 
was  preserved  in  his  family  until  the  committee  for  making  late  repairs 
had  it  fastened  in  the  tower  where  it  had  penetrated.  When  the  Brit- 
ish were  about  to  occupy  the  church.  Deacons  Gore  and  Newell  were 
permitted  to  encase  the  pulpit  and  columns,  and  remove  the  body  pews, 
which  were  conveyed  to  the  paint  loft  of  the  former.  When  the  church 
was  erected,  the  name  of  "  Hon.  John  Hancock,  Esq."  was  inscribed 
on  one  of  the  rustic  quoins,  of  Connecticut  stone,  at  the  south-west 
corner,  wliich  the  royal  regulars  badly  defaced,  and  the  stone  remains 
to  this  day  in  the  condition  in  wliich  they  left  it ;  and  a  similar  inscrip- 
tion, unmutilated.  appears  on  one  of  the  rustic  quoins  in  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  tower.  Palfrey's  history  of  the  church  relates  most  of 
these  facts. 

Though  Hutchinson  relates  that  the  estate  of  Hancock  was  lost  with 
greater  rapidity  than  it  was  acquired,  he  was,  at  the  latest  period,  one 
of  the  largest  owners  of  real  estate  in  Boston.  His  ancient  stone 
mansion,  opposite  which,  m  the  summer,  a  band  of  music  played  for 
the  people,  stands  on  the  front  ground  of  the  possessions  inherited 
from  his  uncle,  bounded  eastward  on  Beacon,  from  Mount  Vernon  to 
Clapboard,  now  Belknap  street,  including  the  grounds  of  the  State- 
house,  Hancock-avenue,  and  Mount  Vernon-place ;  and  westerly, 
embracing  ]\Iount  Vernon-street,  which  he  gave  to  the  town ;  a  part 
of  Hancock-street,  where  was  his  gardener's  extensive  nursery ;  and 
other  lands,  including  a  part  of  Beacon  Hill,  now  occupied  for  a 
Cochituate  Reservoir,  never  before  improved  by  any  building,  until  it 
was  sold  to  the  city  in  1847      His  lands  were  originally  of  orchards  and 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  109 

pastures.  Hancock  was  the  most  public-spirited  person  ever  known 
in  Boston,  and  it  is  said  that  he  sacrificed  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 

There  was  a  lofty  and  spacious  hall  on  the  northern  wing  of  his 
mansion,  extending  sixty  feet,  devoted  to  festive  parties,  and  built  of 
wood.  It  was  removed,  in  1818,  to  Allen-street;  and  a  complaint 
being  entered  that  it  endangered  the  neighborhood,  brick  walls  were 
built  around  it.  and  the  building  is  still  standing.  Public  dinners, 
now  given  at  the  public  expense,  were  provided  by  Hancock  from  his 
own  private  purse.  The  bill  of  cost  for  the  dinner  on  election-day,  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  May  25,  1791,  was  c£90 ;  and  for  163  bottles  of  wine, 
also,  and  other  items,  it  Avas  X65  Gs.  Gd.  The  bill  was  made  out  to 
John  Hancock,  and  paid  by  himself.  On  the  Gth  of  June  following, 
Gov.  Hancock  gave  a  splendid  entertainment  in  his  glorious  hall,  it 
being  election-day.  Among  the  company  present,  were  Col.  Azor 
Orne,  and  Solomon  Davis,  Esq.,  a  merchant  who  resided  in  Tremont- 
strect,  opposite  the  Savings  Bank.  He  was  very  facetious.  A  superb 
plum-cake  graced  the  centre  of  the  table.  It  was  noticed  by  the 
guests  that  Mr.  Davis  partook  very  freely  of  this  cake ;  and,  more- 
over, that  the  silver  tankard  of  punch  was  greatly  lightened  of  its 
liquid,  by  liberal  draughts  through  his  lips.  As  was  the  natural  habit 
of  Mr.  Davis,  he  set  the  table  in  a  roar ;  and  in  one  of  his  puns  being 
specially  felicitous,  Col.  Orne  remarked,  "Go  home,  Davis,  and  die;  — 
you  can  never  beat  that ! "  Mr.  Davis,  on  his  way  home,  fell  dead,  in 
a  fit  of  apoplexy,  near  King's  Chapel,  and  his  pockets  were  found 
filled  with  plum-cake.  His  decease  is  recorded  in  Russell's  Centinel 
of  that  date. 

Gov.  Hancock  would  gather  in  his  hall  all  the  rare  wits  of  the  town, 
of  whom  Nathaniel  Balch,  a  hatter,  was  a  never-failing  guest,  well 
known  as  the  governor's  jester.  His  shop  was  on  Washington  opposite 
Water  street ;  and  he  would,  when  seated  in  his  broad  arm-chair  at  the 
shop-door,  keep  his  visiters  in  a  roar  at  his  witticisms.  So  strong  was 
the  attachment  of  the  governor  towards  him,  that  if  the  former  were 
called  away,  at  no  matter  what  distance.  Squire  Balch  attended  him, 
like  his  shadow, —  which  wo  will  illustrate.  Hancock  was  called  on  to 
visit  the  District  of  Maine,  on  which  occasion  he  travelled  in  state, 
and  was  attended  by  Hon.  Azor  Orne,  of  the  Council,  of  Marblehcad, 
and  his  old  friend  Balch.  Their  arrival  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  was 
thus  humorously  announced  :  On  Thursday  last,  arrived  in  this  toAvn, 
10 


f 

110  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Nathaniel  Balch,  Esq.,  accompanied  by  His  Excellency  John  Hancock, 
and  the  Hon.  Azor  Orne,  Esq. 

Among  the  most  tenacious  political  opponents  of  John  Hancock  -was 
Stephen  Higginson,  a  nervous  writer  of  great  spirit,  whose  articles, 
signed  "Laco,"  in  Russell's  Centinel,  effected  a  strong  feeling.  ]^Ir. 
Higginson  was  a  merchant  on  Long  Wharf,  and  passed  down  State-street 
to  his  store.  The  truckmen  who  stood  in  State-street  used  great  efforts 
to  teach  a  parrot,  that  hung  in  a  cage  at  the  corner  of  Merchant' s-row, 
to  recoo-nize  "Laco,"  and  to  curse  him.  relates  Thomas  ;  and  so  com- 
pletely  successful  were  they,  that  pretty  Poll  no  sooner  saw  Mr.  Higgin- 
son approach,  than  she  began  to  "Hurrah  for  Hancock  !  Down  with 
Laco  !  "  —  and  continued  to  do  so  until  he  was  out  of  sight.  In  con- 
nection with  this,  we  will  relate  another  incident.  One  evening,  early 
in  the  year  1789,  in  a  party,  according  to  Russell's  Centinel,  consist- 
ing of  the  advocates  of  Gov.  Hancock  and  of  his  political  opponents, 
one  of  the  latter,  long  famous  for  his  unfriendly  air,  began  a  long 
harangue  on  Hancock's  unwise  administration  ;  but  before  he  had  ended, 
he  observed  one  of  the  company  asleep.  Offended  at  the  indignity,  he 
ceased,  until  the  speaker's  friends  awoke  the  slumberer,  who  apolo- 
gized, and  proposed,  as  a  reparation,  to  relate  his  dream.  '•  Gentle- 
men," said  he,  "I  dreamed  I  was  in  the  abodes  of  misery.  The  first 
spirit  I  met  was  Lucifer,  who,  as  usual  for  him,  came  to  welcome  me, 
and  asked,  'What  news  upon  earth?'  '  Not  much,'  said  I.  'What 
are  they  doing  at  Boston  7  '  said  he.  I  told  him  they  were  trying  to 
again  elect  John  Hancock  as  governor.  '  That  will  never  do,'  cried 
Lucifer ;  '  Jack,  fetch  my  horse,  boots,  and  spurs.  But  pray  what 
has  become  of  Laco?'  'He  is  there,  very  busy.'  '0,  never  mind, 
then.  Jack  ;  let  the  horse  go,  and  put  away  my  boots  and  spurs ;  for 
while  Laco  is  in  Boston,  there  is  no  need  of  my  presence.  He  can 
perform  the  work  of  confusion  to  admiration,  without  my  aid.'  "  This 
sally  of  wit  set  the  club  in  a  roar,  and  the  ranter  was  so  chagrined  that 
he  uttered  no  more  declamation.  Hancock  was  that  year  elected 
governor  of  the  Old  Bay  State. 

It  was  asserted,  in  Russell's  Centinel,  that  it  was  generally  known 
that  privateers  v/ere  fitting  out  of  the  port  of  Boston,  and  have  been, 
by  American  and  French  citizens,  notwithstanding  President  Wash- 
ington had  proclaimed  that  our  country  was  in  a  state  of  neutrality. 
A  town-meeting  was  notified,  which  took  place  on  July  25,  1793. 
Thomas  Dawes,  the  moderator,  called  upon  ]Mr.  Benjamin  Russell  for 


JOHN   HAXCOCK.  HI 

his  authority,  on  which  he  declared  that  Stephen  Iligginson  related  the 
statement.  The  latter  roundly  denied  the  charge.  The  one  was 
accused  of  asserting  what  he  could  not  prove,  and  the  other  for  print- 
ing what  was  never  stated.  Mr.  Russell,  therefore,  was  impelled  to 
retract,  saying  that  he  had  been  npisinformed.  The  editor  of  the  Bos- 
ton Mercury  very  pleasantly  said,  in  his  paper : 

"  Stephen  and  Ben  are  now  both  even  ; 
Stephen  beat  Ben,  and  Ben  beat  Stephen." 

Gov.  Hancock  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Massachusetts  State 
Convention,  on  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution,  which 
assembled  at  the  Rev.  Jeremy  Belknap's  church,  in  Long-lane, — 
afterwards  named  Federal-street,  in  honor  of  the  convention, —  Jan. 
9,  1788,  on  which  occasion  Hancock  was  elected  president,  and  George 
Richards  Minot,  secretary.  Hancock  had  been  absent  some  days,  from 
illness.  On  the  31st  day  he  resumed  his  place ;  and,  after  remarking 
on  the  difference  of  opinion  which  prevailed  in  the  convention,  he  pro- 
posed that  the  constitution  should  be  adopted,  but  that  it  should  be 
accompanied  by  certain  amendments,  to  be  submitted  to  Congress.  He 
expressed  his  belief  that  it  would  be  safe  to  adopt  the  constitution, 
under  the  hope  that  the  amendments  would  be  ratified,  which  led  to  a 
discussion  on  its  probability.  "It  cannot  be  assumed,  for  certainty," 
says  Sullivan,  "that  this  measure  of  Hancock's  secured  the  adoption; 
but  it  is  highly  probable.  The  convention  may  have  been  influenced 
by  another  circumstance.  About  this  time,  a  great  meeting  of 
mechanics  was  held  at  the  Green  Dragon  Tavern,  which  was  thronged. 
At  this  meeting  resolutions  were  passed,  with  acclamation,  in  favor  of 
the  adoption.  But  notwithstanding  Hancock's  conciliatory  proposal, 
and  this  strong  public  expression,  the  constitution  was  adopted  by  the 
small  majority  of  nineteen,  out  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  votes."  On 
taking  this  question,  Gov.  Hancock  said :  "I  should  have  considered  it 
as  one  of  the  most  distressing  misfortunes  in  my  life,  to  be  deprived 
of  giving  my  aid  and  support  to  a  system  wdiich,  if  amended,  as  I 
feel  assured  it  will  be,  according  to  your  proposals,  cannot  fail  to  give 
the  people  of  the  United  States  a  greater  degree  of  political  freedom, 
and  eventually  as  much  national  dignity  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  any 
nation  on  the  earth.  The  question  now  before  you  is  such  as  no 
nation  on  earth,  without  the  limits  of  America,  have  ever  had  the 


112  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

privilege  of  deciding."  The  proposed  amendments  were  twelve  in 
number.  They  were  submitted  to  the  States.  Ten  of  them  were 
adopted,  and  now  form  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
The  adoption  was  celebrated  in  Boston  by  a  memorable  procession,  in 
wliich  the  various  orders  of  mechanics  displayed  appropriate  banners. 
It  was  hailed  with  joy  throughout  the  republic.  Gen.  "Washington  is 
well  known  to  have  expressed  his  hearty  satisfaction  that  the  import- 
ant State  of  Massachusetts  had  acceded  to  the  Union.  The  proces- 
sion was  so  vast,  that  though  Faneuil  Hall  could  then  accommodate 
fifteen  hundred  persons,  not  half  the  people  could  find  room  to  enter. 

"  The  'Vention  did  in  Boston  meet,  — 
But  State-house  could  not  hold  'em  ; 
So  then  they  went  to  Federal-street, 
And  there  the  truth  ■was  told  'em. 

"  They  every  morning  went  to  prayer. 
And  then  began  disputing. 
Till  opposition  silenced  were. 
By  arguments  refuting. 

"  Then  Squire  Hancock,  lilie  a  man 
Who  dearly  loves  the  nation. 
By  a  conciliatory  plan, 
Prevented  much  vexation. 

•'  He  made  a  woundy  Federal  speech. 
With  sense  and  elocution  ; 
And  then  the  'Vention  did  beseech 
T'  adopt  the  constitution. 

"  The  question  being  outright  put, 
Each  voter  independent, 
The  Federalists  agreed  to  adopt, 
And  then  propose  amendment, 

"  The  other  party,  seeing  then 
The  people  were  against  them, 
Agreed,  like  honest,  faithful  men. 
To  mix  in  peace  amongst  'em. 

"  The  Boston  folks  are  deuced  lads. 
And  always  full  of  notions  ; 
The  boys  and  girls,  their  marms  and  dads, 
Were  filled  with  joy's  commotions  ; 


JOHN   HANCOCK,  113 

"  So  straightway  they  procession  made,  — 
Lord  !  how  nation  fine,  sir  ! 
For  every  man  of  every  trade 
Went  with  his  tools  to  dine,  sir. 

**  John  Foster  Williams,  in  a  ship. 
Joined  in  the  social  band,  sir  ; 
And  made  the  lasses  dance  and  skip, 
To  see  him  sail  on  land,  sir  ! 

•'  0  then  a  whopping  feast  began, 
And  all  hands  went  to  eating  ; 
They  drank  their  toasts,  shook  hands,  and  sung,  — 
Huzza  for  'Vention  meeting  ! 

"  Now,  politicians  of  all  kinds. 
Who  are  not  yet  derided. 
May  see  how  Yankees  speak  their  minds. 
And  yet  are  not  decided. 

*'  Then,  from  this  sample,  let  'em  cease 
Inflammatory  writing  ; 
For  freedom,  happiness,  and  peace, 
Are  better  far  than  fighting. 

"  So  here  I  end  my  Federal  song. 
Composed  of  thirteen  verses  ; 
May  agriculture  flourish  long, 
And  commerce  fill  our  purses." 

Just  three  days  previous  to  the  entry  of  Washington  into  Boston,  in 
the  year  1789,  an  effusion  appeared  in  Russell's  Centinel,  addressed  to 
the  citizens.  Its  fervor  of  affection  must  be  our  apology  for  its  insertion 
here: 

"  The  man  beloved  approaches  nigh,  — 
Revere  him,  ye  Bostonian  sons  ! 
Embrace  the  chance  before  you  die. 
And  cannonade  with  all  your  guns. 

"  Let  lively  squibs  dance  through  the  town. 
And  pleasing  rockets  gild  the  air  ; 
There  's  not  a  man  can  show  a  frown. 
But  all  shall  joyously  appear. 

"  Let  punch  in  casks  profusely  flow, 
And  wine  luxuriantly  be  spread  ; 
That  townsmen  all,  both  high  and  low. 
May  hand  in  hand  by  mirth  be  led." 

10* 


114  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

We  Tvill  proceed  to  relate  a  memorable  reminiscence  of  this  reception 
of  President  Washington,  -^vhich  discloses  an  instance  of  frailty  in 
regard  to  etiquette  on  the  part  of  Gov.  Hancock. 

It  is  well  known  that  when  Washington,  with  a  mind  oppressed  with 
more  painful  sensations  than  he  had  words  to  express,  accepted  the 
presidency,  and  undertook  the  more  difficult  task  of  guiding  in  peace 
the  nation  which  he  had  saved  in  war,  he  thought  it  a  proper  expression 
of  his  respect  to  the  republic  to  take  the  tour  of  his  country.  '\Vhere- 
ever  he  came,  he  was  received  with  every  mark  of  honor  and  regard 
that  a  grateful  and  confiding  people  could  bestow.  Hancock  was 
willing  to  show  him  attention  in  any  way  which  allowed  the  governor 
to  take  precedence  of  the  president.  The  State,  though  confederate, 
was  sovereign ;  and  who  greater  here  than  its  chief  magistrate  ?  So  it 
was  settled,  in  his  mind,  that  etiquette  required  his  excellency  to  be 
waited  on  first  in  his  own  house  by  the  president,  and  not  make  the 
advance  to  his  illustrious  visiter.  The  president,  as  appeared  in  the 
result,  had  different  ideas.  On  Gen.  Washington's  approach  to  Bos- 
ton, Oct.  25, 1789,  at  some  miles  distance,  attended  by  two  secretaries 
and  six  servants,  he  was  met  by  the  governor's  suite,  and  an  invitation 
to  dinner,  but  no  governor.  He  intends  to  present  himself,  thought 
Washington,  at  the  suburbs ;  but,  on  arriving  at  the  Neck,  he  still 
missed  Gov.  Hancock.  The  day  was  unusually  cold  and  murky. 
The  president,  with  his  secretaries,  had  been  mounted  for  a  considerable 
time,  waiting  to  enter  the  town.  He  made  inquiry  of  the  cause  of 
the  delay  ;  and,  on  receiving  information  of  the  important  difficulty,  is 
said  to  have  expressed  impatience.  Turning  to  Maj.  Jackson,  his  sec- 
retary, he  asked,  "  Is  there  no  other  avenue  to  the  town?"  and  he  was 
in  the  act  of  turning  his  charger,  when  he  was  informed  that  he  would 
be  received  by  the  municipal  authorities,  and  Avas  conducted  amidst  the 
universal  acclamation  of  the  people.  He  passed  the  long  procession, 
and  reached  the  entrance  of  the  State-house,  but  no  governor.  He 
stopped,  and  demanded  of  the  secretary  if  his  excellency  was  above, 
because,  if  he  were,  he  should  not  ascend  the  stairs.  Upon  being 
assured  he  was  not,  he  ascended,  saw  the  procession  pass,  and  then 
went  to  his  lodgings.  A  message  came  from  the  governor's  mansion 
that  dinner  was  w^aiting.  The  president  dechned,  and  dined  at  home. 
Loud  expressions  of  resentment  were  heard  from  all  quarters  at  this 
indignity  toward  the  first  of  men,  whom  the  town  had  received,  on  their 
part,  with  every  possible  respect.     They  had  not  added  an  entertain- 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  115 

ment  to  their  plan,  because  this  was  claimed  by  Hancock.  In  the 
evening,  two  of  the  Council  came  to  Washington,  with  explanations  and 
apologies  in  behalf  of  the  chief  magistrate, —  "  He  was  not  well,"  etc. 
"  Gentlemen,"  said  Washington,  "  I  am  a  frank  man,  and  will  be  frank 
on  this  occasion.  For  myself,  you  will  believe  me,  I  do  not  regard 
ceremony ;  but  there  is  an  etiquette  due  to  my  office  which  I  am  not 
at  liberty  to  waive.  My  claim  to  the  attention  that  has  been  omitted 
rests  upon  the  question  whether  the  whole  is  greater  than  a  part.  I 
am  told,"  said  Washington,  *'  that  the  course  taken  has  been  designed, 
and  that  the  subject  was  considered  in  Council."  This  was  denied. 
One  gentleman  said,  however,  it  was  observed  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  was  one  personage,  and  the  ambassador  of  the  French 
republic  was  another  personage.  "Why  that  remark,  sir,  if  the  sub- 
ject was  not  before  the  Council?"  Washington  continued.  "This 
circumstance  has  been  so  disagreeable  and  mortifying,  that  I  must  say, 
notwithstanding  all  the  marks  of  respect  and  affection  received  from 
the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  had  I  anticipated  it,  I  would  have  avoided 
the  place." 

The  friends  of  Gov.  Hancock  held  a  consultation  on  the  matter,  the 
same  evening ;  and,  in  compliance  with  their  advice,  he  concluded  to 
waive  the  point  of  etiquette,  as  Avill  appear  by  a  note  written  to  Pres- 
ident Washington : 

^'■Sunday,  26  October,  half  past  tivelve  o'clock. 
"  The  Governor's  best  respects  to  the  President.  If  at  home,  and  at 
leisure,  the  Governor  will  do  himself  the  honor  to  pay  his  respects  in 
half  an  hour.  This  would  have  been  done  much  sooner,  had  his 
health  in  any  degree  permitted.  He  now  hazards  everything,  as  it 
respects  his  health,  for  the  desirable  purpose." 

Washington's  Reply. 

"  Sunday.,  26  October,  one  o'clock. 
"  The  President  of  the  United  States  presents  his  best  respects  to 
the  Governor,  and  has  the  honor  to  inform  him  that  he  shall  be  at  home 
till  two  o'clock.  The  President  needs  not  express  the  pleasure  it  will 
give  him  to  see  the  Governor ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  mos^t  earnestly 
begs  that  the  Governor  will  not  hazard  his  health  on  the  occasion." 

Hancock  rode  in  his  coach,  without  delay,  enveloped  in  red  baize, 
to  the  lodgings  of  Washington,  at  the  boarding-house  of  Joseph  Inger- 


116  THE  HUNDKED   BOSTON   OEATORS. 

soil,  on  the  corner  of  Court  and  Tremont  streets,  to  wliose  apartment 
he  was  borne  in  the  arms  of  attendants.  Washington  accepted  of  an 
invitation  to  dine  -with  Hancock,  partook  of  a  public  dinner  of  the 
State  authorities  where  Hancock  was  not  present,  and  attended  an 
oratorio  of  Jonah,  and  other  pieces,  in  King's  Chapel,  on  which  occa- 
sion he  was  dressed  in  a  black  suit  of  velvet.  The  profits  of  this 
oratorio  were  appropriated  to  the  expense  of  finishing  the  colonnade, 
or  portico,  of  the  chapel ;  and  it  is  stated  that  Washington  contributed 
handsomely  for  the  object. 

We  find  the  following  apostrophe  to  Hancock,  in  a  poetical  tribute 
to  Washington,  contained  in  Russell's  Centinel,  Oct.  31,  1789: 

"  Thou,  too,  illusti'ious  Hancock  !  by  his  side 
In  every  lowering  hour  of  danger  tried; 
With  him  conspicuous  o'er  the  beamy  page. 
Descend  the  theme  of  every  future  age. 
When  first  the  sword  of  early  war  we  drew. 
The  king,  presaging,  fixed  his  eye  on  you; 
'T  was  your  dread  finger  pressed  the  sacred  seal 
Whence  rose  to  sovereign  power  the  public  weal !" 

When  Washington  entered  Boston,  he  came  on  horseback,  dressed 
in  his  old  continental  uniform,  with  his  head  uncovered.  He  did  not 
bow  to  the  throngs  that  crowded  around  him,  but  sat  on  his  horse,  with 
a  calm,  dignified  air.  When  he  dismounted,  at  the  old  State-house,  he 
came  out  on  a  temporary  balcony  at  the  west  end.  A  long  procession 
passed  before  him,  whose  salutations  he  occasionally  returned.  A  tri- 
umphal arch  was  erected  across  the  street  at  that  place,  and  a  choir  of 
singers  were  stationed  there.  When  AYashington  came  forward,  he 
was  saluted  by  the  clear,  powerful'voice  of  Daniel  Rea,  who  sang  the 
ode  prepared  for  the  occasion. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  punctilious  exactness  of  Gov.  Hancock, 
in  matters  of  etiquette,  more  especially  in  relation  to  the  beloved  Wash- 
ington, had  a  tendency  to  diminish  the  respect  for  him,  in  the  minds 
of  our  political  leaders,  that  they  had  been  accustomed  to  extend ;  and 
William  Cunningham,  in  the  famous  correspondence  with  John  Adams, 
reminds  h^  of  what  he  himself  once  said  of  him  in  the  summer  of 
1791,  probably  when  Adams  had  in  his  mind  this  unfortunate  affair 
of  Washington's  reception.  Some  conversation  respecting  Hancock 
led  Mrs.  Adams  to  remark  that  he  was  born  near  your  residence,  says 
Cunningham, —  "You  turned  yourself  towards  your  frontdoor,  and 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  117 

pointing  to  a  spot  in  view,  you  laughingly  exclaimed,  '  Yes, —  there  '3 
the  place  Avhere  the  great  Gov.  Hancock  "was  born.'  Then,  composing- 
your  countenance,  and  rolHng  your  eye,  you  went  on  with  these  excla- 
mations :  '  John  Hancock  !  A  man  without  head  and  without  heart ! 
—  the  mere  shadow  of  a  man  !  — and  yet  a  Governor  of  old  Massachu- 
setts ! '  Pausing  a  moment,  you  breathed  a  sigh,  which  sorrowed,  as 
plainly  as  a  sigh  could  sorrow,  for  poor  Massachusetts."  Sullivan 
remarks  that  Hancock  was  not  supposed  to  be  a  man  of  great  intellect- 
ual force ;  and  we  have  heard  it  stated,  by  a  person  of  political  emi- 
nence, that  Dr.  Cooper  was  the  author  of  Hancock's  oration  on  the 
Massacre,  and  that  Dr.  Thacher  wrote  for  him  his  messages.  More- 
over, Ave  have  heard  that  Hon.  Judge  Parsons  wrote  for  him  the 
resolves  of  the  State  convention  on  the  adoption  of  the  federal  consti- 
tution, which  he  had  the -reputation  of  preparing;  but  such  detracting 
traditions  should  be  received  Avith  decided  impressions  of  disbelief  It 
is  evident  that  he  Avas  an  ardent  friend  of  popular  education ;  as  in 
the  first  year  of  his  administration,  and  in  1789,  he  made  a  persuasive 
appeal  to  the  State  Legislature  to  provide  by  law  for  public  schools, 
and  for  suitable  instruction.  In  relation  to  the  opinion  of  John  Adams, 
we  have  stronger  evidence  than  the  statement  of  Cunningham,  in  his 
letter  to  Judge  William  Tudor,  dated  June  5,  1813,  contained  in 
Felt's  Memorials  of  William  S.  ShaAV,  Avherein  he  remarks  that  "the 
two  young  men  Avhom  I  have  knoAvn  to  enter  the  stage  of  life  with 
the  most  luminous,  unclouded  prospects,  and  the  best-founded  hopes, 
were  James  Otis  and  John  Hancock.  They  were  both  essential  to  the 
Revolution,  and  both  fell  sacrifices  to  it."  And  in  another  part  of  the 
same  letter,  John  Adams  further  asserts  of  them  and  Samuel  Adams, 
that  "they  AA^ere  the  first  moA'ers,  the  most  constant,  steady,  perse- 
vering springs,  agents,  and  most  disinterested  sufferers,  and  firmest  pil- 
lars, of  the  Avhole  Revolution."  Moreover,  John  Adams  remarked,  in 
a  letter  to  Rev.  Jedediah  Morse,  D.  D.,  written  in  1818,  as  folloAVS  : 
"Of  Mr.  Hancock's  life,  character,  generous  nature,  great  and  disin- 
terested sacrifices,  and  important  services,  if  I  had  forces,  I  should 
be  glad  to  Avrite  a  A^olume.  But  this,  I  hope,  Avill  be  done  by  some 
younger  and  abler  hand."  It  is  honor  enough  to  John  flancock, 
that  his  daring  patriotism,  in  the  direst  period  df  his  country's  perils, 
rendered  him  especially  obnoxious  to  the  British  throne. 

Old  Massachusetts  is  greatly  indebted  to  Gov.  Hancock  for  his  efii- 
cient  measures  in  the  suppression  of  Shays'  RebelHon,  Avhich  occurred 


118  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

in  1786,  and  for  the  Avithdrawal  of  three  hundred  pounds  of  his  salary 
as  governor,  which  act  of  patriotism  and  generosity  elicited  the  public 
thanks  of  the  General  Court. 

In  the  year  1792,  a  company  of  comedians,  under  the  direction  of 
Charles  Powell,  arrived  at  Boston  from  London,  and  established  theat- 
rical entertainments  in  a  stable,  in  Board-alley,  fitted  up  for  the  occa- 
sion. A  law  having  been  in  existence  ever  since  1750  against  such 
amusements,  the  exhibitions  were  advertised  under  the  covert  name  of 
Moral  Lectures.  Gov.  Hancock  was  highly  offended  at  such  a  trans- 
gression, and  made  it  a  special  topic  of  censure  in  his  message  to  the 
Legislature,  stating  that  it  was  an  open  breach  of  the  laws,  and  a  most 
contemptuous  insult  upon  the  government,  ad\asing  that  these  ahens 
and  foreigners  be  brought  to  condign  punishment.  A  writer  in  the 
Chronicle  of  Nov.  22,  indignant  not  only  that  foreigners  should  palm 
themselves  on  a  republican  people,  but  also  with  '  •  tales  of  love  between 
my  Lord  and  Lady,  or  Sir  Charles  and  his  Maid,"  in  this  land  of  lib- 
erty and  equality,  as  preachers  of  moral  lectures,  thus  versifies  : 

"  Bostonians  ! 
Shall  a  lawless  Bandittis,  the  faeces. 
The  refuse  of  a  degenerate  people. 
Pass  unnoticed,  and  be  suffered 
To  triumph  over  the  opinions. 
And  the  long,  ■well-established  maxims 
Of  our  venerable  ancestors  ? 
Shall  vile  minions,  from  a  foreign  land. 
Affect  to  treat  with  open,  marked  contempt. 
The  mild  influence  of  our  government, 
In  the  prevention  of  those  evils 
AVhich  experience  and  well-known  prudence 
Long  since  stampt  by  the  slow  finger  of  time, 
AVith  wisdom  and  success  ? 
What  insult  is  not  to  be  awaited 
From  men,  who,  regardless  of  their  honor, 
Trample  upon  our  laws,  —  our  sacred  rights,  — 
When  the  history  of  whose  lives  would  put 
Modesty  and  every  kindred  virtue 
To  the  blush  !  Pniio  DK.ULiTis." 

On  Wednesday,  Dec.  3d  inst.,  there  was  advertised  to  be  performed, 
at  the  New  England  Exliibition-room,  Board-alley,  Feats  on  the  Tight 
Rope ;  after  which,  a  Moral  Lecture  —  The  True-born  Irishman,  or 
Irish  Fine  Lady,  etc.  On  that  evening,  on  the  complaint  of  ]\Ir.  Sul- 
livan, the  Attorney-general,  Jeremiah  Allen,  the  sheriff  of  Suffolk, 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  119 

arrested  Mr.  Harper,  one  of  the  company  of  comedians  who  for  some 
time  past  had  entertained  the  people  of  Boston,  as  guilty  of  a  breach 
of  the  law,  and  held  him  to  bail  to  appear  the  next  day  before  the 
justices,  and  enter  into  recognizance  to  appear  at  the  next  Supreme 
Court.  At  the  period  of  the  scene  Bosworth  Field,  in  Richard  the 
Tliird,  the  sheriflf  came  unceremoniously  forward  upon  the  stage,  and 
made  prisoner  the  humpbacked  tyrant,  and  declared,  unless  the  per- 
formances ceased,  he  should  forthmth  arrest  the  whole  company. 
Much  excitement  ensued,  and  the  citizens  trod  under  foot  the  portrait 
of  Hancock,  that  hung  in  front  of  the  stage-box.  A  loud  call  ensued 
for  the  performance  to  proceed,  but  the  actors  advised  the  audience 
quietly  to  withdraw,  and  receive  the  entrance-pay.  The  performances 
were  discontinued  until  the  last  day  of  that  year,  when  the  law  was 
abolished ;  and  it  is  said  that  many  attended,  at  that  time,  armed  with 
weapons.  The  building  on  Federal-street  was  shortly  after  erected  for 
stage-plays. 

To  return :  The  examination  was  held  at  Faneuil  Hall,  when 
Attorney  Sullivan  read  a  special  order  from  Gov.  Hancock.  H.  G. 
Otis,  counsel  for  Harper,  objected  to  the  legality  of  the  warrant,  as 
contrary  to  the  14th  article  of  the  Declaration  of  Rights,  which  requires 
that  no  warrants  shall  be  issued  except  upon  complaints  made  on  oath. 
Mr.  Tudor,  also  of  his  counsel,  supported  Mr.  Otis,  which  was  com- 
bated by  Mr.  Sullivan.  The  justices  acceded,  and  the  defendant  was 
discharged,  amid  loud  applause. 

The  last  appearance  of  Gov.  Hancock  in  the  presence  of  the  State 
Legislature  occurred  in  the  afternoon  of  Sept.  18,  1793,  in  the  old 
State-house,  in  State-street,  when,  owing  to  debiHty,  he  was  brought 
in  attended  by  Mr.  Secretary  Avery  and  Sheriff  Allen.  Being  seated, 
Gov.  Hancock  informed  the  Legislature  that  the  condition  of  his  health 
would  not  permit  him  to  address  them  in  the  usvial  way.  He  there- 
fore hoped  they  would  keep  their  seats,  and  requested  their  indulgence 
while  the  Secretary  of  State  would  read  his  address,  as  his  infirmity 
rendered  it  totally  impossible  for  him  to  speak  so  as  to  be  heard. 
Eager  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  people,  he  had  summoned  the  Leg- 
islature to  decide  on  the  important  question  of  the  suability  of  the 
States,  or  rather,  the  sovereignty  of  Massachusetts.  It  was  viewed  as 
rather  remarkable  that  he  should  summon  a  special  session  for  this 
object,  as  before  the  period  to  which  the  Court  was  prorogued  it  was 


120  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

ordained  tliat  Hancock  should  be  numbered  with  the  dead, —  as  if  it 
were  the  intention  of  Heaven  that  the  man  who  had  ever  been  fore- 
most in  asserting  the  liberties  of  the  States,  should  be  first  to  check 
any  encroachment  on  their  sovereignty  and  independence. 

After  Secretary  Avery  had  finished  reading  this  valuable  and  per- 
tinent speech.  Gov.  Hancock  made  the  following  truly  pathetic  apol- 
ogy, with  a  tone  of  voice  which  at  once  demonstrated  the  sincerity  of 
his  heart,  and  which  could  not  fail  of  making  a  deep  impression  on  the 
mind  of  every  spectator.  Hancock  said :  "I  beg  pardon  of  the  hon- 
orable Legislature,  and  I  rely  on  your  candor,  gentlemen,  to  forgive 
this  method  of  addressing  you.  I  feel  the  seeds  of  mortality  growing 
fast  within  me ;  but  I  think  I  have,  in  this  case,  done  no  more  than 
my  duty,  as  the  servant  of  the  people.  I  never  did,  and  I  never  will, 
deceive  them,  while  I  have  hfe  and  strength  to  act  in  their  service." 

Whilst  Great  Britain  dwells  with  enthusiasm,  says  the  Chronicle,  on 
the  death  of  Chatham,  who  expired  amid  his  fellow-peers,  in  making 
one  glorious  effort  to  save  his  country  from  impending  ruin,  let  Mas- 
sachusetts remember,  and  to  the  latest  posterity  be  it  known,  that  Gov. 
Hancock  met  his  constituents,  in  General  Assembly  convened,  when  he 
was  unable  to  articulate,  except  a  few  broken,  pathetic  sentences,  and 
there  delivered  to  the  Senate  and  Representatives,  through  the  medium 
of  his  secretary,  the  last  political  legacy  of  the  dying  patriot,  replete 
with  sentiments  which  deserve  to  be  engraven  on  the  pillars  of  time. 
The  Legislature  concurred  in  the  opinion  of  Hancock,  that  a  State  was 
sovereign  and  independent,  and  not  suable.  This  last  exalted  scene 
was  worthy  the  pencil  of  Trumbull,  and  beamed  with  brighter  glories 
than  the  death  of  Chatham. 

The  Assembly  rose,  Hancock  was  conveyed  to  his  can-iage,  and 
taken  to  his  residence,  but  never  again  appeared  in  public.  His 
decease  occurred  Oct.  8,  1793,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six,  of  gout  and 
exhaustion.  The  corpse  was  embowelled,  and  remained  unburied  for 
eight  days,  to  give  an  opportunity  for  the  citizens,  from  remote  parts 
of  the  State,  to  render  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory ;  and 
they  came  in  tens  of  thousands.  The  procession  was  an  hour  and  one 
half  in  passing  along,  and  it  Avas  conducted  with  great  ceremony. 
Samuel  Adams,  who  was  lieutenant-governor,  followed  the  bier  as 
chief  mourner ;  but  the  venerable  patriot  could  not  endure  the  fatigue, 
and  on  reaching  State-street  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the  proces- 
sion. 


JOHN   HANCOCK.  121 

"  As  the  dead  patriot's  honored  relics  passed, 
The  pomp  was  darkened,  and  the  scene  o'ercast; 
The  world  of  pleasure  passed  unheeded  by. 
And  tears  of  sorrow  stood  in  every  eye." 

The  militia  of  the  town  and  the  country  added  to  the  imposing  effect 
of  the  scene.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  had,  to  this 
period,  worn  immense  wigs  and  broad  bands  above  robes  of  scarlet 
English  cloth,  fliced  with  black  velvet,  in  winter,  and  black  silk  gowns, 
in  summer.  On  this  occasion  thej  appeared  in  the  latter,  with  their 
broad,  flowing  wigs ;  the  barristers,  also,  were  in  black  gowns  and  club 
wigs.  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  family,  that  on  the  night  after  the 
funeral  of  Hancock,  the  tomb,  located  in  the  Granary,  was  forcibly 
entered,  and  the  right  hand  of  Hancock  was  severed  from  the  arm,  and 
taken  away.  This  rumor  is  probably  unfounded,  as  when,  in  the  year 
1841,  the  remains  were  gathered,  together  with  the  relics  of  his  only 
son,  and  carefully  deposited  in  a  new  coffin,  no  missing  hand  was 
observed.  Peace  to  the  manes  of  our  American  Trajan !  May  his 
grave,  like  his  fame,  bloom  forever !  No  monument  has  ever  been 
erected  to  the  memory  of  John  Hancock;  and  in  the  New  York  Mer- 
chant's Magazine  of  December,  1840,  is  a  brief  memoir  of  Hancock, 
written  by  George  Mountfort,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Boston,  in  which  it  is 
proposed  that  a  statue  of  John  Hancock  should  be  erected  in  the 
building  of  the  Merchant's  Exchange,  on  Wall-street,  remarking : 
"  Let  an  American  sculptor  breathe  into  chiselled  marble  the  soul,  and 
invest  it  with  the  form,  of  him  who  should  be  the  merchant's  pride 
and  boast ;  and  let  it  stand  the  presiding  genius  of  a  temple  reared 
and  consecrated  to  the  commercial  interests  of  our  great  city."  How 
much  more  seemly  is  it  that  the  sons  of  the  Old  Bay  State  erect  an 
exquisite  marble  statue  to  the  memory  of  this  most  eminent  patriot 
and  munificent  Bostonian,  either  over  his  unhonored  remains  in  the 
Granary,  or  in  the  near  view  of  that  to  Bowditch,  at  Mount  Auburn, 
the  sacred  forest  of  monuments  ! 

Thy  political  reputation,  Hancock,  says  Benjamin  Austin,  will  ever 
be  revered  by  the  repubhcans  of  America !  Thou  wilt  live,  illustrious 
spirit,  in  the  hearts  of  thy  countrymen ;  and  while  liberty  and  the 
rights  of  thy  country  are  duly  estimated,  thy  name  will  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance.  The  proscription  of  George  the  Third  is  a 
"mausoleum"  to  thy  memory,  which  will  survive  a  ponderous  mon- 
ument of  marble ! 

11 


122  THE  HUIfDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 


ON   JOHN   HAXCOCK. 

BY   CHAPJIAN   WHITCOJIB.       1795. 

Jove,  armed  in  thunder,  ne'er  appeared  more  great. 

Old  Delai  Lama,  on  his  throne  of  state, 

Had  not  more  votaries,  no  Turkish  Dey, 

Nor  eastern  sage,  had  more  respect  than  he  ; 

His  house  the  seat  of  hospitality, 

And  famed  for  alms  and  deeds  of  charity. 

Noble  his  mien,  and  elegant  his  aii-  ; 

Comely  his  person,  and  hLs  visage  fair  ; 

Old  Cato's  virtues  did  his  actions  grace, 

Courtiers  vrere  awed,  and  senators  gave  place  ; 

Knowledge  and  dignity  shone  in  his  face. 


PETER  TEACHER,  D.   D. 

MARCH  6,  1776.    OX  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

As  Boston  was  at  this  time  garrisoned  by  the  British  regulars,  and 
the  patriotic  inhabitants  were  in  the  country,  a  meeting  was  assembled 
in  the  meeting-house  at  Watertown,  at  ten  A.  M.,  March  5, 1776,  and 
after  choosing  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Austin  moderator,  and  after  a  fer- 
vent prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  the  Rev.  Peter  Thacher  dehvered  an 
oration,  which  was  received  with  universal  approbation,  it  being  the 
anniversary  of  Preston's  INIassacre,  says  the  New  England  Chronicle, 
effected  "  by  a  band  of  ruffians  sent  hither  by  George,  the  brutal  tyrant 
of  Britain,  in  order  to  execute  his  infernal  plans  for  enslaving  a  free 
people."  The  oration  was  pubhshed  by  Benjamin  Edes,  at  Watertown. 
Boston  being  occupied  by  the  royahsts  at  this  day,  there  was  no  lan- 
tern exhibition,  or  other  transparencies,  which  had  previously  occurred 
at  the  inn  of  Mrs.  ]\Iary  Clapham,  an  antique,  spacious,  two-story  brick 
house  located  on  the  site  of  the  present  Merchant's  Bank.  Many 
British  officers  boarded  with  Mrs.  Clapham,  who  had  several  beautiful 
daughters,  one  of  whom  eloped  with  one  of  the  officers,  and  is  said  to 
have  become  his  wife. 


PETER   THACHER,  D.  D.  123 

In  the  patriotic  performance  before  us,  it  is  remarked  :  "  Englisli- 
men  have  been  Tvont  to  boast  of  the  excellence  of  their  constitution, — 
to  boast  that  it  contained  -whatever  was  excellent  in  every  form  of  gov- 
ernment hitherto  by  the  wit  of  man  devised.  In  their  king,  whose 
power  was  limited,  they  have  asserted  that  they  enjoyed  the  advantages 
of  monarchy,  without  fear  of  its  evils ;  while  their  House  of  Commons, 
chosen  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  and  dependent  upon  them,  repre- 
sented a  republic,  their  House  of  Peers,  forming  a  balance  of  power 
between  the  king  and  the  people,  gave  them  the  benefit  of  an  aristoc- 
racy. In  theory,  the  British  constitution  is,  on  many  accounts, 
excellent ;  but  when  we  observe  it  reduced  to  practice, —  when  we 
observe  the  British  government,  as  it  has  been  for  a  long  course 
of  years  administered, —  Ave  must  be  convinced  that  its  boasted  advan- 
tages are  not  real.  The  management  of  the  public  revenue,  the 
appointment  of  civil  and  military  officers,  are  vested  in  the  king. 
Improving  the  advantages  which  these  powers  give  him,  he  hath 
found  means  to  corrupt  the  other  branches  of  the  legislature.  Britons 
please  themselves  with  the  thought  of  being  free.  Their  tyrant  suffers 
them  to  enjoy  the  shadow,  whilst  he  himself  grasps  the  substance,  of 
power.  Impossible  would  it  have  been  for  the  kings  of  England  to 
have  acquired  such  an  exorbitant  power,  had  they  not  a  standing- 
army  under  their  command.  With  the  officers  of  this  army,  they  have 
bribed  men  to  sacrifice  the  rights  of  their  country.  Having  artfully 
got  their  arms  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people,  with  their  mercenary 
forces  they  have  awed  them  into  submission.  When  they  have  appeared 
at  any  time  disposed  to  assert  their  freedom,  these  troops  have  been 
ready  to  obey  the  mandates  of  their  sovereign,  to  imbrue  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  their  brethren.  Having  found  the  efficacy  of  this  method 
to  quell  the  spirit  of  liberty  in  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  the  right- 
eous administration  of  the  righteous  King  George  the  Third  determined 
to  try  the  experiment  upon  the  people  of  America.  To  fright  us  into 
submission  to  their  unjustifiable  claims,  they  sent  a  military  force  to 
the  town  of  Boston.  This  day  leads  us  to  reflect  upon  the  fatal  effects 
of  the  measure.  By  their  intercourse  with  the  troops,  made  up  in  gen- 
eral of  the  most  abandoned  of  men,  the  morals  of  our  youth  were 
corrupted  ;  the  temples  and  the  day  of  our  God  were  scandalously  pro- 
faned ;  we  experienced  the  most  provoking  insults  ;  and  at  length  saw 
the  streets  of  Boston  strewed  with  the  corpses  of  five  of  its  inhabit- 
ants, murdered  in  cool  blood  by  the  British  mercenaries." 


124  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

This  pathetic  allusion  herewith  to  the  death  of  Warren  should  ever 
appear  in  the  record  of  the  times  :  "  This  day,  upon  -ffhich  the  gloomy 
scene  -was  first  opened,  calls  upon  us  to  mourn  for  the  heroes  who  have 
already  died  on  the  bed  of  honor,  fighting  for  God  and  their  country. 
Especially  does  it  lead  us  to  recollect  the  name  and  the  virtues  of  Gen. 
Warren ;  —  the  kind,  the  humane,  the  benevolent  friend,  in  the  private 
walks  of  life, —  the  inflexible  patriot,  the  undaunted  commander,  in  his 
public  siAere, —  deserves  to  be  recollected  with  gratitude  and  esteem ! 
This  audience,  acquainted  in  the  most  intimate  manner  with  his  num- 
berless virtues,  must  feel  his  loss,  and  bemoan  their  beloved,  their 
intrusted  fellow-citizen.  Ah !  my  countrymen,  what  tender,  what 
excruciating  sensations,  rush  at  once  upon  our  burdened  minds,  when 
we  recall  his  loved  idea.  When  we  reflect  upon  the  manner  of  his 
death, —  when  we  fancy  that  we  see  his  savage  enemies  exulting  o'er 
his  corpse,  beautiful  even  in  death, —  when  we  remember  that,  desti- 
tute of  the  rites  of  sepulture,  he  was  cast  into  the  ground,  without  the 
distinction  due  to  his  rank  and  merit, —  we  cannot  restrain  the  starting 
tear  —  we  cannot  repress  the  bursting  sigh  !  We  mourn  thine  exit, 
illustrious  shade  !  with  undissembled  grief:  we  venerate  thine  exalted 
character ;  we  will  erect  a  monument  to  thy  memory  in  each  of  our 
grateful  breasts,  and  to  the  latest  ages  will  teach  our  tender  infants  to 
lisp  the  name  of  Warren  with  veneration  and  applause  !  " 

Rev.  Peter  Thacher  was  born  at  Milton,  March  21,  1752.  He  was 
a  son  of  Oxenbridge  Thacher,  who  published  a  tract,  in  1764,  entitled 
"  The  Sentiments  of  a  British  American,  occasioned  by  the  Act  to 
lay  certain  Duties  on  the  British  Colonies,"  wherein  he  remarks : 
"  Trade  is  a  nice  and  delicate  lady;  she  must  be  courted  and  won  by 
soft  and  fair  addresses ;  she  will  not  bear  the  rude  hand  of  a  ravisher. 
Penalties  increased,  heavy  taxes  laid  on,  the  checks  and  oppressions  of 
vidence  removed, —  these  things  must  drive  her  from  her  pleasant 
abode."'  Our  tracts  were  of  no  avail  with  Parhament,  and  the  Stamp 
Act  was  passed  in  the  next  year.  John  Adams  writes  of  Thacher,  that 
"From  1758  to  1765  I  attended  every  superior  and  inferior  court  in 
Boston,  and  recollect  not  one  in  which  he  did  not  invite  me  home  to 
spend  evenings  with  him,  when  he  made  me  converse  with  him  as  well 
as  I  could  on  all  subjects  of  religion,  mythology,  cosmogony,  metaphys- 
ics,— Locke,  Clarke,  Leibnitz,  Bolingbroke,  Berkley,—  the  prcLstab- 
lished  harmony  of  the  universe,  the  nature  of  matter  and  of  spirit,  and 
the  eternal  establishment  of  coincidences  between  their  operations,  fate, 


PETER   THACHER,  D.  D.  125 

foreknowledge  absolute, —  and  we  reasoned  on  such  unfathomable  sub- 
jects, as  high  as  Milton's  gentry  in  pandemonium  ;  and  we  understood 
them  as  well  as  they  did,  and  no  better.  But  his  favorite  subject  Avas 
politics,  and  the  impending  threatening  system  of  parliamentary  taxa- 
tion, and  universal  government  over  the  colonies.  On  this  subject  he 
was  so  anxious  and  agitated,  that  I  have  no  doubt  it  occasioned  his 
premature  death." 

Young  Peter  entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1763,  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1769,  and  was  a  school-teacher  at  Chelsea  soon 
after  that  date.  From  his  childhood  he  had  devoted  himself  to  the 
ministry  of  religion ;  and  his  whole  mind,  as  it  expanded,  had  formed 
itself  to  this  work.  The  father  of  Rev.  Aaron  Green,  formerly  of 
Maiden,  being  intimate  with  him,  invited  him  to  pass  the  Sabbath  with 
him,  playfully  remarking,  "You  had  better  bring  a  couple  of  sermons 
with  you,  for  perhaps  we  shall  make  you  preach."  Accordingly,  it 
came  about  that  he  officiated  at  the  morning  service.  His  youthful  and 
engaging  mien,  his  silvery  voice  and  golden  eloquence,  so  charmed  the 
disturbed  elements  of  this  divided  church,  that,  during  the  intermis- 
sion, it  was  decided,  by  acclamation,  that  he  was  the  man  to  heal  the 
dissensions,  and  he  became  their  pastor  in  1770.  During  his  resi- 
dence in  that  town,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  measure  which 
eflfected  the  Revolution ;  and  wrote,  at  the  request  of  the  Massachusetts 
Committee  of  Safety,  a  Narrative  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  dated 
June  25,  1775,  pubhshed  in  the  journals  of  the  Provincial  Congress, 
of  which  he  w^as  a  member,  and  said  to  be  the  best  statement  of  that 
battle  ever  prepared.  Dr.  Thacher  drafted,  also,  the  spirited  resolves 
and  revolutionary  instructions  recorded  on  the  Maiden  records  of 
1775.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Massachusetts  Convention  of  1780, 
and  strenuously  contended  against  establishing  the  office  of  Governor 
of  the  State ;  and,  when  the  matter  was  decided  contrary  to  his  wishes, 
he  still  objected  to  the  title  of  "  His  Excellency,"  which  was  given  to 
the  chief  magistrate ;  —  but  when  the  constitution  was  adopted,  he 
gave  it  his  decided  support.  He  was  often  a  chaplain  of  the  State 
Legislature. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1770,  Mr.  Thacher  married  the  widow 
Elizabeth  Pool,  and  had  ten  children,  of  whom  were  Rev.  Thomas 
Cushing,  minister  of  Lynn,  and  Hon.  Peter  Oxenbridge,  judge  of  the 
Boston  Municipal  Court. 

When  Mr.  Thacher  Avas  invited  to  the  Brattle-street  Church,  the 
11* 


126  .  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    0KAT0R3. 

good  people  of  ^lalJen  did  not  relinquish  their  admired  pastor  vrithout 
a  struggle.  After  much  excited  negotiation,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
Brattle-street  Church  should  pay  the  debt  of  the  Maiden  Church, 
amounting  to  a  thousand  dollars. —  a  debt  undoubtedly  contracted  in 
consequence  of  the  general  depression  of  the  Revolution.  His  preach- 
ing Avas  direct,  practical,  and  earnest ;  and,  hke  Samuel  Cooper,  his 
predecessor  of  Brattle-street  Church,  he  possessed,  in  singular-  excel- 
lence, the  gift  of  prayer  ;  and  so  charmed  with  him  was  George  "\Miit- 
field,  that  he  called  him  '•'  The  Toung  Ehjah."'  And  it  is  related  of 
his  brother.  Rev.  Thomas  Thacher,  of  Dedham,  a  man  of  strong  intel- 
lectual powers,  that  he  once  remarked  of  him,  "  I  know  brother  Peter 
excels  me  in  prayer,  but  I  can  give  the  best  sermons."  ^Ve  have 
heard  it  stated,  that  when  Rev.  Peter  Thacher  first  appeared  in  the 
flowing  silk  gown  and  bands  given  him  by  John  Hancock,  and  read 
from  the  elegant  Bible  in  the  new  maliogany  pulpit, —  also  the  gift  of 
the  generous  governor, —  and  the  people  listened  to  the  musical  tones 
of  his  voice,  reasoning  for  the  best  interests  of  the  soul,  in  the  graceful 
gestures  of  oratory,  he  effected  a  deep  impression.  He  was  settled  in 
Boston,  Jan.  12,  1785,  and  with  him  orthodoxy  departed  from  Brat- 
tle-street Church.  He  was  a  frequent  inmate  of  Hancock's  festive 
board,  who  was  his  parishioner.  The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dinnity, 
from  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  Scotland,  was  conferred  upon 
him.  Being  afilicted  with  an  affection  of  the  lungs,  he  visited  Savan- 
nah,  Ga.,  where  he  died  in  six  weeks  after  leaving  home.  A  eulogy 
on  his  character  was  pronounced,  Dec.  31.  1802,  by  Rev.  Wilham 
Emerson,  at  Brattle-street  Church ;  and  a  brief  memoir  was  written  by 
Gov.  Sullivan,  who  was  his  parishioner  and  devoted  admirer.  He  pub- 
lished twenty  pamphlets  of  a  religious  and  poHtical  character,  written 
in  an  easy  and  famihar  style. 

"  There  is  a  history  in  all  mea's  lives, 
Figvu'ing  the  nature  of  the  times  deceased; 
The  which  observed,  a  man  may  prophesy, 
TVith  a  near  aim,  of  the  main  chance  of  things 
As  yet  not  come  to  life;  which,  'in.  their 
Seeds  and  weak  beginnings,  lie  entreasured. 
Such  things  become  the  hatch  and  brood  of  time." 


PEREZ  MORTON.  127 

PEREZ   MORTON. 

APRIL  8,   1776.     OVER  THE  REMAINS  OF  WARREN. 

The  first  object  of  public  interest  to  the  Bostonians,  after  the  evac- 
uation of  the  British  troops,  was  the  recovery  of  the  remains  of  the 
beloved  Warren.  They  were  found  on  the  heights  of  Charlestown. 
According  to  Rees'  Cyclopedia,  "a  native  of  Great  Britain,  who  was 
in  Boston  at  the  time  of  the  battle,  came  to  the  friends  of  Warren,  ten 
months  after  that  period,  and  told^  them  he  could  point  out  the  spot 
where  the  remains  were  deposited.  He  was  offered  a  reward,  if  his 
information  should  be  correct ;  and  two  brothers  of  the  general,  with 
some  other  gentlemen,  accompanied  him  to  the  field.  A  sexton  com- 
menced digging  on  the  spot  he  pointed  out,  and  a  corpse  soon  began 
to  appear.  The  brothers,  unable  to  remain  longer,  retired,  having 
informed  the  other  gentlemen  that  their  brother  might  be  distinguished 
by  a  particular  false  tooth.  He  was  identified  accordingly."  We 
are  credibly  informed,  that  the  Rev.  Andrew  Eliot,  D.D.,  who,  accord- 
ing to  his  private  diary,  received  of  the  munificent  Hancock,  in  the 
year  17T7,  a  three-cornered  hat,  a  wig,  a  fine  suit  of  clothes,  and  a 
cask  of  Madeira  wine,  has  related  to  his  son,  Dr.  Ephraim  Eliot,  that 
a  barber,  who  was  accustomed  to  dress  the  head  of  General  Warren, 
being  on  the  battle-ground  at  the  time  of  the  burial  of  those  who  were 
killed  on  Bunker's  Hill,  accidentally  recognized  the  body  of  Warren, 
just  as  the  British  regulars  were  in  the  act  of  throwing  it  into  a  grave, 
over  another  body,  and  on  his  stating  the  fact  to  them,  they  wrapped 
a  mat  around  his  remains  previovis  to  covering  up  the  earth  ;  and  this 
was  probably  the  individual  alluded  to  in  the  Cyclopedia. 

"  No  useless  coffin  enclosed  his  breast,  — 

Not  in  sheet  or  in  shroud  they  wound  him  ; 
But  he  lay,  like  a  warrior  taking  his  rest, 
With  his  martial  cloak  around  him." 

"W'e  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  above  relation  is  mainly  correct;  and 
we  have  gathered  from  Dr.  John  C.  Warren,  a  nephew  of  the  general, 
the  following  statement  of  additional  facts  : 

The  remains  of  Gen.  Warren  were  deposited  in  a  grave  under  a 
locust-tree,  and  the  spot  is  now  designated  in  gilt  letters  on  a  granite 


128  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

stone  in  the  ground.  They  were  interred  beside  the  body  of  a  butcher,  on 
the  day  subsequent  to  the  fatal  contest,  and  "svere  personally  identified, 
on  the  April  succeeding,  by  Dr.  John  Warren,  and  Ebenezer  "Warren, 
Esq. ,  the  brothers  of  the  general,  -who  readily  recognized  a  false  tooth, 
secured  by  -wires,  in  the  place  of  an  eye-tooth  which  had  been  pre- 
viously removed  ;  and,  although  his  body  and  that  of  the  butcher  were 
reduced  to  skeletons,  the  discovery  of  the  false  tooth,  which  was  famil- 
iar to  their  eyes,  and  the  aperture  in  the  skull,  together  with  the  frock 
of  the  butcher,  which  remained  entire,  satisfied  them  that  they  witnessed 
the  precious  relics  of  their  brother ;  and  they  were  removed  to  Boston, 
where  they  were  entombed  in  the  family  vault  of  Hon.  George  Rich- 
ards INIinot,  adjoining  the  tomb  of  Governor  Hancock,  in  the  Granary 
Burying-ground,  and  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  residence  of  Dr.  John 
C.  Warren.  On  turning  to  the  letters  of  Mrs.  Abigail  Adams,  we  find 
it  stated,  under  date  of  April  7, 1776 :  "Yesterday,  the  remains  of  our 
worthy  General  Warren  were  dug  up  upon  Bunker's  Hill,  and  carried 
into  town,  and  on  Monday  are  to  be  interred  with  all  the  honors  of 
war." 

A  procession  was  formed,  on  the  8th  inst.,  at  the  State-house,  in 
King-street,  consisting  of  a  detachment  of  the  continental  forces,  a 
numerous  body  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  jNIasons,  the  mourners,  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Assembly,  selectmen,  and  citizens  of  the  town. 
The  pall  was  supported  by  Hon.  Gen.  Ward,  Brig.  Gen.  Frye,  Dr. 
Morgan,  Col.  Gridley,  Hon.  Mr.  Gill,  and  J.  Scollay,  Esq.  The 
remains  were  conveyed  into  King's  Chapel,  and  a  very  pertinent  prayer 
was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  after  an  excellent  dirge.  Presi- 
dent Adams'  lady  wrote  on  the  occasion,  and  remarked  at  the  time,  in 
relation  to  the  orator:  '•  I  think  the  subject  must  have  inspired  him. 
A  young  fellow  could  not  have  wished  a  finer  opportunity  to  display 
his  talents.  The  amiable  and  heroic  virtues  of  the  deceased,  recent  in 
the  minds  of  the  audience ;  the  noble  cause  to  which  he  fell  a  martyr ; 
their  own  sufferings  and  unparalleled  injuries,  all  fresh  in  their  minds, 
must  have  given  weight  and  energy  to  whatever  could  be  dehvered  on 
the  occasion.  The  dead  body,  like  that  of  Caesai',  before  their  ejfes, 
whilst  each  wound, 

'  Like  dumb  mouths,  did  ope  their  ruby  lips 
To  beg  the  voice  and  utterance  of  a  tongue  : 
Woe  to  the  hands  that  shed  this  costly  blood 
A  curse  shaU  light  upon  their  line.'  " 


PEKEZ  MORTON.  129 

Indeed,  this  oration  of  Morton  over  tlie  remains  of  Warren  instinct- 
ively reminds  one  of  the  oration  of  Mark  Antony  over  the  remains  of 
Juhus  Csesar ;  and  the  occasion  and  the  scene  were  of  equal  sublimity. 
The  coming  apostrophe,  taken  from  the  exordium  of  this  splendid 
eulogy,  must  have  deeply  awakened  the  sensibility  of  the  audience  : 

"  Illustrious  relics! 

"  What  tidings  from  the  grave?  Why  hast  thou  left  the  peaceful 
mansions  of  the  tomb,  to  visit  again  this  troubled  earth  ?  Art  thou 
the  welcome  messenger  of  peace  7  Art  thou  risen  again  to  exhibit  thy 
glorious  wounds,  and  through  them  proclaim  salvation  to  thy  country  7 
Or  art  thou  come  to  demand  that  last  debt  of  humanity  to  which  your 
rank  and  merit  have  so  justly  entitled  you,  but  which  has  been  so  long 
ungenerously  withheld  7  And  art  thou  angry  at  the  barbarous  usage  7 
Be  appeased,  sweet  ghost !  for,  though  thy  body  has  long  laid  undis- 
tinguished among  the  vulgar  dead,  scarce  privileged  with  earth  enough 
to  hide  it  from  the  birds  of  prey, —  though  not  a  kindred  tear  was 
dropped,  though  not  a  friendly  sigh  was  uttered,  o'er  thy  grave, —  and 
though  the  execrations  of  an  impious  foe  were  all  thy  funeral  knells, — 
yet,  matchless  patriot !  thy  memory  has  been  embalmed  in  the  affec- 
tions of  thy  grateful  countrymen,  who,  in  their  breasts,  have  raised 
eternal  monuments  to  thy  bravery !  "  In  another  passage,  Morton 
exclaims:  "Like  Harrington  he  wrote, —  like  Cicero  he  spoke, — like 
Hampden  he  lived, —  and  like  Wolfe  he  died  !  " 

A  few  years  since,  the  remains  of  Gen.  Warren  were  removed  from 
the  tomb  of  the  Minots  to  the  family  tomb  of  his  nephew.  Dr.  John 
C.  Warren,  under  St.  Paul's  Church.  His  skull  is  in  a  careful  state 
of  preservation. 

Perez  Morton  was  born  at  Plymouth,  Nov.  13,  1751.  His  father 
settled  at  Boston,  and  was  keeper  of  the  White  Horse  Tavern,  opposite 
Hayward-place,  and  died  in  1793.  The  son  entered  the  Boston  Latin 
School  in  1760,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1771,  when  he 
studied  law ;  but  the  revolutionary  war  prevented  his  engaging  in  the 
practice,  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  In  1775 
he  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  in  the  same  year  became 
deputy-secretary  of  the  province.  After  the  war,  he  opened  an  office 
as  an  attorney  at^aw,  at  his  residence  in  State-street,  on  the  present 
site  of  the  Union  Bank.  In  1778  he  married  Sarah  Wcntworth 
Apthorp,  at  Quincy,  noted  by  Paine  as  the  American  Sappho.  Mr. 
Morton  was  a  leader  of  the  old  Jacobin  Club,  which  held  meetings  at 


130  THE   nUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

the  Green  Dragon  Tavern,  and  became  a  decided  Democrat.     A  polit- 
ical poet  of  Boston  thus  satirizes  Perez  Morton : 

"  Perez,  thou  art  in  earnest,  though  some  doubt  thee  ! 
In  truth,  the  Club  could  never  do  ■without  thee  !, 
My  reasons  thus  I  give  thee  in  a  trice, — 
You  ivant  their  votes,  and  they  want  your  advice  ! 

"Thy  tongue,  shrewd  Perez,  favoring  ears  insures, — 
The  cash  elicits,  and  the  vote  secures. 
Thus  the  fat  oyster,  as  the  poet  tells. 
The  lawyer  ate,  —  his  clients  gained  the  shells." 

Mr.  Morton  was  Speaker  of  the  House  from  1806  to  1811,  and  was 
attorney-general  from  1810  to  1832;  was  a  delegate  from  Dorches- 
ter to  the  convention  for  revising  the  State  constitution,  in  1820,  and 
was  vigorous  in  general  debate.  He  died  at  Dorchester,  Oct.  14, 1837. 
He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  an  eloquent  speaker,  of  an  elegant  figure 
and  polished  manners. 


BENJAMIN  HIGHBORN. 

MARCH  5,  1777.    OX  THE  BOSTOX  MASSACRE. 

We  will  cite  a  passage  from  this  performance,  which  was  delivered 
at  the  old  brick  meeting-house,  to  indicate  its  pati-iotic  spirit:  "We  can 
easily  conceive,"  says  Mr.  Hichborn,  "  a  mixture  of  prejudice  and  fear, 
that  will  excite  such  awful  ideas  of  the  person  to  whom  we  have  been 
taught  from  our  cradles  to  annex  the  properties  of  a  most  gracious 
sovereign,  most  sacred  majesty,  and  a  train  of  such  God-like  attributes, 
as  would  make  us  feel  conscious  of  a  degree  of  impiety  in  calhng  a 
villain  by  his  proper  name,  while  shrouded  under  this  garb  of  sanctity. 
But  it  is  exceedingly  diverting  to  view  the  influence  of  this  chimerical 
divinity  in  those  who  are  made  the  immediate  tools  of  supporting  it. 
They  will  tell  you  it  is  a  task  most  ungrateful  to  men  of  their  sensibil- 
ity and  refinement,  to  be  made  the  instruments  of  sending  fire  and 
death  indiscriminately  among  the  innocent,  the  helpless,  and  the  fair, 
—but  they  have  sworn  to  be  faithful  to  their  sovereign,  and,  were  they 


BENJAMIN  HIGHBORN.  131 

ordered  to  scale  the  -svalls  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  they  should  not  dare 
to  decline  the  impious  attempt. 

"  Were  it  not  for  this  ridiculous  faith  in  the  omnipotence  of  the  tyrant 
whom  they  serve,  we  must  suppose  them  fools  or  madmen.  Indeed, 
that  very  faith  would  justify  the  charge  of  extreme  madness  and  folly 
ac'ainst  all  mankind  who  had  not  been  nurtured  in  this  cradle  of 
infatuation.  Were  it  not  for  the  indulgence  that  a  generous  mind 
will  always  show  to  the  weakness  and  prejudices  of  the  worst  of  men, 
many  whom  the  chance  of  war  has  thrown  into  our  hands  must  have  felt 
the  severity  and  contempt  of  a  justly  enraged  people,  while  they,  with 
all  their  vanity  and  ostentation,  remain  the  unhurt  objects  of  our  pity. 

'•'  It  is  surely  rather  a  subject  of  merry  ridicule,  than  deserving  of 
serious  resentment,  to  see  many  of  this  kind  of  gentry  affecting  to 
deny  the  character  of  prisoners,  and  attributing  that  indulgence,  which 
is  the  effect  of  unparalleled  generosity,  to  the  mean  motive  of  fear ;  but 
we  will  let  them  know  that  they  cannot  provoke  us  even  to  justice  in 
the  line  of  punishment,  and  we  leave  them  to  their  own  consciences, 
and  the  impartial  censures  of  surrounding  nations,  to  make  some 
returns  for  the  unexampled  cruelties  that  many  of  our  friends  have 
sufifered  from  their  barbarous  hands, —  in  lieu  of  that  severity  which, 
however  just,  humanity  shudders  to  inflict.  But  we  cannot  think  it 
strange  to  find  people,  in  the  subordinate  departments  of  life,  influ- 
enced by  such  ridiculous  notions,  while  their  haughty  masters  seem  to 
labor  under  the  misfortune  of  the  same  infatuation." 

Benjamin  Hichborn  was  born  at  Boston,  Feb.  24,  1746,  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1768,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  July  27th  of 
that  year,  and  became  an  eminent  barrister.  He  was  ardent  in  the 
cause  of  the  Revolution,  and  one  of  the  most  fearless,  dauntless  patri- 
ots. In  1775,  a  Tory  wrote  of  him  as  a  prisoner  on  board  the  Pres- 
ton, and,  as  a  young  lawyer,  standing  a  fair  chance  for  the  gallows. 
He  was  imprisoned  on  board  of  a  ship  of  war  in  Boston  harbor,  and  a 
note  of  his  oration  thus  alludes  to  the  fact : 

"  Capt.  Johnson  and  his  crew,  the  prisoners  in  general  at  New  York 
and  Hahfax,  Mr.  Lovell  and  many  others  in  Boston,  are  instances  suf- 
ficient to  destroy  the  little  credit  the  British  ever  had  for  humanity ; 
and  the  sufferings  of  some  to  which  I  myself  have  been  a  witness, 
exposed  to  all  the  inconveniences  and  hazards  of  a  languishing  disease 
in  confinement  on  ship-board,  in  view  of  the  persons  and  habitations 
of  their  nearest  friends,  and  a  sympathizing  parent  turned  over  the  side, 


132  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

■with  reproaches  for  attempting  to  speak  to  his  sick,  suffering,  dying 
child,  must  give  the  characters  of  the  polite,  sensible,  humane  Admiral 
Graves,  and  his  nephew  Sam,  a  stamp  of  infamy  which  the  power  of 
time  can  never  wipe  away." 

When  Mr.  Hichborn  took  his  degree  at  the  college,  his  commence- 
ment part  was  in  Latin :  "An  Crimen,  non  Repubhcse  noxium,  Cogni- 
tioni  humanje  subjici  debeat?"  He  married  Hannah  Gardner,  March 
2,  1780,  the  widow  of  Benjamin  Andrews,  a  hardware  merchant, 
whom  tradition  relates  he  shot  with  a  pistol  at  the  dinner-table  of  her 
husband,  stating  he  was  not  aware  that  the  pistol  was  loaded  with  ball. 
To  obviate  the  tendency  of  the  imputation  against  him,  we  quote  from 
the  Boston  Gazette  of  Jan.  11,  1779,  tbe  following  relation  of  the 
unfortunate  death  of  Benjamin  Andrews,  which  occurred  on  the  Sat- 
urday evening  previous  :  "  Sitting  in  his  parlor,  with  his  lady  and  a 
friend,  he  had  been  comparing  an  elegant  pair  of  pistols,  which  he  had 
bought  the  preceding  day,  with  a  pair  which  he  had  some  time  before, 
and  which  were  supposed  to  be  unloaded.  Upon  one  of  these  ]\Ir. 
Andrews  observed  some  rust  in  a  place  left  for  the  engraver  to  mark 
the  owner's  name  upon.  His  friend  undertook  to  rub  it  off.  Having 
accomplished  it,  he  was  returning  the  pistol  to  Mr.  Andrews,  who  was 
sitting  in  a  chair  at  the  table  by  the  fireside.  Unhappily,  as  he  took 
it  from  his  friend,  ]\Ir.  Andrews  grasped  it  in  such  a  manner  as 
brought  his  thumb  upon  the  trigger,  which  happened  to  have  no  guard, 
and  it  instantly  discharged  its  contents  into  his  head,  near  his  temple, 
and  he  expired  in  less  than  half  an  hour.  It  is  remarkable  that  a  few 
minutes  before  he  had  taken  the  screw-pins  from  both  these  pistols, 
and  one  of  them  almost  to  pieces ;  and  had  handled  them  without  any 
caution,  and  in  every  direction  against  his  own  body,  and  those  who 
were  in  the  room  with  him."  The  verdict  of  the  jury  of  inquest  was, 
that  Mr.  Andrews  came  to  liis  death  by  misfortune. 

As  colonel  of  the  Cadets  of  Boston,  he  marched  to  Rhode  Island 
in  1778.  Mr.  Hichborn  was  a  representative  of  Boston,  a  democrat 
of  the  old  school,  and  a  warm  advocate  of  Jefferson.  Many  famous 
lawyers  read  law  in  his  oiEce.     He  died  at  Dorchester,  Sept.  15, 1817. 

A  witty  pohtical  poet  of  Boston,  in  1795,  thus  alludes  to  Hichborn 
in  a  poem,  "  The  Lyars,"  which,  when  pubhshed,  excited  furious  riots: 

"  Sooner  shall  Vinal  in  his  school  remain, 

Or  Hewes,  my  pack-horse,  common  sense  attain  ;  - 

Sooner  shall  Morton's  speeches  seem  too  long. 
Or  Hichborn  to  lay  a  tax  upon  the  tongue  , 


JONATHAN  WILLIAMS  AUSTIN.  133 

Sooner  shall  language  'scape  the  clam-like  lip 
Of  Tommy  Edwards,  ere  he  drmks  his  flip  ; 
Sooner  shall  Dexter  use  a  word  uncouth, 
Than  Dr.  Jarvis  ever  speak  the  truth." 


JONATHAN  WILLIAMS  AUSTIN. 

MARCH  5,  1778.    ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

Jonathan  Williams  Austin  was  bom  at  Boston,  April  18, 1751. 
He  entered  the  Latin  Scliool  1759,  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
1769.  The  first  English  exercise  at  this  college,  it  is  said,  on  com- 
mencement-daj,  July,  1769,  was  a  dialogue  between  Mr.  Austin  and 
William  Tudor.     He  read  law  with  John  Adams  at  the  same  period. 

Mr.  Austin  was  the  first  witness  examined  in  the  trial  of  the  Brit- 
ish soldiers  for  the  mi^rder  of  the  victims  on  the  5th  of  March,  1770. 
He  is  recorded  as  clerk  to  John  Adams,  Esq.,  and  recognized  one 
William  McCauley,  a  prisoner  at  the  bar.  He  related  as  follows : 
"On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  March  last,  I  heard  the  bells  ring,  and 
immediately  Avent  into  King-street."  In  answer  to  the  question  how 
many  people  were  present  on  his  entrance  there,  he  replied,  "There 
might  be  twenty  or  thirty,  I  believe.  I  saw  the  sentry  at  the  custom- 
house door,  swinging  his  gun  and  bayonet.  There  were  a  parcel  of 
men  and  boys  round  him.  I  desired  them  to  come  away,  and  not 
molest  the  sentry.  Some  of  them  came  off,  and  went  to  the  middle 
of  the  street.  I  then  left  them,  and  went  up  towards  the  main  guard. 
Immediately  a  party  came  down.  I  walked  by  the  side  of  them  till  I 
came  to  the  sentry-box,  at  the  custom-house.  McCauley  then  got  to 
the  right  of  the  sentry-box ;  he  was  then  loading  his  piece.  I  was 
about  four  feet  off.  McCauley  said,  '  Damn  you,  stand  off ! '  and  pushed 
his  bayonet  at  me.  I  did  so.  Immediately  I  heard  the  report  of  a  gun. 
He  came  round  the  sentry-box,  and  stood  close  to  it  on  the  right.  I 
stood  inside  the  gutter,  close  by  the  box,  which  was  three  or  four  feet 
12 


134  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

from  the  corner  of  the  custom-house."  In  answer  to  the  question 
how  many  guns  did  you  hear  fired,  Mr.  Austin  replied  that  there  were 
five  or  six.     Mr.  Austin  was  admitted  to  Suffolk  bar  July  27,  1772. 

We  cannot  find  that  Mr.  Austin  was  ever  married ;  we  infer,  how- 
ever, from  an  "  Epitaph  for  Himself,"  as  follows,  that  matrimony  was 
a  subject  near  his  heart, —  but  he  was  removed  in  early  life  : 

"  I  had  my  failings,  be  the  truth  confest  ; 
And,  reader,  canst  thou  boast  a  blameless  breast .' 
Nor  hold  me  all  defect  ;  I  had  a  mind 
That  wished  all  happiness  to  all  mankind,  — 
That  more  than  wished,  — the  little  in  my  power 
I  cheered  the  sorroAving,  soothed  the  dying  hour. 
Yearned,  though  in  vain,  to  save  life's  parting  thread, 
Which  mourned  the  pious,  more  the  vicious,  dead. 
Spare  me  one  tear,  and  then,  kind  reader,  go  ; 
Live  foe  to  none,  and  die  without  a  foe. 
Live,  and,  if  possible,  enlarge  thy  plan  ; 
Not  live  alone,  —  die,  too,  the  friend  of  man. 
And  when  our  dust  obeys  the  ti-umpet's  call. 
He  '11  prove  our  friend  who  lived  and  died  for  all." 

He  was  an  elegant  writer,  and  an  eloquent  speaker.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Middlesex  Convention,  in  1774,  and  chairman  of  the 
committee  that  prepared  resolutions  adopted  by  the  convention.  He 
was  author  of  Poetical  and  Pohtical  Essays,  and  a  colonel  in  the  army 
of  the  Revolution.     He  died  in  a  southern  State,  in  1779. 

The  patriotic  oration  of  Mr.  Austin,  delivered  at  the  Old  Brick, 
burns  warm  with  pure  love  of  country,  and  we  select  one  passage  to 
the  point:  ''It  is  standing  armies  in  time  of  peace,  and  the  conse- 
quences thence  resulting,  that  we  deprecate.  Armies,  in  defence  of 
our  country  unjustly  invaded,  are  necessary,  and  in  the  highest  sense 
justifiable.  We.  my  friends,  attacked  by  an  arbitrary  tyrant,  under 
'  the  sanction  of  a  force  the  effects  of  which  we  have  attempted  to  illus- 
trate, have  been  obliged  to  make  the  last  solemn  appeal. '  And  I  can- 
not but  feel  a  pleasing  kind  of  transport,  when  I  see  America,  undaunted 
by  the  many  trying  scenes  that  have  attended  her,  still  bafiling  the 
efforts  of  the  most  formidable  power  in  Europe,  and  exhibiting  an 
instance  unknown  in  history.  To  see  an  army  of  veterans,  who  had 
fought  and  conquered  in  different  quarters  of  the  globe,  headed  by  a 
general  tutored  in  the  field  of  war,  illustrious  by  former  victories,  and 
flushed  with  repeated  successes,  threatening,  with  all  the  pomp  of 


WILLIAM  TUDOK.  135 

expression,  to  spread  havoc,  desolation,  and  ruin,  around  him,  —  to  see 
such  a  soldiery  and  such  a  general  yielding  to  a  hardy  race  of  men, 
new  to  the  field  of  war, — while,  on  the  one  hand,  it  exalts  the  character 
of  the  latter,  convincingly  proves  the  folly  of  those  who,  under  pre- 
tence of  having  a  body  of  troops  bred  to  war  and  ever  ready  for 
action,  adopt  this  dangerous  system,  in  subversion  of  every  principle 
of  lawflil  government.  Here,  if,  after  having  depictured  scenes  of  so 
distressing  nature,  it  may  not  appear  too  descending,  I  could  not  for- 
bear smihng  at  the  British  general  and  his  troops,  who,  not  willing  to 
reflect  on  their  present  humiliating  condition,  affect  the  air  of  arrogant 
superiority.  But  Americans  have  learnt  them  that  men,  fighting  on 
the  principles  of  freedom  and  honor,  despise  the  examples  that  have 
been  set  them  by  an  enemy ;  and,  though  in  the  field  they  can  brave 
every  danger  in  defence  of  those  principles,  to  a  vanquished  enemy 
they  know  how  to  be  generous, — but  that  this  is  a  generosity  not  weak 
and  unmeaning,  but  founded  on  just  sentiments,  and  if  wantonly  pre- 
sumed upon,  will  never  interfere  with  that  national  justice  which  ever 
ought,  and  lately  has  been,  properly  exerted." 


WILLIAM   TUDOR. 

MARCH  5,  1779.    ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

William  Tudor  was  born  at  Boston,  March  28,  1750,  a  son  of 
Dea.  John  Tudor,  of  Rev.  Dr.  Lathrop's  church,  who  records,  in  1779, 
that  "the  sudden  judgments  of  an  earthquake,  terrible  storm,  and  fire, 
have  all  three  done  damage  to  the  meeting-house,  within  his  remem- 
brance." The  son  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1758,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  17G9,  studied  law  with  John  Adams,  was  admitted 
to  Suffolk  bar  July  27,  1772,  was  an  eminent  counsellor,  a  colonel  in 
the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  Judge  Advocate  General  from  1775 
to  17'78.  lie  married  Delia  Jarvis,  March  5, 1778.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  and  Senate,  and  in  1809-10  the  Secretary  of  State. 


136  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Col.  Tudor  was  Vice-president  of  tlie  Society  of  Cincinnati  of  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1816,  and  was  the  last  orator  of  that  institution,  in  1791. 
He  acted  as  Judge  Advocate  in  the  trials  of  ofBcers  engaged  in  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  ^lassachusetts 
Historical  Society,  in  Avhose  collections  appears  an  extended  memoir. 
He  died  July  8,  1819. 

]\Ir.  Tudor  was,  by  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  separated  from  the 
lady  to  whom  his  affections  were  engaged,  and  whom  he  afterwards 
married.  For  the  benefit  of  a  better  air,  she  resided  some  time  on 
Noddle's  Island,  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Wilhams.  One  of  his  boyish 
acquisitions  was  now  of  use  to  him.  He  was,  in  his  youth,  an  excel- 
lent swimmer.  When  a  boy,  being  on  a  visit  on  board  of  an  English 
ship  of  the  line  in  the  harbor,  the  conversation  turned  upon  swimming; 
and  he  proposed  to  jump  from  the  taffrail  rail  over  the  stern, —  which, 
in  ships  of  the  old  model,  was  a  considerable  height, —  if  any  one 
would  do  the  same.  A  sailor  offered  himself.  The  boy  took  the  leap, 
but  the  man  was  afraid  to  follow.  He  now  profited  by  a  knowledge  of 
this  art.  To  have  attempted  visiting  the  island  in  a  boat,  would  have 
exposed  him  to  certain  capture  by  the  enemy ;  but,  tying  his  clothes 
in  a  bundle  on  his  head,  he  used  to  swim  from  the  opposite  shore  of 
Chelsea  to  the  island,  make  his  visit,  and  return  to  the  continent  in 
the  same  manner. 

In  the  elegant  and  spirited  oration  of  Col.  William  Tudor,  dehvered 
at  the  Old  Brick,  we  find  a  passage  specially  worthy  of  perpetual 
record:  "In  1764  the  plan  for  raising  a  revenue  from  this  country 
was  resolved  on  by  the  British  ministry,  and  their  obsequious  Parlia- 
ment were  instructed  to  pass  an  act  for  that  purpose.  Not  content 
with  having  for  a  century  directed  the  entii'e  commerce  of  America,  and 
centred  its  profits  in  their  own  island,  thereby  deriving  from  the  colo- 
nies every  substantial  advantage  which  the  situation  and  trans-marine 
distance  of  the  country  could  afford  them ;  not  content  with  appointing 
the  principal  ofiicers  in  the  different  governments,  while  the  king  had  a 
negative  upon  every  law  that  was  enacted ;  not  content  with  our 
supporting  the  whole  charge  of  our  municipal  establishments,  although 
tiieir  own  creatures  held  the  chief  posts  therein ;  not  content  with  lay- 
in  gexternal  duties  upon  our  mutilated  and  shackled  commerce, —  they, 
by  this  statute,  attempted  to  rob  us  of  even  the  curtailed  property, 
the  hard-earned  peculium  which  still  remained  to  us,  to  create  a  rev- 
enue for  the  support  of  a  fleet  and  army ;  in  reahty,  to  overawe  and 


WILLIAM  TUDOR.  137 

secure  our  subjection, —  not  (as  they  insidiously  pretended)  to  protect 
our  trade,  or  defend  our  frontiers ;  the  first  of  which  they  annoyed, 
and  the  latter  deserted. 

"After  repealing  this  imperious  edict, —  not  because  it  was  unjust  in 
principle,  but  inexpedient  in  exercise, —  they  proceeded  to  declare,  by 
a  pubhc  act  of  the  whole  legislature,  that  we  had  no  property  but  what 
was  at  their  disposal,  and  that  Americatis,  in  future,  were  to  hold  their 
privileges  and  Hves  solely  on  the  tenure  of  the  good  will  and  pleasure 
of  a  British  Parliament.  Acts  soon  followed  correspondent  to  this 
righteous  determination,  which  not  quadrating  with  American  ideas  of 
right,  justice  and  reason,  a  fleet  and  army  were  sent  to  give  them  that 
force  which  laws  receive  when  promulgated  from  the  mouths  of  can- 
non, or  at  the  points  of  bayonets.  We  then  first  saw  our  harbor 
crowded  with  hostile  ships,  our  streets  with  soldiers, —  soldiers  accus- 
tomed to  consider  military  prowess  as  the  standard  of  excellence  ;  and, 
vain  of  the  splendid  pomp  attendant  on  regular  armies,  they  contempt- 
uously looked  down  on  our  peaceful  orders  of  citizens.  Conceiving 
themselves  more  powerful,  they  assumed  a  superiority  which  they  did 
not  feel ;  and  whom  they  could  not  but  envy,  they  affected  to  despise. 
Perhaps, —  knowing  they  were  sent,  and  believing  they  were  able,  to 
subdue  us, —  they  thought  it  was  no  longer  necessary  to  observe  any 
measures  with  slaves.  Hence  that  arrogance  in  the  carriage  of  the 
officers ;  hence  that  licentiousness  and  brutality  in  the  common  soldiers, 
which  at  length  broke  out  with  insufferable  violence,  and  proceeding  to 
personal  insults  and  outrageous  assaults  on  the  inhabitants,  soon  roused 
them  to  resentment,  and  produced  the  catastrophe  which  we  now  com- 
memorate. The  immediate  horrors  of  that  distressful  night  have  been 
so  often  and  so  strikingly  painted,  that  I  shall  not  again  wring  your 
feeling  bosoms  with  the  affecting  recital.  To  the  faithful  pen  of  his- 
tory I  leave  them  to  be  represented,  as  the  honid  prelude  to  those  more 
extensive  tragedies  which,  under  the  direction  of  a  most  obstinate  and 
sanguinary  prince,  have  since  been  acted  in  every  corner  of  America 
where  his  armies  have  been  able  to  penetrate." 

Judge  Tudor,  when  on  a  tour  in  Europe,  about  the  year  1800,  after 
his  arrival  at  London,  was  presented  at  court  by  our  ambassador,  Rufus 
King.  On  the  mention  of  his  name,  King  George  smiled,  and  observed, 
in  his  rapid  manner,  "Tudor!  what  —  one  of  us?"  Having  been 
told  that  he  had  just  come  from  France,  he  eagerly  made  many  inquiries 
respecting  the  state  of  that  country,  the  situation  of  Paris,  and  the 
12* 


138  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

opinions  of  the  inhabitants.  These  court  presentations  are  generally  a 
mere  matter  of  form  ;  but  foreigners,  introduced  hj  their  ambassadors, 
are  received  apart  by  the  king,  and  before  the  subjects  of  the  country. 
The  king's  curiosity  continued  the  interview  so  long,  that  Lord  Gal- 
loway, the  lord  in  waiting,  who  had  a  great  amount  of  duty  to  perform, 
grew  impatient,  and  said,  "His  Majesty  seems  to  be  so  deeply  engaged 
with  his  cousin,  that  he  forgets  What  a  number  of  persons  are  in  wait- 
ing to  be  presented."  The  king,  in  this  audience,  exhibited  all  the 
courtesy  and  inquisitive  good  sense  which  always  distinguished  him. 

When  at  Paris,  in  1807,  the  Empress  Josephine  had  it  in  charge  to 
amuse  the  courtiers  during  the  absence  of  Napoleon.  She  gave  enter- 
tainments at  the  palace,  which  were  called  cercles.  The  first  singers 
and  actors  were  called  to  perform  a  few  select  pieces  on  these  evenings, 
and  a  light  but  most  exquisite  supper  was  given  to  the  guests.  After 
Mr.  Tudor  and  the  ladies  of  his  family  had  been  presented,  they  were 
invited  several  times  to  these  cercles,  and  also  to  similar  entertainments 
from  the  other  branches  of  the  imperial  family.  A  trifling  circum- 
stance will  here  show  how  minute  the  French  are  in  their  attentions. 
In  the  absence  of  Napoleon,  gentlemen  were  presented  to  Cambaceres, 
and  aftervrards  invited  to  his  table.  From  very  abstemious  and  simple 
habits  in  early  life,  he  became  one  of  the  most  luxurious  and  ostenta- 
tious of  the  imperial  court.  He  was  remarkable  for  the  expense  and 
excellence  of  his  table.  Mr.  Tudor  was  invited  to  dine  with  him ;  and, 
as  he  did  not  speak  French,  though  he  understood  it,  a  gentleman  was 
placed  by  him  who  spoke  English  perfectly.  In  the  course  of  the  din- 
ner, he  was  offered  a  piece  of  plum-pudding,  which  he  dechned.  He 
was  told  that  it  had  been  prepared  purposely  for  him,  thinking  it 
was  a  national  dish.  Of  course,  he  could  not  refuse  to  take  a  piece. 
Though  he  was  fonder  of  the  simple  dishes  of  his  o^^ti  country  than 
the  costly  and  scientific  preparations  of  French  cookery,  he  was  always 
willing  to  admit  that  this  dinner  of  the  arch-chancellor  could  not  be 
surpassed. 

Judge  Tudor,  in  the  year  1777,  conducted  the  trial  of  Col.  David 
Henely,  arrested,  on  the  accusation  of  Gen.  Burgoyne,  for  military 
oppression.  It  was  an  eloquent  argument,  conceded  by  the  judge  as 
unsurpassed  by  any  speech  he  had  ever  heard  ;  and  Burgoyne  granted 
that  Tudor  managed  the  case  as  one  profound  in  the  law,  and  with 
great  dignity.     Col.  Henely  was  acquitted. 


JONATHAN  MASON.  139 

JONATHAN  MASON. 

MARCH  5,  1780.    ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

Jonathan  Mason  was  born  in  Boston,  Aug.  30,  1752,  a  son  of 
Dea.  Jonathan  Mason  of  the  Old  South  Church ;  entered  the  Latin 
School  in  1763,  graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1774,  a  student  at 
law  under  John  Adams,  and  an  attorney  in  1777.  Mr.  Mason  was 
one  of  the  ninety-six  attestators  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  and  confirms 
a  fact  regarding  Hutchinson,  related  in  the  History  of  Massachusetts  : 

"Jonathan  Mason,  of  lawful  age,  testifies  and  says,  that  on  the 
evening  of  the  5th  of  March,  1770,  about  ten  o'clock,  being  in  King- 
street,  Boston,  standing  near  His  Honor  the  lieutenant-governor,  he 
heard  him  say  to  an  officer  at  the  head  of  the  king's  troops,  who,  it 
was  said,  was  Capt.  Preston,  '  Sir,  you  are  sensible  you  had  no  right 
to  fire,  unless  you  had  orders  from  a  magistrate.'  To  which  Capt. 
Preston  replied,  *  Sir,  we  were  insulted,' — or  words  to  that  purpose; 
upon  which  Capt.  Preston  desired  His  Honor  to  go  with  him  to  the 
guard-house,  which  His  Honor  declined,  and  repaired  to  the  council- 
chamber. 

''Bosto7i,  March  21, 1770." 

On  the  Monday  after  the  memorable  5th  March,  1780,  Mr.  Mason 
delivered  a  spirited  oration  in  the  Old  Brick  Church,  when  a  collection 
was  taken  for  the  unhappy  Monk,  still  languishing  from  the  cruel  wounds 
received  at  the  Massacre.  "  The  living  history  of  our  own  times  will 
carry  conviction  to  the  latest  posterity,"  says  Jonathan  Mason  in  his 
eloquent  performance,  "that  no  state,  that  no  community, —  I  may  say, 
that  no  family, —  nay,  even  that  no  individual, —  can  possibly  flourish 
and  be  happy,  without  some  portion  of  the  sacred  fire  of  patriotism. 
It  was  this  that  raised  America  from  being  the  haunt  of  the  savage, 
and  the  dwelling-place  of  the  beast,  to  her  present  state  of  civil- 
ization and  opulence ;  it  was  this  that  hath  supported  her  under  the 
severest  trials ;  it  was  this  that  taught  her  sons  to  fight,  to  conquer 
and  to  die,  in  support  of  freedom  and  its  blessings.  And  what  is  it, 
but  this  ardent  love  of  liberty,  that  has  induced  you,  my  fellow-citi- 
zens, to  attend  on  this  solemn  occasion,  again  to  encourage  the  streams 
of  sensibility,  and  to  listen  with  so  much  attention  and  candor  to  one 


140  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON  ORATORS. 

of  the  youngest  of  your  fellow-citizens,  whose  youth  and  inahility 
plead  powerfully  against  him,  while  the  annual  tribute  is  paid  ta  the 
memory  of  those  departed  citizens  who  fell  the  first  sacrifices  to  arbi- 
trary power  ?  Check  not  such  generous  feelings.  They  are  the  fruits 
of  virtue  and  humanity ;  and,  while  the  obligations  you  remain  under 
to  those  unhappy  men  lead  you  to  shed  the  sympathetic  tear,  to  dwell 
with  pleasure  upon  their  memories,  and  execrate  the  causes  of  their 
death,  remember  that  you  can  never  repay  them.  Ever  bear  it  in 
your  minds,  that  so  implicit  was  the  confidence  you  wilHngly  placed  in 
that  country  that  owed  to  you  her  affection,  that,  notwithstanding  the 
introduction  of  that  inhuman  weapon  of  tyrants  into  the  very  heart  of 
your  peaceful  villages,  you  still  would  fain  rely  on  their  deceitful  asser- 
tions, and  paint  the  deformed  monster  to  your  imaginations  as  the  min- 
ister of  peace  and  protection.  Men  born  in  the  bosom  of  liberty, 
living  in  the  exercise  of  the  social  affections  in  their  full  vigor,  having 
once  fixed  them  upon  particular  objects,  they  are  not  hastily  eradi- 
cated. Unaccustomed  to  sport  with  and  wantonly  sacrifice  these  sensi- 
ble overflowings  of  the  heart,  to  run  the  career  of  passion  and  blinded 
lust,  to  be  familiar  with  vice  and  sneer  at  virtue,  to  surprise  innocence 
by  deceitful  cunning,  and  assume  the  shade  of  friendship  to  conceal 
the  greater  enmity,  you  could  not  at  once  realize  the  fixed,  the  delib- 
erate intention  of  those  from  whom  you  expected  freedom  to  load  you 
with  slavery  and  chains ;  — and  not  till  insult  repeated  upon  insult, — 
not  till  oppression  stalked  at  noonday  through  every  avenue  in  your 
cities, —  nay,  not  till  the  blood  of  your  peaceful  brethren  flowed 
through  your  streets, —  was  the  envenomed  serpent  to  be  discovered 
in  the  bushes  ;  —  not  till  a  general  trespass  had  been  made  upon  the 
keenest  feelings  of  human  nature,  and  the  widowed  mother  was  sum- 
moned to  entomb  the  cold  remains  of  her  affectionate  son,  the  virtuous 
bosom  to  resign  its  tender  partner,  and  social  circles  their  nearest 
friends,  could  you  possibly  convince  yourselves  that  you  and  Britain 
were  to  be  friends  no  more.  Thrice  happy  day !  the  consequences  of 
which  have  taught  the  sons  of  America  that  a  proper  exercise  of  pub- 
lic spirit  and  the  love  of  virtue  hath  been  able  to  surprise  and  baffle 
the  most  formidable  and  most  powerful  tyranny  on  earth." 

Jonathan  Mason  was  an  eminent  counsellor  at  law,  and  a  member 
of  the  State  Legislature.  In  1798  he  was  of  the  Governor's  Council; 
in  1800  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  in  1819  to  the 
House  in  Congress,  when  he  voted  for  the  Missouri  Compromise.     In 


THOMAS  DAWES.  141 

his  political  relations  he  was  a  firm  adherent  of  the  federal  party. 
He  was  distinguished  for  great  energy  of  character  and  dignity  of 
manners.  In  stature  he  was  tall  and  erect.  He  died  at  Boston, 
November  1,  1831.  Mr.  Mason  married  Susanna,  daughter  of 
William  Powell,  April  13,  1779.  Dr.  John  C.  Warren  married  their 
daughter  Susan  in  1803,  and  Hon.  David  Sears  married  their 
daughter  Miriam  C.  in  1809.  An  admirable  portrait  of  Mr.  Mason, 
by  Gilbert  Stuart,  is  in  the  family  of  Mr,  Sears. 


THOMAS   DAWES. 

MARCH  5,  1781.    ON  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

Thomas  Dawes  was  a  son  of  Col.  Thomas  Dawes,  an  eminent  archi- 
tect, and  patriot  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  born  at  Boston,  July  8, 1758, 
He  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1766,  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1777,  early  entered  the  profession  of  law,  and  became  an  eminent 
counsellor.  He  married  Margaret  Greenleaf  in  1781,  and  resided  on 
the  paternal  estate  in  Purchase-street,  a  place  famous  in  the  Revolu- 
tion for  private  caucuses.  He  ever  evinced  a  lively  imagination,  and 
natural  thirst  for  polite  literature.  His  witticisms  are  proverbial, 
and  his  patriotic  and  literary  poetic  effusions  were  highly  popular. 
When  about  thirty  years  of  age,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  associate 
justices  of  the  Supi-eme  Judicial  Court  of  the  State,  which  he  filled  until 
1803,  when  he  became  judge  of  the  Municipal  Court  for  Boston  until 
1823.  He  was  appointed  judge  of  Probate  for  Suffolk  county,  which 
station  he  occupied  until  his  decease,  July  22,  1825.  Judge  Dawes 
was  a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  of  1820  for  revising  the  con- 
stitution. He  was  of  very  small  stature,  being  not  five  feet  in  height, 
but  rotund  and  fleshy  round  the  waist.  His  face  was  florid  and  small, 
with  expressive  eyes.  His  hair  was  long  and  gray.  His  utterance 
was  of  a  striking  lisp,  and  his  voice  was  soft  and  clear.  He  wore 
small-clothes  and  buckled  shoes.     When  it  was  announced  that  Thomas 


142  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Da-^-es  was  appointed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  Col.  Hichborn,  it  is 
related,  who  "was  displeased,  contemptuously  said  of  him,  "I  could  put 
him  into  my  pocket."  Upon  being  informed  of  this,  Judge  Dawes 
promptly  remarked,  with  great  dignity  and  good- nature,  ''If  he  did 
pocket  me,  he  would  have  had  more  law  in  his  pocket  than  he  ever 
had  in  his  head."  On  another  occasion,  standing  among  five  other 
guests  in  a  drawing-room,  just  before  dinner  was  announced,  all  of 
whom  were  tall  or  stouter  than  himself, —  Gen.  Arnold  Welles,  Col. 
Roulstone,  Maj.  Benjamin  Russell,  and  others,— ^  one  of  them  jocosely 
asked  him  how  he  felt,  being  so  small,  and  surrounded  as  he  was  by  so 
many  large  men;  to  whom  he  promptly  replied,  "Like  a  silver  six- 
penny piece  among  five  copper  cents, —  much  less  in  size  than  any  one, 
but  of  more  intrinsic  value  than  all  of  them  together." 

When  the  liberty-pole  was  erected  on  the  spot  where  the  Liberty 
Tree   once   flourished,   opposite   Frog-lane,  Judge   Dawes  wrote  as 

follows : 

"  Of  high  renoTvn  here  grew  the  tree,  — 
The  elm  so  dear  to  liberty. 
Your  sires,  beneath  its  sacred  shade. 
To  Freedom  early  homage  paid  ; 
This  day,  with  filial  awe,  surround 
Its  root,  that  sanctifies  the  ground  ; 
And,  by  your  fathers'  spirits,  swear 
The  rights  they  left  you  '11  not  impair." 

"Do  we  not  see  the  darkened  spring  of  1770,"  said  Judge  Dawes 
in  his  oration  at  the  Old  Brick,  "  like  the  moon  in  a  thick  atmosphere, 
rising  in  blood,  and  ushered  in  by  the  figure  of  Britain  plunging  her 
poignard  in  the  young  bosom  of  America?  0,  our  bleeding  country  ! 
was  it  for  this  our  hoary  sires  sought  thee  through  all  the  elements, 
and  having  found  thee  sheltering  away  from  the  western  wave,  discon- 
solate, cheered  thy  sad  face,  and  decked  thee  out  like  the  garden  of 
God  1  Time  was  when  we  could  all  afiirm  to  this  gloomy  question, — 
when  we  were  ready  to  cry  out  that  our  fathers  had  done  a  vain  thing. 
I  mean  upon  that  unnatural  right  which  we  now  commemorate ;  when 
the  fire  of  Brutus  was  on  many  a  heart, — when  the  strain  of  Gracchus 
was  on  many  a  tongue.  '  Wretch  that  I  am !  —  whither  shall  I 
retreat  7  —  whither  shall  I  turn  me  7  —  to  the  capitol  7  The  capitol 
swims  in  my  brother's  blood.  To  my  family?  There  must  I  see  a 
wi'etched,  a  mournful  and  afilicted  mother.'  Misery  loves  to  brood 
over  its  own  woes  ;   and  so  peculiar  were  the  woes  of  that  night,  so 


THOMAS   DAWES.  143 

expressive  the  pictures  of  despair,  so  various  the  face  of  deatli, 
that  not  all  the  grand  tragedies  Avhicli  have  been  since  acted  can  crowd 
from  our  minds  that  era  of  the  human  passions,  that  preface  to  the 
general  conflict  that  now  rages.  May  we  never  forget  to  ofier  a  sac- 
rifice to  the  manes  of  our  brethren  who  bled  so  earlj  at  the  foot  of  Lib- 
erty. Hitherto  we' have  nobly  avenged  their  fall ;  but  as  ages  cannot 
expunge  the  debt,  their  melancholy  ghosts  still  rise  at  a  stated  season, 
and  will  forever  wander  in  the  night  of  this  noted  anniversary.  Let 
us,  then,  be  frequent  pilgrims  at  their  tombs.  There  let  us  profit  of 
all  our  feelings ;  and,  while  the  senses  are  '  struck  deep  with  woe,' 
give  wing  to  the  imagination.  Hark !  even  now,  in  the  hollow  wind,  I 
hear  the  voice  of  the  departed :  '  0  ye  who  listen  to  wisdom,  and  aspire 
to  immortality,  as  ye  have  avenged  our  blood,  thrice  blessed  !  as  ye 
still  war  against  the  mighty  hunters  of  the  earth,  your  names  are 
recorded  in  heaven  ! ' 

"  Such  are  the  suggestions  of  fancy;  and,  having  given  them  their 
due  scope, —  having  described  the  memorable  Fifth  of  March  as  a  sea- 
son of  disaster, —  it  would  be  an  impiety  not  to  consider  it  in  its  other 
relation ;  for  the  rising  honors  of  these  States  are  distant  issues,  as 
it  were,  from  the  intricate  though  all-wise  divinity  which  presided 
upon  that  night.  Strike  that  night  out  of  time,  and  we  quench  the 
first  ardor  of  a  resentment  which  has  been  ever  since  increasing,  and 
now  accelerates  the  fall  of  tyi-anny.  The  provocations  of  that  night 
must  be  numbered  among  the  master  springs  which  gave  the  first 
motion  to  a  vast  machinery,  a  noble  and  comprehensive  system  of 
national  independence.  '  The  independence  of  America,'  says  the 
"writer  under  the  signature  of  '  Common  Sense.'  '  should  have  been 
considered  as  dating  its  era  from  the  first  musket  that  was  fired  against 
her.'  Be  it  so  !  but  Massachusetts  may  certainly  date  many  of  its 
blessings  from  the  Boston  Massacre, —  a  dark  hour  in  itself,  but  from 
which  a  marvellous  light  has  arisen.  From  that  night,  revolution 
became  inevitable,  and  the  occasion  commenced  of  the  present  most 
beautiful  form  of  government.  We  often  read  of  the  original  contract, 
and  of  mankind,  in  the  early  ages,  passing  from  a  state  of  nature  to 
immediate  civilization.  But  what  eye  could  penetrate  through  Gothic 
night  and  barbarous  fable  to  that  remote  period  7  Such  an  eye,  per- 
haps, was  present,  when  the  Deity  conceived  the  universe,  and  fixed  his 
compass  upon  the  great  deep.  And  yet  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
have  reduced  to  practice  the  wonderful  theory.     A  numerous  people 


144  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

have  convened  in  a  state  of  nature,  and,  like  our  ideas  of  the  patriarchs, 
have  deputed  a  few  fathers  of  the  land  to  draw  up  for  them  a  glorious 
covenant.  It  has  been  drawn.  The  people  have  signed  it  with  rap- 
ture, and  have  thereby  bartered  among  themselves  an  easy  degree  of 
obedience  for  the  highest  possible  civil  happiness.  To  render  that  cov- 
enant eternal,  patriotism  and  political  virtue  must  forever  blaze,  —  must 
blaze  at  the  present  day  with  superlative  lustre,  being  watched,  from 
different  motives,  by  the  eyes  of  all  mankind.  Nor  must  that  patriot- 
ism be  contracted  to  a  single  commonwealth.  A  combination  of  the 
States  is  requisite  to  support  them  individually.  '  Unite,  or  die,'  is  our 
indispensable  motto." 

Mr.  Robert  Patterson  presented  a  petition  to  the  town  of  Boston, 
on  this  day,  March  5,  1781,  setting  forth  that  he  received  a  wound  in 
the  right  arm,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1770,  by  a  shot  from  Preston's 
party,  whereby  he  has  entirely  lost  the  use  of  it ;  and  that,  since  the 
death  of  INIr.  INIonk,  he  is  the  only  one  of  the  unhappy  number,  then 
badly  wounded,  that  survives ;  and  therefore  praying  the  charity  of  the 
town; —  "voted,  that  a  collection  be  made,  at  the  close  of  this  meeting, 
for  the  unhappy  sufferer."  Boxes  were  placed  at  each  door  of  the  Old 
Brick  jNIeeting-house,  to  receive  the  conti'ibutions ;  and  also  on  the  two 
years  succeeding. 

We  cannot  resist  the  insertion  of  Judge  Dawes'  patriotic  effusion, 
repeated  to  the  editor  from  memory,  by  Thomas  Somes,  a  merchant  of 
Boston,  and  a  nephew  of  the  judge,  one  day  in  the  street,  when  stand- 
ing nearly  opposite  the  Athenaeum,  and  who  died  suddenly  a  few  days 
after  the  recital.  It  was  sung  June  17,  1786,  at  the  festival  on  the 
opening  of  Charlestown  Bridge,  after  the  announcement  of  this  senti- 
ment :  "  May  this  anniversary  be  forever  marked  with  joy,  as  its  birth 
was  with  glory." 

"Now  let  rich  music  sound, 
And  all  tlie  region  round 

With  rapture  fill  ; 
Let  the  fall  trump  of  fame 
To  heaven  itself  proclaim 
The  everlasting  name 

Of  Bunker's  HiU. 

' '  Beneath  his  sky-Avrapt  brow 
What  heroes  sleep  below,  —  * 
How  dear  to  Jove  ! 


THOMAS   DAWES.  '  145 

Not  more  beloved  were  those 
Who  foiled  celestial  foes 
When  the  old  giants  rose 
To  arms  above  ! 

♦•  Now  scarce  eleven  short  years 
Have  rolled  their  rapid  spheres 

Through  heaven's  high  road, 
Since  o'er  yon  swelling  tide 
Passed  all  the  British  pride, 
And  watered  Bunker's  side 

With  foreign  blood. 

"  Then  Charlcstown's  gilded  spirea 
Felt  unrelenting  fires, 

And  sunk  in  night ; 
But,  phcenix-like,  they  '11  rise 
From  where  their  ruin  lies. 
And  strike  the  astonished  eyes 

With  glories  bright. 

«'  Meandering  to  the  deep, 
Majestic  Charles  shall  weep 

Of  war  no  more. 
Famed  as  the  Appian  Way, 
The  world's  first  bridge,  to-day 
All  nations  shall  convey 
From  shore  to  shore. 

"  On  our  blessed  mountain's  head 
The  festive-board  we  '11  spread 

"With  viands  high  ; 
Let  joy's  broad  bowl  go  round, 
With  public  spirit  crowned  ; 
We  '11  consecrate  the  ground 

To  Liberty." 

When  Judge  Dawes  was  a  delegate  in  the  State  Convention  of 
1820,  he  made  several  speeches.  On  one  occasion  he  remarked,  the 
constitution  was  adopted  just  after  he  left  the  law  oflBce  of  one  of  its 
principal  founders,  and  he  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  anxiety 
of  those  who  raised  this  bulwark  of  our  liberties.  Of  the  spirit  of 
amity  which  prevailed  in  the  convention  of  1788,  he  could  speak  with 
confidence.  He  was  one  of  the  twelve  gentlemen  chosen  from  Boston 
to  that  convention,  nine  of  whom  have  gone  to  render  their  account, 
and  he  must  soon  follow.  Those  gentlemen  were  obliged  to  change 
their  minds,  as  light  beamed  upon  them  on  the  various  subjects  dis- 
13 


140  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

cussed.  Even  Samuel  Adams,  -n-lio  was  remarkable  for  the  inflexibil- 
ity of  bis  opinions,  after  hearing  Fisher  Ames'  speech  upon  the  bien- 
nial election  of  members  of  Congress,  got  up. —  not  to  oppose,  as  was 
expected,  but  to  tell  us  that  he  was  satisfied  with  the  reasons  which 
had  been  given  by  Ames.  This  conduct,  in  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Adams, 
had  a  great  effect  upon  the  other  members  of  the  convention. 

Mr.  Dawes  opposed  a  resolution  directing  the  manner  in  which  the 
votes  on  the  amendments  are  to  be  given  by  the  people,  where  the  per- 
sons voting  are  to  express  their  opinion  by  annexing  to  each  number 
the  word  Yes,  or  No,  or  any  other  words  that  may  signify  his  opinion 
of  the  proposed  amendment.  He  thought  this  latitude  might  lead  to 
difficulty.  It  would  permit  a  man  to  read  a  whole  sermon.  They  had 
often  heard  whole  sermons  read  in  the  Assembly, —  they  might  read 
them  in  town-meeting,  and  put  them  on  file,  to  express  their  opinion. 
It  was  amended.  Judge  Dawes  was  a  member  also  of  the  convention 
for  the  adoption  of  a  State  constitution  in  1780. 

Thomas  Dawes  always  exhibited  an  honest  and  friendly  feehng, 
which  shone  forth  in  his  social  intercourse,  enlivened  by  classic  and 
literary  taste,  undiminished  by  the  assumption  of  measured  niantier, 
too  often  exercised  to  supply  the  place  of  real  merit. 


GEORGE  RICHARDS  MINOT. 

MARCH  5,  1782.    OX  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. 

George  Richards  Minot  was  born  at  Boston,  Dec.  22,  1758,  and 
was  the  youngest  of  ten  children.  He  entered  the  Latin  School  in 
1767,  where  he  was  a  shining  scholar.  When  the  important  period 
di-ew  near  in  which  he  was  to  leave  school,  he  was  not  only  required 
by  Master  James  Lovell  to  compose  his  own  oration,  but  he  was  also 
enjoined  to  aid  several  of  his  classmates  in  the  same  duty.  "While  at 
Harvard  College  he  devoted  himself  with  grea*  industry  and  success  to 
classical  and  historical  studies.     He-  graduated  in  1778.     His  most 


GEORGE  RICHARDS  MINOT.  147 

admired  models  were  Robertson's  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  the  London 
Annual  Register.  At  his  graduation  he  received  the  highest  honors  of 
the  college,  without  an  expression  of  envy  from  his  classmates ;  such 
is  the  force  of  superior  merit  towards  the  youth  who  loved  every  one, 
and  who  veiled  his  talent  in  the  garb  of  modesty.  Mr.  JMinot  entered 
on  the  study  of  law  under  Judge  Tudor,  towards  whom  he  had  a 
warm  veneration.  It  was  in  his  office  that  he  enjoyed  the  advantage 
of  being  the  fellow-student  of  Fisher  Ames,  where  his  own  genius 
caught  fire  from  the  flame  which  burned  so  intensely  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  his  companion.  Fisher  Ames  was  at  that  time  unknown  to  the 
world,  but  Minot  never  spoke  of  him  without  enthusiasm ;  and  he 
often  predicted  the  splendid  reputation  which  this  powerful  orator 
would  in  coming  time  attain. 

On  the  adoption  of  the  State  constitution,  in  1780,  Mr.  Minot  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  During  this  period, 
the  causes  which  led  to  the  insurrection  of  Daniel  Shays  were  in  opera- 
tion, and  he  had  the  opportunity  of  being  familiar  with  the  debates, 
which  were  of  intense  public  interest.  This  insurrection  was  a  primary 
cause  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Minot  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  State  Convention  of  1788,  on 
the  discussion  of  its  adoption.  Mv.  Minot  was  married  in  ]\Iarch, 
1783,  to  Mary  Speakman,  of  Marlboro',  the  lady  of  his  early  love, 
whose  warmth  of  affection  towards  him  was  ardent  as  that  of  his 
towards  herself.  At  this  period  he  was  a  liberal  contributor  to  the 
Boston  Magazine,  and  was  an  editor  of  three  early  volumes  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  of  which  society,  the  Humane, 
the  Charitable,  and  the  American  Academy,  he  was  a  devoted  mem- 
ber. He  was  appointed  judge  of  Probate  in  1792,  which  office  he 
honored  with  impartiality  and  humanity.  He  became  judge  of  the 
Municipal  Court  from  1800,  and  wisely  sustained  its  duties  until  his 
decease,  Jan.  2,  1802.  His  residence  was  in  Devonshire-street,  on 
the  site  of  the  Type  and  Stereotype  Foundery,  and  no  private  mansion 
in  Boston  was  more  famous  for  a  free  and  generous  hospitality.  He 
was  remarkable  for  sprightly  sallies  of  wit,  radiant  benignity,  and 
blandness  of  manners.  In  1795  his  address  for  the  Massachusetts 
Charitable  Society,  of  which  he  was  president,  was  published.  His 
impassioned  eulogy  on  the  character  of  Washington,  pronounced  at  the 
request  of  the  town  of  Boston,  was  ready  for  sale  on  the  day  after  its 
delivery,  and  was  more  rapidly  sought  than  even  that  by  Fisher  Ames, 


148  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATOKS. 

an  edition  being  sold  in  one  day,  and  two  more  shortly  after  being 
taken  up.  His  intimate  friend  and  pastor,  Dr.  James  Freeman, 
remarked  of  this  eulogy,  that  a  kindred  likeness  may  be  traced  in  the 
features  of  the  minds,  in  Minot's  dehneations  of  the  character  of 
Washington,  so  striking  as  to  be  obvious  to  those  ■who  best  knew  them 
both.  Judge  Minot  had  but  ten  days'  notice  to  prepare  the  funeral 
oration,  and  thus  described  the  emotions  of  his  mind  at  this  time : 
"My  only  refuge  was  in  an  enthusiastic  pursuit  of  my  subject,  which 
stimulated  Avhat  little  powers  I  possessed  to  their  utmost  exertion.  A 
candor  and  mild  expectation  prevailed  through  all  ranks  of  people, 
which  encouraged  me.  A  like  kind  of  attentive  silence  enabled  me  to 
deliver  myself  so  as  to  be  heard.  I  sat  down  unconscious  of  the  effect, 
feeling  as  though  the  music  was  at  once  playing  the  dirge  of  Washing- 
ton's memory  and  my  own  reputation.  I  was  soon  astonished  at  my 
good  fortune.  All  praised  me  ;  a  whole  edition  of  my  eulogy  sold  in 
a  day;  the  printers.  Manning  and  Loring,  presented  me  with  an  addi- 
tional number  of  copies,  on  account  of  their  success  ;  invitations  were 
sent  me  to  dine  in  respectable  companies ;  my  friends  are  delighted, 
and,  although  nearly  exhausted  by  sickness,  I  am  happy.  Such  was 
the  successful  issue  of  the  most  unpropitious  undertaking  that  I  was 
ever  engaged  in." 

In  1798,  Judge  Minot  published  a  Continuation  of  Hutchinson's 
History  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  second  volume 
in  1803.  Our  American  Sallust  is  peculiar  for  veracity,  perspicuity 
and  vigor,  and  was  the  first  purely  elegant  historian  of  New  England. 
His  History  of  the  Insurrection  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  Rebellion 

consequent  thereon,  published  by  Manning  and  Loring,  in  1798,   , 

is  the  best  record  of  that  perilous  period  ever  pi'epared. 

In  the  polished  oration  of  George  Richards  Minot,  pronounced  at  the 
Old  Brick,  on  the  Boston  Massacre,  in  1782,  we  find  an  appeal  to  the 
moral  sense  of  tliis  republic,  where  he  remarks : 

'•  Let  us  not  trust  to  laws.  An  uncorrupted  people  can  exist  with- 
out them ;  a  corrupted  people  cannot  long  exist  with  them,  or  any  other 
human  assistance.  They  are  remedies  which,  at  best,  always  disclose 
and  confess  our  evils.  The  body  politic  once  distempered,  they  may 
indeed  be  used  as  a  crutch  to  support  it  a  while,  but  they  can  never 
heal  it.  Rome,  when  her  bravery  conquered  the  neighboring  nations 
and  united  them  to  her  own  empire,  was  free  from  all  danger  Avithin, 
because  her  armies,  being  urged  on  by  a  love  for  their  country,  would 


GEORGE    RICHARDS   MINOT.  149 

as  readily  suppress  an  internal  as  an  external  enemy.  In  those  times 
slie  made  no  scruple  to  throw  out  her  kings  who  had  abused  their 
power.  Eut  when  her  subjects  sought  not  for  the  advantage  of  the 
commonwealth, —  when  they  thronged  to  the  Asiatic  wars  for  the  spoils 
they  produced,  and  preferred  prostituting  the  rights  of  citizenship  upon 
any  barbarian  that  demanded  them,  to  meeting  him  in  the  field  for  their 
support, —  then  Rome  grew  too  modest  to  accept  from  the  hands  of  a 
dictator  those  rights  which  she  ought  to  have  impaled  him  for  daring 
to  invade.  No  alteration  in  her  laws  merely  could  have  effected  this. 
Had  she  remained  virtuous,  she  might  as  well  have  expelled  her 
dictators  as  her  kings.  But  what  laws  can  save  a  people  who,  for 
the  very  purpose  of  enslaving  themselves,  choose  to  consider  them 
rather  as  counsels  which  they  may  accept  or  refuse,  than  as  precepts 
which  they  are  bound  to  obey  1  With  such  a  people  they  must  ever 
want  a  sanction,  and  be  contemned.  Virtue  and  long  life  seem  to  be 
as  intimately  allied  in  the  political  as  in  the  moral  world.  She  is  the 
guard  which  Providence  has  set  at  the  gate  of  freedom." 

Here  we  have  the  peroration  of  Minot's  oration:  "America  once 
guarded  against  herself,  what  has  she  to  fear  ?  Her  natural  situation 
may  well  inspire  her  with  confidence.  Her  rocks  and  her  mountains 
are  the  chosen  temples  of  hberty.  The  extent  of  her  climate,  and  the 
variety  of  its  produce,  throw  the  means  of  her  greatness  into  her  own 
bands,  and  insure  her  the  traffic  of  the  world.  Navies  shall  launch 
from  her  forests,  and  her  bosom  be  found  stored  with  the  most  precious 
treasures  of  nature.  May  the  industry  of  her  people  be  a  still  surer 
pledge  of  her  wealth !  The  union  'of  her  States,  too,  is  founded  upon 
the  most  durable  principles.  The  similarity  of  the  manners,  religion 
and  laws,  of  their  inhabitants,  must  ever  support  the  measure  which 
their  common  injuries  originated.  Her  government,  while  it  is 
restrained  from  violating  the  rights  of  the  subject,  is  not  disarmed 
against  the  public  foe.  Could  Junius  Brutus  and  his  colleagues  have 
beheld  her  republic  erecting  itself  on  the  disjointed  neck  of  tyranny, 
how  would  they  have  wreathed  a  laurel  for  her  temples  as  eternal  as 
their  own  memories  !  America  !  fairest  copy  of  such  great  originals  ! 
be  virtuous,  and  thy  reign  shall  be  as  happy  as  durable,  and  as  dura- 
ble as  the  pillars  of  the  world  you  have  enfranchised." 

The  character  of  Judge  Minot  was  thus  admirably  described  by  Hon. 
John  Quincy  Adams,  on  the  year  of  his  decease  : 

"Are  you  an  observer  of  men,  and  has  it  been  your  fortune  only 
13* 


150  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTOX   ORATORS. 

once  to  behold  George  Richard3  Minot  ?  You  have  remarked  the  ele- 
gance of  his  person,  and  the  peculiar  charm  of  expression  in  his  coun- 
tenance. Have  you  -vsitnessed  his  deportment ]  It  bore  the  marks  of 
graceful  simplicity,  of  dignified  modesty,  of  unassuming  urbanity. 
Have  you  listened  to  his  conversation  1  It  was  the  voice  of  harmony ; 
it  "was  the  index  of  a  penetrating  and  accurate  mind ;  it  vas  the  echo 
to  a  -warm  and  generous  heart.  Such  appeared  ^Mr.  Minot  on  a  first 
and  transient  acquaintance,  from  which  period  to  that  of  the  most  con- 
fidential intimacy,  our  o-wn  knowledge,  and  the  unvaried  testimony  of 
indisputable  authority,  concur  in  affirming  that  every  trace  of  pleas- 
ing first  impression  was  proportionably  deepened,  every  anticipation  of 
sterling  worth  abundantly  fulfilled.  His  character,  as  the  citizen  of  a 
free  country,  was  not  less  exemplary.  The  profoundest  historian  of 
antiquity  has  adduced  the  life  of  Agricola  as  an  extraordinary  proof 
that  it  is  possible  to  be  a  great  and  good  man,  even  under  the  despot- 
ism of  the  worst  of  princes. 

'■  INIinot's  example  may  be  alleged  as  a  demonstration  equally  rare, 
under  a  free  republic,  that,  in  times  of  the  greatest  dissensions,  and 
amidst  the  most  virulent  rancor  of  factions,  a  man  may  be  great 
and  good,  and  yet  acquire  and  preserve  the  esteem  and  veneration  of 
all.  In  the  bitterness  of  civil  contention  he  enjoyed  the  joint  applause 
of  minds  the  most  irreconciled  to  each  other.  Before  the  music  of  his 
character,  the  very  scorpions  dropped  from  the  lash  of  discord, —  the 
very  snakes  of  faction  listened  and  sunk  asleep  !  Yet  did  he  not  pur- 
chase this  unanimous  approbation  by  the  sacrifice  of  any  principle  at 
the  shrine  of  popularity.  From  that  double-tongued  candor  which 
fashions  its  doctrines  to  its  company, —  from  that  cowardice,  in  the 
garb  of  good-nature,  which  assents  to  all  opinions  because  it  dares  sup- 
port none, —  from  that  obsequious  egotism,  ever  ready  to  bow  before 
the  idol  of  the  day,  to  make  man  its  God,  and  hold  the  voice  of  mortal- 
ity for  the  voice  of  Heaven, —  he  was  pure  as  the  crystal  streams. 
Personal  invectives  and  odious  imputations  against  political  adversaries 
he  knew  to  be  seldom  necessary.  He  knew  that,  when  unnecessary, 
whether  exhibited  in  the  di^usting  deformity  of  their  nakedness,  or 
tricked  out  in  the  gorgeous  decorations  of  philosophy. —  whether  h%-id 
with  the  cadaverous  colors  of  their  natural  complexion,  or  flaring  with 
the  cosmetic  washes  of  pretended  patriotism, —  they  are  ever  found 
among  the  profligate  prostitutes  of  party,  and  not  among  the  vestal  -vir- 
gins of  truth.     He  disdained  to  use  them ;  but,  as  to  all  great  ques- 


GEORGE  RICHARDS  MINOT.  151 

tions  upon  principle,  which  are  at  the  bottom  of  our  divisions,  there 
was  no  more  concealment  or  disguise  in  his  lips  than  hesitation  or 
wavering  in  his  mind.  So  far  was  he  from  courting  the  prejudices  or 
compromising  with  the  claims  of  faction,  that  he  published  the  History 
of  the  Insurrection  in  the  commonwealth,  at  a  time  when  the  passions 
which  had  produced  them  were  still  rancorous  and  flourishing ;  and 
although  nothing  contributed  more  than  that  work  to  consign  the  rebel- 
lion it  recorded  to  infamy,  none  of  its  numerous  abettors  ever  raised  a 
reclamation  against  the  veracity  of  the  history,  or  the  worth  of  the 
historian." 

In  Democracy  Unveiled,  canto  3,  on  INIobocracy.  by  Christopher 
Caustic,  appears  a  happy  allusion  to  George  Richards  Minot.  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  But  I  '11  purloin  a  little  —  -why  not ' 
From  classic  history  of  !Minot  ; 
For  theft  can  need  no  other  plea 
Than  this  —  our  government  is  free  '• 
Our  Demo's  steal  each  other's  trash. 
While  Coleman  plies  in  vain  the  lash. 
And  prithee,  therefore,  "why  can  I  not 
Steal  my  Mobocracy  from  Jlinot  ?  # 

Fas  est  ab  hoste  doceri,  — 
K  that  be  true,  why  then  't  is  clear  I. 
But,  gentle  reader,  have  you  read  it  ? 
'  Yes,'  —  then  I  '11  give  my  author  credit." 

The  nature  and  operation  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  rebellion  in 
Massachusetts,  says  Caustic,  in  a  note  to  Mobocracy,  are  explained  in 
a  lucid  and  masterly  manner,  in  the  history  of  George  Richards  ^Minot, 
the  style  of  which  might  rank  its  author  as  the  Sallust  of  America. 
According  to  that  writer,  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  was  in 
debt  upwards  of  £1.350,000  private  State  debt,  exclusive  of  the  fed- 
eral debt,  which  amounted  to  one  milhon  and  a  half  of  the  same  money. 
And,  in  addition  to  that,  every  town  was  embarrassed  by  advances  they 
had  made  to  comply  with  repeated  requisitions  for  men  and  suppHes  to 
support  the  army,  and  which  had  been  done  upon  their  own  credit. 
The  people,  Minot  informs  us,  had  been  laudably  emploj'cd,  during  the 
nine  years  in  which  this  debt  had  been  accumulating,  in  the  defence  of 
their  liberties ;  but  though  their  contest  had  instructed  them  in  the 
nobler  science  of  mankind,  yet  it  gave  them  no  proportionable  insight 
into  the  mazes  of  finance.    Then*  honest  prejudices  were  averse  to  duties 


152  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  impost  and  excise,  which  were  at  that  time  supposed  to  be  anti-repub- 
lican bj  many  judicious  and  influential  characters.  The  consequences 
of  the  public  debt  did  not  at  first  appear  among  the  citizens  at  large. 
The  bulk  of  mankind  are  too  much  engaged  in  private  concerns  to 
anticipate  the  operation  of  national  causes.  The  men  of  landed  inter- 
est soon  began  to  speak  plainly  against  trade,  as  the  source  of  luxury, 
and  the  cause  of  losing  the  circulating  medium.  Commercial  men, 
on  the  other  hand,  defended  themselves  by  insisting  that  the  fault  was 
only  in  the  regulations  which  the  trade  happened  to  be  under.  Minot 
then  proceeds  to  point  out  other  causes  which  contributed  to  lead  the 
people  astray ;  and  his  history  exhibits  abundant  proof  that  the  people 
at  large  are  not  always  correct  judges  of  what  political  measures  may 
best  subserve  their  own  prosperity. 

"  To  paint  the  ills  which  power  attend, 
Our  men  of  mind  their  talents  lend  ; 
But  overlook  the  great  propriety 
Of  power  to  guarantee  society." 

The  following  effusion  was  addressed  to  the  Hon.  George  Richards 
Minot,  ■\yhen  he  was  preparing  the  History  of  Massachusetts : 

"  Let  jarring  spirits  turn  the  leaf, 

And  Coke  and  Littleton  explore  ; 
Pleased  with  the  logic  of  a  brief. 

And  wise  with  metaphysic  lore. 
Let  others  on  the  laws  decide, 

And  on  the  Norman  records  grope  ; 
Lay  thou  the  wrangling  bar  aside, 

And  give  thy  genius  ampler  scope. 
Thy  equal  mind,  on  truth  intent. 

To  paltry  strife  must  not  descend  ; 
Another  task  for  thee  is  meant,  — 

Thy  country's  genius  to  defend. 
What  though  that  country's  tardy  voice 

Nor  urge  thy  labor  nor  reward  ? 
The  historic  Muse  approves  the  choice, 

And  all  the  wise  and  good  applaud. 
Ere  laurelled  science  twine  the  wreath, 

The  bud  of  genius  must  unfold  ; 
Our  hardy  sires,  the  snow  beneath. 

Grew  strong,  unmindful  of  the  cold. 
Mark'st  thou  yon  river's  peopled  shore. 

Its  wheat-crowned  hills,  its  bleating  meads. 
Taught  through  delicious  banks  to  pour. 

Where  not  a  stone  its  course  impedes  ? 


GEORGE  RICHARDS  MINOT.  153 

Mark'st  thou,  too,  the  industrious  sires 

Who  cleared  the  current,  crowned  the  hills  ? 
What  love  and  gratitude  inspires 

One  sweet  memorial  of  thy  skill  ? 
Yet  more  than  if  the  castle  told 

'  Some  wily  victor  ravaged  here, 
Your  sires  to  vassalage  he  sold. 

Or  scourged,  the  pyramid  to  rear.' 
f'or  where  no  crowning  castles  found, 

No  despotism  has  been  known  ; 
The  honest  peasant  reaps  the  ground 

By  free-born  fathers  tamed  and  sown. 
Short  is  the  tale  of  tyrant  power,  — 

Easy  the  story  of  its  reign,  — 
Whose  march  was  destined  to  devour. 

Whose  glory,  to  recount  the  slain. 
But  the  slow  progress  of  a  tribe 

By  nature's  energies  alone 
Cool  reason  only  can  describe. 

Ere  the  first  principles  have  flown. 
Yet,  lo  !  with  careless  ease  we  sleep, 
While  rapid  sweeps  unstable  time 
Disgorgeless  to  oblivion's  deep. 

The  records  of  a  nation's  prime.  • 

While  to  hoar  winter's  snowy  wells, 
Ridged  by  eternal  frost  and  hail, 
When  spring  the  laughing  current  swells. 
And  cheers,  swift  Merrimac,  thy  vale  ; 
Urged  as  the  vernal  streams  descend. 

Exciting  wonder  as  they  flow. 
Some  ardent  mmds  their  source  ascend. 

And  meet  the  untravelled  realms  of  snow 
Shall,  from  a  country's  wasting  page, 

Which  moth  and  rust  and  reason  maim. 
Ere  darkened  by  a  crowding  age, 

None  snatch  the  unmutilated  name  ? 
Yes,  ere  the  fabled  tale  is  wrought, 

While  yet  the  features  are  imprest, 
Shall  thy  discriminating  thought 
Portray  the  Pilgrims  of  the  West." 

"The  series  of  events,"  says  Washington  to  Minot,  "which  followed  from  the  con- 
clusion of  the  war,  forms  a  link  of  no  ordinary  magnitude  in  the  chain  of  the  American 
annals.  That  portion  of  domestic  liistory  which  you  have  selected  for  your  narrative 
deserved  particularly  to  be  discussed,  and  set  in  its  proper  point  of  light,  while  mate- 
rials for  the  purpose  were  attainable.  Nor  was  it  unbecoming  or  unimportant  to 
enlighten  the  Europeans,  who  seem  to  have  been  extremely  ignorant  with  regard  to 
these  transactions.  While  I  comprehend  fully  the  difficulty  of  stating  facts  on  the 
spot,  amidst  the  living  actors  and  recent  animosities,  I  approve  the  more  cordially 
that  candor  with  which  you  appear  to  have  done  it." 


154  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

THOMAS  WELSH,  M.  D. 

MARCH   5,  1783.     ON   THE  BOSTON   MASSACRE. 

Thomas  "Welsh  was  born  at  Charlestown,  June  1,  1754,  and  mar- 
ried Mary  Kent,  of  that  town.  He  was  an  army-surgeon  at  Lex- 
ington and  Bunker  Hill.  He  was  in  attendance  at  the  latter  battle, 
principally  at  a  house  under  the  western  side  of  the  hill,  in  company 
with  Lieut.  Col.  Brickett,  a  physician,  who  came  off  with  the  first  of 
the  wounded,  and  of  whom  Gen.  Warren  obtained  his  arms  for  the  battle. 
Dr.  Welsh  was  afterwards  near  Winter  Hill,  by  which  route  the  troops 
who  went  to  Cambridge  retreated.  Dr.  Welsh  and  Samuel  Blodgett 
assisted  in  arresting  the  retreat  of  the  New  Hampshire  troops.  On 
the  morning  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  Dr.  Warren,  at  about  ten 
o'clock,  rode  on  horseback  through  Charlestown,  says  Frothingham. 
He  had  received,  by  express,  intelligence  of  the  events  of  the  morn- 
ing, and  told  the  citizens  of  Charlestown  that  the  news  of  the  firing 
was  correct.  Among  others,  he  met  Dr.  Welsh,  who  said,  "Well, 
they  are  gone  out."  "  Yes,"  rei^lied  the  doctor,  "  and  we  will  be  up 
with  them  before  night." 

Dr.  Welsh,'  who  was  on  Prospect  Hill  when  the  British  were  pass- 
ing from  Lexington,  saw  Col.  Pickering's  regiment  on  the  top  of  Win- 
ter Hill,  near  the  front  of  Mr.  Adams'  house,  the  enemy  being  very 
near  in  Charlestown  road.  Washington  wrote  of  this  period :  "If  the 
retreat  had  not  been  as  precipitate  as  it  was  from  Lexington,  —  and 
God  knows  it  could  not  well  have  been  more  so, —  the  ministerial 
troops  must  have  surrendered,  or  been  totally  cut  off;  for  they  had 
not  arrived  in  Charlestown  (under  cover  of  their  ships)  half  an  hour, 
before  a  powerful  body  of  men  from  ]\Iarblehead  and  Salem  were  at 
their  heels,  and  must,  if  they  had  happened  to  be  up  one  hour  sooner, 
inevitably  have  intercepted  their  retreat  from  Charlestown."  Dr. 
Welsh  was  surgeon  at  Castle  Island,  1799.  He  was  the  hospital  phy- 
sician at  Rainsford's  Island  for  many  years ;  was  member  of  the  Bos- 
ton Board  of  Health,  and  vice-president  of  the  Massachusetts  JNIedi- 
cal  Society,  in  1814 ;  was  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences.  Dr.  Welsh  was  a  decided  Whig  of  the  Revolution, 
an  amiable,  social,  and  estimable  citizen,  and  died  at  Boston,  Febru- 
ary, 1831.     He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1772. 


THOMAS  WELSH,  M.  D.  155 

The  patriotic  Dr.  "VVelsli,  the  last  of  the  orators  at  the  Old  Brick, 
on  the  eventful  Boston  Massacre,  thus  remarks  in  the  peroration  : 
"  When  we  consider  our  own  prosperous  condition,  and  view  the  state 
of  that  nation  of  which  we  were  once  a  part,  we  even  weep  over  our 
enemy,  when  we  reflect  that  she  was  once  gi-eat;  that  her  navies  rode 
formidable  upon  the  ocean  ;  that  her  commerce  was  extended  to  every 
harbor  of  the  globe;  that  her  name  was  revered  wherever  it  was 
known ;  that  the  wealth  of  nations  was  deposited  in  her  island ;  and 
that  America  was  her  fi'iend.  But,  by  means  of  standing  armies,  an 
immense  continent  is  separated  from  her  kingdom.  Near  eight  full 
years  have  now  rolled  away  since  America  has  been  cast  off  from  the 
bosom  and  embraces  of  her  pretended  parent,  and  has  set  up  her  own 
name  among  the  empires.  The  assertions  of  so  young  a  country  were 
at  first  l^held  with  dubious  expectation  ;  and  the  world  were  ready  to 
stamp  the  name  of  rashness,  or  enterprise,  according  to  the  event.  But 
a  manly  and  fortunate  beginning  soon  insured  the  most  generous  assist- 
ance. The  renowned  and  the  ancient  Gauls  came  early  to  the  combat, 
—  wise  in  council,  mighty  in  battle  !  Then  with  new  fury  raged  the 
storm  of  war !  The  seas  were  crimsoned  with  the  richest  blood  of 
nations  !  America's  chosen  legions  waded  to  freedom  through  rivers 
dyed  with  the  mingled  blood  of  her  enemies  and  her  citizens, —  through 
fields  of  carnage,  and  the  gates  of  death  ! 

' '  At  length,  independence  is  ours  !  —  the  halcyon  day  appears !  Lo  ! 
from  the  east  I  see  the  harbinger,  and  from  the  train  't  is  peace  her- 
self,—  and,  as  attendants,  all  the  gentle  arts  of  life.  Commerce  dis- 
plays her  snow-white  navies,  fraught  with  the  wealth  of  kingdoms ; 
Plenty,  from  her  copious  horn,  pours  forth  her  richest  gifts.  Heaven 
commands  !  The  east  and  the  west  give  up,  and  the  north  keeps  not 
back.  All  nations  meet,  and  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks,  and  resolve  to  learn  war  no  more. 
Henceforth  shall  the  American  wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose,  and 
every  man  shall  sit  under .  his  fig-tree,  and  none  shall  make  him 
afraid."     We  may  emphasize  of  Dr.  Welsh  : 

•'  Whoe'er  amidst  tlie  sons 
Of  reason,  valor,  liberty  and  virtue, 
Displays  distinguished  merit,  is  a  noble 
Of  nature's  own  creating.     Such  have  risen,  — 
Sprung  from  the  dust,  —  or  where  had  been  our  honors  ?  " 


156  THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS. 

JOHN  WARREN,  M.  D. 

JULY  4,  1783.    ON  THE  NATIONAL  INDEPENDENCE. 

The  last  public  act  in  the  career  of  James  Otis,  that  presiding  genius 
of  our  colonial  Revolution,  occurred  at  a  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Boston,  March  5, 1783,  at  Faneuil  Hall,  when  he  officiated  as  moder- 
ator ;  and  it  was  voted  to  substitute  the  celebration  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  for  that  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  after  Dr.  Thomas  Welsh 
had  pronounced  the  annual  oration  on  the  latter  occasion.  Otis  was 
struck  out  of  existence  by  a  flash  of  lightning,  at  Andover,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, on  the  2.3d  day  of  J\Iay  succeeding.  Who  can  tell  but  what 
this  time-honored  festival  of  liberty  originated  in  his  penetrati^  mind  ? 
It  may  be  said  of  Otis  that  his  political  career  was  as  a  poem  that  lights 
warm  hearts  with  living  flame.  How  cheering  was  it  to  witness  the 
eagle-eyed,  round-faced,  plump,  short-necked,  and  smooth-skinned 
Otis,  as  he  has  been  described  by  an  enemy,  at  the  head  of  the  assem- 
bly in  old  Faneuil  Hall  on  this  glorious  occasion ! 

Wilham  Cooper,  the  town-clerk,  made  the  following  motion : 
"Whereas,  the  annual  celebration  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  on  the 
5th  of  March,  1770,  by  the  institution  of  a  public  oration,  has  been 
found  to  be  of  eminent  advantage  to  the  cause  of  virtue  and  patriotism 
among  her  citizens  ;  and  whereas,  the  immediate  motives  Avhich  induced 
the  commemoration  of  that  day  do  now  no  longer  exist  in  their  primi- 
tive force,  while  the  benefits  resulting  from  the  institution  may  and 
ought  ever  to  be  preserved,  by  exchanging  that  anniversary  for  another, 
the  foundation  of  which  will  last  so  long  as  time  endures  ;  —  it  is  there- 
fore resolved,  that  the  celebration  of  the  5th  of  ISIarch  from  henceforth 
shall  cease,  and  that  instead  thereof,  the  anniversary  of  the  Fourth  Day 
of  July,  1776, —  a  day  ever  memorable  in  the  annals  of  this  country 
for  the  Declaration  of  Independence, —  shall  be  constantly  celebrated 
by  the  delivery  of  a  public  oration,  in  such  place  as  the  town  shall 
determine  to  be  most  convenient  for  the  purpose,  —  in  which  the  orator 
shall  consider  the  feelings,  manners  and  principles,  which  led  to  this 
great  national  event,  as  well  as  the  important  and  happy  effects,  whether 
general  or  domestic,  which  have  already,  and  will  forever  continue,  to 
flow  from  this  auspicious  epoch." 

At  a  town-meeting  on  May  of  that  date,  Hon.  Samuel  Adams  mod- 


JOHN   WAKREN,  M.  D.  157 

erator,  the  resolve  was  accepted,  and  a  committee  consisting  of  Perez 
Morton,  William  Tudor,  Thomas  Dawes,  JosejDh  Barrell,  and  Charles 
Jarvis,  were  chosen  to  consider  this  matter  at  large,  and  report  at 
the  adjournment.  At  a  town-meeting,  July  4th  inst.,  Hon.  James 
SulHvan  moderator,  the  committee  announced  that  they  had  unani- 
mously made  choice  of  Dr.  John  Warren  to  deliver  an  oration  on  the 
4th  of  July  inst.,  who  had  accordingly  accepted  that  service.  They  also 
voted  that,  as  Faneuil  Hall  not  being  capacious  enough  to  receive  the 
inhabitants  that  may  attend  upon  that  occasion,  it  should  be  delivered 
at  Dr.  Cooper's  church,  as  soon  as  the  General  Court  is  ended ;  and  that 
leave  be  requested  of  the  committee  of  said  church  for  the  use  of  that 
building. 

According  to  Edes'  Boston  Gazette,  that  mirror  of  patriotism,  the 
joy  of  the  day  was  announced  by  the  ringing  of  bells  and  discharge  of 
cannon.  At  eleven  o'clock.  His  Honor  the  Lieutenant-governor,  Thomas 
Gushing, —  His  Excellency,  John  Hancock,  being  absent  by  reason  of 
sickness, —  the  Hon.  Council,  the  Senate  and  Representatives,  escorted 
by  the  brigade  train  of  artillery,  commanded  by  Maj.  Davis,  repaired 
to  the  church  in  Brattle- street,  where  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  after  a 
polite  and  elegant  address  to  the  auditory,  returned  thanks  to  Almighty 
God  for  his  goodness  to  these  American  States,  and  the  glory  and  suc- 
cess with  which  he  had  crowned  their  exertions  ;  then  an  anthem  was 
sung  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  the  solemnity  was  concluded  by  a 
most  ingenious  and  elegant  oration,  delivered  by  Dr.  John  Warren,  at 
the  request  of  the  town.  They  were  conducted  back  to  the  Senate- 
chamber,  where  an  agreeable  entertainment  was  provided.  At  two 
o'clock,  the  brigade  train,  and  the  regiment  of  militia,  commanded  by 
Col.  Webb,  paraded  in  State-street,  where  the  former  saluted  with 
thirteen  discharges  from  the  field-pieces,  and  the  militia  with  thirteen 
feu-de-joies,  in  honor  of  the  occasion.  The  ofiicers  of  the  militia  dined 
together  at  the  Bunch  of  Grapes  and  the  brigade  train  at  the  Exchange 
taverns.  Thirteen  patriotic  toasts  were  drunk  by  each  corps,  and  the 
same  number,  which  were  given  in  the  Senate-chamber,  appear  in  the 
Gazette,  one  of  which  was,  "May  the  spirit  of  union  prevail  in  our 
country."  On  the  next  day  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  consisting  of 
John  Scollay,  Harbottlc  Dorr,  Thomas  Greenough,  Ezekicl  Price, 
Capt.  William  Mackay,  Tuthill  Hubbard,  Esq.,  Da\id  Jeffries,  Esq., 
requested  a  copy  of  the  oration  for  the  press.  Here  we  have  the 
modest  reply  of  the  author  : 
14 


158  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Gentlemen, —  On  condition  that  the  honesty  of  my  intentions,  and 
the  warmth  of  my  feelings,  on  the  important  event  which  was  the  sub- 
ject of  this  oration,  may  be  admitted  to  atone  for  the  imperfection  of 
the  performance,  I  dehver  a  copy  for  the  press. 
"  I  am,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"John  Warren." 

This  was  a  brilliant  production,,  breathing  patriotic  ardor  and  fra- 
ternal warmth,  of  which  we  present  a  specimen  :  "  Transported  from 
a  distant  clime  less  friendly  to  its  nurture,  you  have  planted  here  the 
stately  tree  of  Liberty,  and  lived  to  see  it  flourish.  But  whilst*  you 
pluck  the  fruit  from  the  bending  branches,  remember  that  its  roots 
were  watered  with  your  blood  !  Remember  the  price  at  which  you 
purchased  it,  nor  barter  liberty  for  gold.  Go,  search  the  vaults  where 
lay  enshrined  the  rehcs  of  your  martyred  fellow-citizens,  and  from 
their  dust  receive  a  lesson  on  the  value  of  your  freedom  !  When  virtue 
fails, —  when  luxury  and  corruption  shall  undermine  the  pillars  of  the 
State,  and  threaten  a  total  loss  of  liberty  and  patriotism, —  then  sol- 
emnly repair  to  those  sacred  repositories  of  the  dead,  and,  if  you  can, 
return  and  sport  away  your  rights.  When  you  forget  the  value  of 
your  freedom,  read  over  the  history  that  recounts  the  wounds  from 
which  your  country  bled, —  peruse  the  picture  wliich  brings  back  to 
your  imaginations,  in  the  lively  colors  of  undisguised  truth,  the  wild, 
distracted  feelings  of  your  hearts  !  But  if  your  happy  lot  has  been 
not  to  have  felt  the  pangs  of  convulsive  separation  from  friend  or 
kindred,  learn  them  of  those  that  have." 

The  noble  remark  of  John  Adams,  the  apostle  of  liberty,  in  allu- 
sion to  this  great  natal  day,  should  be  printed  in  capitals  in  every 
newspaper  of  our  vast  republic,  on  every  anniversary  of  that  event : 
"  The  4th  day  of  July,  1776,  will  be  the  most  memorable  epoch  in 
the  history  of  America.  I  am  apt  to  believe  that  it  will  be  celebrated 
by  succeeding  generations  as  the  great  anniversary  festival.  It  ought 
to  be  commemorated,  as  the  day  of  deliverance,  by  solemn  acts  to  God 
Almighty.  It  ought  to  be  solemnized  with  pomp  and  parade,  with 
shows,  games,  sports,  guns,  bells,  bonfires  and  illuminations,  from  one 
end  of  the  continent  to  the  other,  from  this  time  forward  forever- 
more." 

The  attention  of  the  Bostonians  was  involuntarily  directed  to  the 


JOHN   WARREN,    M.    D.  159 

brother  of  the  hero  of  Bunker  Hill,  as  we  have  seen,  as  the  most  suit- 
able person  to  deliver  the  first  town  oration  on  our  national  independ- 
ence. 

John  "Warren  was  born  at  Roxbury,  July  27,  1753,  and  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  College,  1771,  where  he  was  leader  of  a  College  Club 
for  the  study  of  anatomy.  He  was  a  student  in  medicine  under  his 
brother,  Gen.  Joseph  Warren.  In  1773  he  established  himself  at 
Salem,  and  was  associated  with  the  famous  Dr.  Holyoke.  On  the 
19th  of  April,  1775,  the  regiment  of  that  town  marched  to  Lexington, 
and  Dr.  Warren  acted  as  their  surgeon.  Two  of  his  brothers  were  in 
that  scene  of  contest.  "  The  life  which  has  been  devoted  to  the  pubhc 
good,"  said  Dr.  Warren,  in  a  eulogy  on  Thomas  Russell,  "  must  be  an 
interesting  theme  of  historical  narration ;  because  scarcely  any  events 
can  take  place,  in  the  course  of  such  a  life,  but  what  must  derive  dig- 
nity and  importance  from  the  character  which  it  sustains," —  and  this 
may  be  suitably  said  of  John  Warren.  We  will  continue  his  history 
in  the  language  of  his  own  journal,  dated  June  17,  1775 :  "  This 
day, —  a  day  ever  to  be  remembered  by  the  United  American  Colonies, 
—  at  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  was  alarmed  with  the  inces- 
sant report  of  cannon,  which  appeared  to  be  at  or  near  Boston.  Towards 
sun-setting  a  very  great  fire  Avas  discovered,  nearly  in  a  direction  from 
Salem  for  Boston;  at  the  beginning  of  the  evening,  news  arrived 
that  a  smart  engagement  had  happened  in  the  afternoon  on  Bunker 
Hill,  in  Charlestown,  between  the  king's  regular  troops  and  the  pro- 
vincials ;  and,  soon  after,  we  received  intelligence  our  own  troops 
were  repulsed  with  great  loss,  and  the  enemy  had  taken  possession  of 
the  ground  which  we  had  broke  the  night  before.  I  was  very  anxious, 
as  I  was  informed  that  great  numbers  had  fallen  on  both  sides,  and 
that  my  brother  was  in  all  probability  in  the  engagement.  I,  however, 
went  home,  with  a  determination  to  take  a  few  hours'  sleep,  and  then 
to  go  immediately  for  Cambridge  with  my  arms.  Accordingly,  in  the 
morning,  at  about  two  o'clock,  I  prepared  myself,  and  went  off  on 
horseback ;  and  when  I  arrived  at  Medford,  received  the  melancholy 
and  distressing  tidings  that  my  brother  was  missing.  Upon  the  dread- 
ful intelligence,  I  went  immediately  to  Cambridge,  and  inquired  of 
almost  every  person  I  saw  whether  they  could  give  me  any  informa- 
tion of  him.  Some  told  me  that  he  was  undoubtedly  alive  and  well, 
others  that  he  was  wounded,  and  others  that  he  fell  on  the  field.  Thus 
perplexed  almost  to  distraction,  I  went  on,  inquiring  with  a  solicitude 


160  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

■which  was  such  a  mixture  of  hoiDC  and  fear  as  none  but  such  as  have 
felt  it  can  form  any  conception.  In  this  manner  I  passed  several  days, 
every  day's  information  diminishing  the  probability  of  his  safety. 

"0,  ye  blood-thirsty  wi'etches,  who  planned  this  dreadful  scene 
wliich  you  are  now  forcing  your  bloodhounds  to  execute  !  Did  you  but 
feel  the  pangs  of  heartfelt,  pungent  grief  for  the  cruel  wounds  you 
inflicted  upon  the  tenderest  part  of  the  pubhc,  as  well  as  individuals, 
you  would  have  execrated  those  diabolical  measures  which  by  your 
counsels  have  been  adopted,  and  precipitated  us  into  all  the  horrors  of 
a  civil  war.  Unfeeling  wretches  !  reflect,  a  moment,  if  you  have  still 
one  feature  of  humanity  which  is  still  unobliterated  from  your  minds, 
and  view  the  helpless  orphan  bereft  of  its  fond  and  only  parent,  stript 
of  every  comfort  of  life,  driven  into  an  inhospitable  wild,  and  exposed 
to  all  the  misery  which  are  the  results  of  your  brutal  violence,  and 
forbear,  if  you  can ;  but  I  defy  even  you  to  show  yourselves  so  refined 
in  your  darling  acts  of  cruelty  as  to  be  capable  of  supporting  the 
shocking  reflection.  Here  stay  your  hands,  ye  miscreants  !  stay  your 
bloody  hands,  still  warmed  with  the  purple  fluid,  and  ask  yourselves  if 
you  are  not  sated  with  the  inhuman  carnage  —  your  hearts  long  since 
inured  to  view  these  shocking  scenes  without  emotion  !  Go  on,  then, 
ye  dastard  butchers  !  let  desolation  and  destruction  mark  your  bloody 
steps  wherever  your  brave  opposers  are  by  fortune  destitute  of  proper 
arms  for  their  defence ;  but  give  up  forever  your  pretensions  to  honor, 
justice  or  humanity,  and  know  that  this  brave,  undaunted  and  oppressed 
people,  have  an  arm  which  -^niII  soon  be  exerted  to  defend  themselves, 
their  wives  and  children, —  an  arm  which  will  ere  long  inflict  such 
vengeance  on  their  haughty,  presumptuous  foes,  as  shall  convince  them 
they  are  determined  that  British  cowards,  though  their  number  be  as 
the  sands  on  the  sea-shore,  shall  never  subjugate  the  brave  and  inno- 
cent inhabitants  of  the  American  continent.  Cover  your  heads  with 
shame,  ye  guilty  wretches  !  Go  home,  and  tell  your  blood-thirsty  mas- 
ter your  pitiful  tale ;  and  tell  him,  too,  that  the  laurel  which  once  dec- 
orated the  soldier  has  withered  on  the  brow,  upon  the  American  shore  ! 
Tell  him  that  the  British  honor  and  fame  have  received  a  mortal  stab 
from  the  brave  conduct  of  the  Americans.  Tell  him  that  even  your 
conquests  have  but  served  to  inspire  the  sufierers  with  fresh  courage 
and  determined  resolution ;  and  let  him  know  that  since  that  accursed 
day  when  first  the  hostile  forces  of  Britain  planted  their  foot  on  the 
American  shore,  your  conduct  has  been  such  as  has  resulted  in  a  con- 


JOHN  WARRENj  M,  D.  161 

tinued  series  of  disgraceful  incidents,  weak  councils,  and  operations 
replete  -with  ignorance  and  folly.  Tell  him  this,  ye  contemptible  cow- 
ards !  hide  yourselves  like  menial  slaves  in  your  master's  kitchens,  nor 
dare  approach  the  happy  asylum  of  once  extinct  liberty, —  for  if  ye 
dare,  ye  die  ! 

"  It  appears  that  about  2500  men  were  sent  off  from  the  ministerial 
in  Boston  to  dispossess  a  number, —  about  700  of  our  troops, —  who 
had,  in  the  course  of  the  night,  cast  up  a  small  breastwork  upon  the 
hill.  They  accordingly  attacked  them,  and,  after  having  retreated 
three  times,  carried  their  point ;  upon  which  our  men  retreated  with 
precipitation,  having  lost  about  200  dead  and  300  wounded ;  the  ene- 
my, according  to  Gage's  account,  1025  killed  and  wounded,  amongst 
whom  were  a  considerable  proportion  of  officers,  Lieut.  Col.  Abercrom- 
bie,  Maj.  Pitcairn,  etc., —  a  dear  purchase  to  them,  indeed." 

"  Look  back,  ye  honored  veterans  few. 
Whose  locks  are  thin,  of  silver  hue, 
That  ran,  at  war's  loud  piercing  thrill. 
To  Lexington  and  Bunker's  Hill ! 
When  Charlesto'wn's  flame  in  pUIars  rose. 
Caused  by  oui-  cruel  British  foes, 
Midst  thundering  cannon,  blood  and  fire. 
You  saw  Lord  Percy's  host  expire  ! 
With  faltering  tongue,  you  yet  can  tell 
Where  some  dear  friend  or  brother  fell ; 
With  palsied  limbs,  and  glimmering  eyes, 
Point  to  the  place  where  Warren  lies  ! ' ' 

Dr.  John  Warren  had  a  portion  of  the  care  of  administering  to  the 
wounded  in  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  appointed  hospital- 
surgeon  by  Washington,  during  the  siege  of  Boston  ;  and  he  was  one 
of  the  detachment  ordered  to  take  possession  of  Boston,  on  its  evacua- 
tion by  the  British  troops.  We  will  present  the  statement  of  Dr.  War- 
ren regarding  the  condition  of  the  town  on  the  day  of  its  evacuation, 
as  the  relation  is  too  interesting  to  be  dispensed  with,  and  the  most 
authentic  statement  extant : 

'■'•March  17,  1776. —  This  morning,  all  the  soldiers  belonging  to 
Bunker  Hill  were  seen  marching  towards  the  ferry ;  soon  after  which, 
two  men  went  upon  the  hill,  and  finding  the  posts  entirely  deserted  by 
the  enemy,  gave  a  signal,  upon  which  a  body  of  our  forces  went  on 
and  took  possession  of  Charlestown.  At  the  same  time,  two  or  three 
thousand  men  were  paraded  at  the  boats  in  Cambridge,  for  the  purpose 
14* 


162  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  going  to  Boston,  if  there  should  appear  any  probability  of  opposition 
from  the  regulars.  The  boats  carried  the  men  to  Sewall's  Point, 
where  they  landed ;  and,  upon  intelligence  being  received,  from  the 
selectmen  -who  had  come  out  of  town,  that  all  the  troops  had  left,  only 
a  small  body  of  men,  -who  had  recovered  of  the  small-pox,  were  selected 
from  sevei'al  regiments  to  take  possession  of  the  heights  in  town.  Being 
one  of  the  party,  by  permit  from  the  general,  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  everything  just  as  it  was  left,  about  two  hours  before,  by  the 
enemy.  Two  redoubts  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Whoredom 
appeared  to  me  to  be  considerably  strong.  There  were  two  or  three 
half  moons  at  the  hill,  upon  the  bottom  of  the  Common,  for  small 
arms,  and  there  were  no  ambrosiers  at  the  redoubt  above  mentioned. 
Just  by  the  shore,  opposite  Lechmere's  Point,  is  a  bomb-battery  lined 
■\\ith  plank,  and  faced  with  a  parapet  of  horse-dung,  being  nothing  but 
a  simple  line ;  near  it  lies  a  thirteeu-inch  mortar,  a  little  moved  from 
its  bed.  This  is  an  exceeding  fine  piece,  being,  as  I  am  sure,  seven 
and  a  half  inches  thick  at  the  muzzle,  and  near  twice  that  over  the 
chamber,  with  an  iron  bed  all  cast  as  one  piece,  the  touch-hole  all 
spiked  up,  and  shot  drove  into  the  bores ;  there  was  only  a  simple  line, 
being  plank  filled  with  dirt.  Upon  Beacon  Hill  were  scarcely  more 
than  the  fortifications  of  nature, —  a  very  insignificant  shallow  ditch, 
with  a  few  short  pickets,  a  platform,  and  one  twenty-four-pounder,  which 
could  not  be  brought  to  bear  upon  any  part  of  the  hill.  This  Was  left 
spiked  up,  and  the  bore  crammed.  On  Copp's  Hill,  at  the  north,  was 
nothing  more  than  a  few  barrels,  filled  with  dirt,  to  form  parapets. 
Three  twenty -four-pounders,  upon  a  platform,  were  left  spiked  and 
crammed ;  all  these,  as  well  as  the  others,  on  carriages.  The  parapet 
in  this  fort  and  Beacon  Hill  did  not  at  all  cover  the  men  who  should 
vrork  the  cannon.  There  was  a  small  redoubt  behind,  for  small  arms, 
very  slender  indeed.  On  Fort  Hill  were  only  five  lines  of  barrels 
filled  with  earth, —  very  trifling  indeed.  Upon  the  Neck  the  works  were 
strong,  consisting  of  redoubts,  number  of  lines  with  ambrosier  for  can- 
non, a  few  of  which  were  left  as  the  others.  A  very  strong  work  at 
the  old  Fortification,  and  another  near  the  Haymarket.  All  these  were 
ditched  and  picketed.  On  Hatch's  Wharf  was  a  battery  of  rafters 
with  dirt,  and  two  twelve-pounders  left  as  the  others ;  one  of  these  I 
saw  drilled  out  and  cleared  for  use,  without  damage. 

"A  great  number  of  other  cannon  were  left  at  the  north  and  south 
batteries,  with  one  or  both  tmnnious  beat  off.     Shot  and  shells  were  in 


JOHN   WARREN,  M,  D.  163 

divers  parts  of  the  town.  Some  cartridges,  great  quantities  of  wheat, 
hay,  oil,  medicine,  horses,  and  other  articles  to  the  amount  of  a  great 
sum.  The  houses  I  found  to  be  considerably  abused  inside,  where  they 
had  been  inhabited  by  the  common  soldiery,  but  the  external  parts  of 
the  houses  made  a  tolerable  appearance.  The  streets  were  clean,  and, 
upon  the  whole,  the  town  looks  much  better  than  I  expected.  Sev- 
eral hundreds  of  houses  were  pulled  down,  but  these  were  very  old 
ones.  The  inhabitants  in  general  appeared  to  rejoice  at  our  success, 
but  a  considerable  number  of  Tories  have  tarried  in  the  town  to  throw 
themselves  upon  the  mercy  of  the  people  ;  the  others  are  aboard  with 
the  shipping,  all  of  which  now  lay  before  the  Castle.  They  appear  to 
have  gone  off  in  a  hurry.  In  consequence  of  our  having,  the  night 
before,  erected  a  fort  upon  Nook  Hill,  which  was  very  near  the  town, 
some  cannon  were  fired  from  their  hnes,  even  this  morning,  to  the 
Point. 

"  We  now  learn  certainly  that  there  was  an  intention,  in  consequence 
of  a  court-martial  held  upon  the  occasion  of  our  taking  possession  of 
Dorchester  Hills,  to  make  an  attack ;  and  three  thousand  men,  under 
command  of  Lord  Percy,  went  to  the  Castle  for  the  purpose.  It  was 
the  intention  to  have  attacked  us,  at  the  same  time,  at  Roxbury  lines. 
It  appears  that  Gen.  Howe  had  been  very  careful  to  prevent  his  men 
from  committing  depredations ;  that  he,  with  other  officers,  had  an 
high  opinion  of  Gen.  Washington, —  of  the  army  in  general, —  much 
higher  than  formerly.  Lord  Percy  said  he  never  knew  us  do  a  foolish 
action  yet,  and  therefore  he  believed  we  would  not  induce  them  to  burn 
the  town  by  firing  upon  their  fleet.  They  say  they  shall  come  back 
again  soon.     The  small-pox  is  in  about  ten  or  a  dozen  places  in  tOAvn- 

^^ March  20. —  This  evening  they  burn  the  Castle,  and  demolish,  by 
blowing  up,  all  the  fortifications  there ;  they  leave  not  a  building  stand- 
ing." 

Before  parting  with  this  treasure,  we  will  give  Dr.  Warren's  visit 
to  Charlestown  and  Bunker  Hill,  with  his  reflections  on  the  event, 
inspiring  sensations  not  less  thrilling  than  a  view  of  the  battle-field  of 
Waterloo,  where  Napoleon  met  his  last  great  defeat : 

^' March  21. —  Our  men  go  upon  the  Castle,  and  soon  begin  to  erect 
new  fortresses,  as  they  had  begun,  a  day  or  two  before,  on  Fort  Hill  ; 
and  the  fleet  all  fall  down  into  Nantasket  Road.  The  winds  have  been 
fair  for  them  to  sail,  but  their  not  embracing  the  opportunity  favors  a 
suspicion  of  some  intended  attack.     It  seems,  indeed,  very  improbable 


164  THE   HUXDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

that  they  will  be  willing  to  leave  us  in  so  disgraceful  manner  as  tliia. 
It  is  very  surprising  that  they  should  not  bum  the  town,  when  they 
had  it  entirely  in  their  power  to  do  it.  The  soldiers,  it  appears,  were 
much  dissatisfied  at  being  obliged  to  leave  the  town  without  glutting 
their  revengeful  tempers  with  the  blood  of  the  Yankees. 

"This  day  I  visit  Cha^dcstown,  and  a  most  melancholy  heap  of  ruins 
it  is.  Scarcely  the  vestiges  of  those  beautiful  buildings  remain,  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  mean  cottages.  The  hill  which  was  the  theatre 
upon  which  the  bloody  tragedy  of  the  17th  of  June  was  acted  com- 
mands the  most  affecting  view  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  The  walls  of 
magnificent  buildings,  tottering  to  the  earth,  below ;  above,  a  great  num- 
ber of  rude  hillocks,  under  which  are  deposited  the  remains  of  clusters 
of  those  deathless  heroes  who  fell  in  the  field  of  battle.  The  scene 
was  inexpressibly  solemn.  AMien  I  considered  myself  as  walking  over 
the  bones  of  many  of  my  worthy  fellow-countrymen,  who  jeoparded 
and  sacrificed  their  lives  in  these  high  places, —  when  I  considered  that 
perhaps,  whilst  I  was  musing  over  the  objects  around  me,  I  might  be 
standing  over  the  remains  of  a  dear  brother,  whose  blood  has  stained 
these  hallowed  walks, — with  veneration  did  this  inspire  me.  How  many 
endearing  scenes  of  fraternal  friendsliip,  now  past  and  gone  forever,  pre- 
sented themselves  to  my  view  I  But  it  is  enough ;  the  blood  of  the  inno- 
cent calls  for  vengeance  on  the  guilty  heads  of  the  vile  assassins.  0, 
may  our  arms  be  strengthened  to  fight  the  battles  of  our  God  !  When 
I  came  to  Bunker  Hill,  I  found  it  exceeding  strong  ;  the  front  parapet, 
about  thirteen  feet  high  from  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  composed  of 
earth,  containing  plank  supported  by  huge  timber,  with  two  look-outs 
upon  the  top.  In  the  front  of  this  were  two  bastions,  and  a  semi- 
circular line  with  very  wide  trenches,  and  very  long  picket  as  well  as 
trenches.  Within,  the  causeway  was  secured  with  a  hedge  and  brush. 
All  that  part  of  the  main  fort  which  was  not  included  within  the  high 
works  above-mentioned, —  namely,  the  reai'. — was  secured  by  another 
parapet,  with  a  trench  picketed  inside  as  well  as  out. 

"There  was  a  half-moon  which  commanded  the  river  at  the  side. 
There  was,  moreover,  a  block-house  upon  Schoolhouse  Hill,  enclosed  by 
a  very  strong  fence  spiked,  and  a  dungeon  and  block-house  upon  Breed's 
Hill,  enclosed  in  a  redoubt  of  earth,  with  trenches  and  pickets ;  the 
works  which  had  been  cast  up  by  our  forces  had  been  entirely  lev- 
elled." 

In  Dr.  Warren's  manuscript  we  find  a  beautiful  and  patriotic  tribute 


JOHN   WARREN,  M.  D.  165 

to  Gen.  Montgomery:  "This  brave  man  was  determined  either  to 
take  Quebec  or  lose  his  life.  He  accordingly  died  nobly  on  the  field. 
His  course  of  victory  was  short,  rapid,  and  uninterrupted,  but  truly 
great  and  glorious.  He  has,  in  his  conquest,  behaved  like  the  hero 
and  like  the  patriot.  0,  America!  thy  land  is  watering  with  the 
blood  of  thy  richest  sons.  Every  drop  calls  for  vengeance  upon  the 
infamous  administration  which  authorized  tliis  unnatural  butchery. 
God  grant  that,  in  this  great  man's  stead,  and  for  that  of  every  hero 
who  perishes  in  the  noble  struggle,  double  the  number  may  rise  up ! 
Peace  to  his  beloved  shade  !  The  tears  of  a  grateful  country  shall  flow 
copiously  whilst  they  lament  your  death.  Ten  thousand  ministers  of 
glory  shall  keep  vigils  around  the  sleeping  dust  of  the  invincible  war- 
rior, whilst  the  precious  remains  shall  be  the  resort  of  every  true 
patriot  in  every  future  age ;  and  whilst  the  truly  good  and  great  shall 
approach  the  place  sacred  with  the  dust  of  the  hero,  they  shall  point 
to  the  little  hillock,  and  say,  There  rests  the  great  IMontgomery.  who 
bravely  conquered  the  enemies  to  freedom  in  this  province  ;  who,  with 
utmost  rapidity,  Avith  his  all-conquering  arms,  reduced  no  less  than 
three  strong  fortresses,  and  bravely  died  in  the  noble  attempt  to  take 
possession  of  the  strongest  garrison  upon  the  whole  continent  of  Amer- 
ica.    He  died,  it  is  true,  and  in  dying  became  invincible." 

Dr.  Warren  was  in  the  disastrous  action  on  Long  Island.  He  was 
in  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  and  narrowly  escaped  captiv- 
ity. In  1777  he  was  appointed  superintending  surgeon  of  the  military 
hospitals  in  Boston,  which  he  occupied  until  the  peace.  Dr.  Warren 
married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Gov.  John  Collins,  of  Newport,  R.  I., 
Nov.  2,  1777,  by  whom  he  had  five  sons  and  four  daughters.  His 
eldest  son,  John  Collins,  the  Astley  Cooper  of  New  England,  has  long 
been  the  most  eminent  surgeon  in  Massachusetts,  whose  son,  Jonathan 
Mason,  is  destined  to  be  as  elevated  in  surgery  as  his  fathers. 

Li  the  year  1780,  according  to  Thacher,  a  contemporary.  Dr.  War- 
ren gave  a  course  of  dissections  to  his  colleagues,  with  great  success,  in 
connection  with  a  series  of  lectures,  in  the  Military  Hospital,  situated 
in  a  pasture  in  the  rear  of  the  present  Massachusetts  General  Hos- 
pital, at  the  corner  of  Milton  and  Spring  streets.  They  were  con- 
ducted with  the  greatest  secrecy,  owing  to  the  popular  prejudice 
against  dissections.  In  1781,  his  lectures,  given  at  the  same  place, 
became  public,  when  the  students  of  Harvard  College  were  permitted 
to  attend;    and   at  this   time   he   performed  the  amputation   at   the 


166  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

shoulder-joint,  with  complete  success.  The  third  course  was  given  in 
the  year  1782,  at  the  Molineux  House,  located  on  Beacon-street,  oppo- 
site the  north  side  of  the  State-house.  This,  or  a  preceding  course, 
Avas  delivered  at  the  request  of  the  Boston  Medical  Society,  vrhen  Har- 
vard students  attended. 

Dr.  "Warren  was  founder  of  the  medical  institution  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, arising  from  these  lectures  ;  and,  on  the  request  of  President 
"Willard,  originated  the  plan  for  the  present  medical  institution,  which  was 
organized  in  the  year  1783,  when  three  professors  were  inducted.  Dr. 
AYarren  was  at  that  time  appointed  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery, 
and  efficiently  performed  the  duties  of  that  station  until  his  decease. 
In  the  year  1806,  Dr.  John  C.  Warren,  his  son,  was  appointed  adjunct 
professor  on  the  same  foundation,  and  continued  in  the  discharge  of 
the  office  during  the  period  of  forty  years.  ]\Iany  a  student,  to  the 
last  day  of  life,  has  heartily  responded  to  the  fervent^ribute  of  Susanna 
Rowson,  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  John  Warren,  wliich  may  be  apphed 
to  the  son  with  like  effect : 

"  How  sweet  was  tlie  Toice  that  instructed  our  youth  I 
What  wisdom,  what  science,  that  voice  could  impart ! 
How  bright  was  that  face,  where  the  radiance  of  truth 
Beamed  over  each  feature  direct  fi'om  the  heart ! " 

In  1784,  he  estabhshed  the  small-pox  hospital,  at  Point  Shirley. 
In  1804,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Soci- 
ety, and  was  ever  viewed  as  the  Magnus  Apollo,  the  hfe  and  soul, 
of  that  institution.  He  was  president,  also,  of  the  Massachusetts 
Humane,  Massachusetts  Agricultural,  and  the  INIassachusetts  Medical 
societies,  of  the  last  of  which  he  was  an  originator,  in  1783. 

Dr.  Warren  was  of  middhng  stature ;  an  elevated  forehead,  black 
eyes,  aquiline  nose,  and  hair  retreating  from  the  forehead,  gave  an  air 
of  dignity  to  his  polished  manners,  inspired  by  inter-course  with  officers 
from  France.  As  a  lecturer,  his  voice  was  most  harmoniously  sono- 
rous, his  utterance  distinct  and  full,  and  his  language  perspicuous.  His 
perception  was  quick  and  acute,  his  imagination  lively  and  strong,  his 
actions  prompt  and  decided.  The  rapidity  in  all  his  intellectual  oper- 
ations constituted  a  very  striking  trait  in  his  character.  Dr.  Warren 
died  April  4,  1815,  at  his  residence  in  School-street,  of  an  inflamma- 
tion of  the  lungs,  in  connection  with  an  organic  disease  which  had  long 


BENJAMIN   HIGHBORN.        -  167 

affected  his  system.  His  remains  are  deposited  under  St.  Paul's 
Church,  beside  those  of  his  brother,  Gen.  Joseph  Warren. 

In  1782,  Dr.  Warren  dehvered  a  Charge  to  the  Masons,  on  the  fes- 
tival of  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  and,  in  1813,  he  published  a  View  of 
Mercurial  Practice  in  Febrile  Disease.  A  eulogy  on  Dr.  Warren  was 
pronounced  by  Dr.  James  Jackson,  April  8,  1815,  before  the  Massa- 
chusetts Medical  Society;  and  another  eulogy  was  dehvered  by  Josiah 
Bartlett,  for  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge. 

President  Quincy,  in  the  History  of  Harvard  University,  remarks 
of  Dr.  Warren,  that  he  "  has  just  claims  to  be  ranked  among  the  dis- 
tinguished men  of  our  country,  for  his  spirit  as  a  patriot,  his  virtues 
as  a  man,  and  his  preeminent  surgical  skill.  The  qualities  of  his  heart, 
as  well  as  of  his  mind,  endeared  him  to  his  contemporaries." 


BENJAMIN   HIGHBORN. 

JULY  4,  1784.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

The  quotation  herewith,  from  this  patriotic  oration  on  the  union  of 
the  States,  and  the  dangers  of  an  increased  territory  in  this  republic, 
comes  upon  us  at  this  period  with  great  power. 

'•The  American  States,"  says  Hichborn,  "seem  by  nature  to  have 
such  an  intimate  connection,  that  necessity  will  oblige  them  to  be  close 
friends,  or  the  most  inveterate  enemies.  Friends  they  may  be  for 
ages,  but  cannot  long  exist  in  a  state  of  war  with  each  other.  Sej^a- 
rated  only  by  mathematical  or  imaginary  lines,  a  very  small  superiority 
of  force  in  either  must  be  fatal  to  the  neighborhood.  Every  acquisi- 
tion will  render  the  victorious  party  more  irresistible  ;  and  in  propor- 
tion as  the  conquerors  advance,  the  power  of  opposing  them  will  be 
lessened,  till  the  whole  are  subdued  by  a  rapacious  discontented  part. 
But  experience  having  taught  us  that  the  force  of  government  is  gen- 
erally lessened  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  territory  over  which  it 
is  to  be  exerted,  we  must  expect,  in  a  country  like  this,  inhabited  by 
men  too  sensible  of  their  rights  to  rest  easy  under  a  control  founded  in 
fraud  and  supported  by  oppression,  that  discontent  will  break  out  in 
every  quarter,  till,  by  the  clashing  of  various  powers,  a  new  division 


168  ^  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

of  territory  •will  take  plaee,  ^vlaicl^  must  soon  be  succeeded  with  fresh 
quarrels,  similar  to  those  which  disturbed  the  original  tranquillity.  Thus 
this  happy  land,  formed  for  the  seat  of  freedom  and  resort  of  the  dis- 
tressed, may,  like  other  countries,  in  her  turn,  become  a  prey  to  the 
restless  temper  of  her  own  inhabitants.  But  should  any  of  the  States, 
pressed  by  unequal  force,  call  in  the  aid  of  some  foreign  power,  the 
consequences  must  be  equally  ruinous.  A  dernand  of  foreign  aid  in 
one  State  will  produce  a  similar  application  from  another,  till  America 
becomes  the  common  theatre  on  which  all  the  warlike  powers  on  earth 
shall  be  engaged.  But  since  this  combined  force,  without  an  adequate 
power  somewhere  to  give  it  a  proper  direction,  can  only  operate  like  a 
mass  of  unanimated  matter  to  check  and  destroy  the  natural  activity 
of  the  body  from  whence  it  originates,  it  becomes  an  object  of  the  last 
importance  to  form  some  great  continental  arrangements." 


JOHN   GARDINER. 

JULY  4,  1785.     FOR  THE   TOWN   AUTHORITIES. 

The  nervous  and  comprehensive  oration  of  John  Gardiner,  showing 
a  relation  of  some  of  the  historical  causes  of  the  Revolution,  states 
that  an  event  occurred  in  the  fifth  3'ear  of  Queen  Anne,  of  vast  import- 
ance to  this  country.  "A  statute  was  passed  for  the  union  of  the  two 
kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland ;  by  the  fourth  article  of  which,  it 
is  declared  that  all  the  subjects  of  the  United  Kingdom  shall  have  full 
freedom  of  trade  and  navigation  to  any  port  within  the  United  King- 
dom, and  the  dominions  thereto  belonging ;  and  that  there  should  be  a 
communication  of  all  other  rights  which  belonged  to  the  subjects  of 
either  kingdom.  By  this  article,  our  tender,  nursing  mother, —  as  she 
has  most  falsely  and  impudently  been  called, —  without  consulting  our 
legislative  bodies,  or  asking  the  consent  of  any  one  individual  of  our 
countrymen, —  assumed  upon  herself  to  convey,  as  stock  in  trade, 
one  full  undivided  moiety  of  all  the  persons,  and  all  the  estates  and 
property,  of  the  freemen  of  America,  to  an  alien,  who  will  prove  a 
harsh,  cruel,  and  unrelenting  stepmother.  Then,  too  much  blinded 
with  foolish  affection  for  that  country  whose  oppressions  had  forced  our 


JOHN   GAUDINER,  169 

stern,  free-minded  progenitors  into  these  remote  regions  of  the  world, 
—  into  an  howling  and  a  savage  wilderness, —  like  children  not  yet 
attained  to  the  years  of  reason  and  discretion,  who  inconsiderately  sup- 
pose their  parent  ever  in  the  right,  our  predecessors  sat  quiet  under  the 
arbitrary  disposition,  nor  once  murmured  aloud  at  the  unnatural,  and 
to  us  iniquitous,  transaction. 

"Our  new  parent.  Great  Britain,  then  made  Qur  kings,  appointed  our 
governors,  and  kindly  sent  many  of  her  needy  sons  to  live  upon  the 
fruits  of  our  toil ;  to  reap  where  neither  she  nor  they  had  sown,  and 
to  fill  the  various  offices  which  she  had  generally  created  here,  for  her 
and  their  own  emolument.  Every  twentieth  cousin  of  an  alehouse- 
keeper,  who  had  a  right  of  voting  in  the  election  of  a  member  of  Par- 
liament, was  cooked  up  into  a  gentleman,  and  sent  out  here  commis- 
sioned to  insult  the  hand  that  gave  him  daily  bread.  Although  greatly 
displeased  with  these  injurious  proceedings,  we  submitted  to  the  harsh 
hand  of  our  unfeeling,  selfish  stepmother,  nor  once  remonstrated  against 
these,  her  unjust,  her  cruel  usurpations." 

John,  son  of  Dr.  Sylvester  Gardiner,  was  born  at  Boston,  in  the  year 
1731.  He  was  in  early  life  sent  to  England,  and  entered  on  the  study 
of  law  at  the  Inner  Temple.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  Westminster  Hall,  and  became  an  intimate  friend  of  Church- 
ill, the  famous  poet.  Whilst  reading  law  in  the  Temple,  he  formed  an 
acquaintance  with  Lord  Mansfield,  with  whom  he  became  a  favorite ; 
and,  having  the  assurance  of  his  patronage,  he  commenced  legal  prac- 
tice, with  every  prospect  of  rising  in  England  to  considerable  emi- 
nence. But,  being  eccentric  in  character,  fearless  and  independent  in 
action,  he  adopted  Whig  principles,  and,  to  the  surprise  of  Lord  Mans- 
field, appeared  as  junior  counsel  in  the  famous  case  of  John  Wilkes, 
the  reformer ;  and  argued  with  success  in  the  defence  of  Beardmore 
and  Meredith,  who,  for  writings  in  support  of  Wilkes,  had  been  impris- 
oned on  a  general  warrant.  His  zeal  on  this  occasion  blasted  all  hope 
of  favor  from  court  or  Tory  influence.  -In  reference  to  Mr.  Gardiner's 
efforts  in  these  trials,  there  now  remains  in  the  possession  of  William 
H.  Gardiner,  his  grandson,  and  a  counsellor-at-law,  a  valuable  and 
beautiful  piece  of  plate,  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"  '  Pro  libertatc  semper  strenuus.' 

"To  John  Gardiner,  Esq.,  tliis  waiter  is  presented  by  Arthur  Beard- 
more,  as  a  small  token  of  gratitude,  for  pleading  his  cause,  and  that 
15 


170  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  liis  clerk,  David  Meredith,  against  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  then  Sec- 
retary of  State,  for  false  imprisonment,  under  his  warrant,  commonly 
called  a  Secretary  of  State's  warrant,  that  canker  of  English  hb- 
erty.— 170G." 

He  practised  a  period  at  South  Wales,  Haverford  West,  where  he  mar- 
ried Margaret  Harris.  Their  eldest  son,  John  Sylvester  John,  was  born 
June,  1765,  in  Haverford  West,  and  educated  under  the  tuition  of  the 
selebrated  Dr.  Samuel  Parr,  in  England.  In  1766,  Mr.  Gardiner 
was  appointed  chief-justice  of  the  province  of  New  York,  which  was 
declined.  Mr.  Gardiner,  having  been  appointed  attorney-general  in 
the  island  of  St.  Christopher,  removed  his  family  to  the  West  Indies, 
where  he  continued  until  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution,  in 
178-3,  when  he  removed  his  family  to  Boston,  where  he  soon  became 
an  eminent  barrister-at-law,  and  distinguished  himself  by  the  highly 
learned  oration  pronounced  July  4,  1785.  The  notes  at  the  end  of 
this  production,  exceeding  in  matter  the  text,  are  of  great  historic  value. 
In  the  next  year,  Mr.  Gardiner  settled  at  Pownalboro',  Maine,  where 
he  was  elected  a  representative  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  and 
was  an  ardent  advocate  for  the  abolition  of  special  pleading,  but  was 
defeated.  He  effected,  however,  an  abolition  of  the  law  of  primogen- 
iture. On  Jan.  26,  1792,  Mr.  Gardiner  strenuously  vindicated  the 
establishment  of  the  Boston  Theatre,  in  the  Legislature,  and  was 
decidedly  opposed  by  Samuel  Adams  and  Harrison  Gray  Otis.  His 
speech  was  pubhshed,  and  was  entitled  "The  Expediency  of  Repeahng 
the  Law  against  Theatrical  Exhibitions."  This  essay  elicited  from  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest  —  one  John  Thayer  —  some  strictures  on  what 
he  viewed  to  be  "not  solid  arguments."  Mr.  Gardiner  replied,  over 
the  signature  of  Barebones,  with  great  warmth  and  bitterness.  The 
controversy  continued  for  some  time,  and  originated  the  following 
epigram : 

"  Thayer  squibs  at  Gardiner,  —  Gardiner  bangs  at  Thayer, — 

A  contest  quite  beneath  the  public  care  ; 

Each  calls  the  other  fool,  and  rails  so  long, 

'T  is  hard  to  say  that  either  's  in  the  wrong." 

This  production  is  probably  the  most  scholastic  argument  in  defence 
of  the  stage  ever  written  by  an  American ;  and  it  Avas  in  this  speech 
that  Charles  Jarvis  was  first  termed  "  the  towering  bald  eagle  of  the 
Boston  seat."  "  If  the  door  be  opened  to  the  repeal  of  the  act  against 
the  stage,"  said  Gardiner,  "there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that,  in  time, 


JOHN   GARDINER.  171 

this  country  -will  produce  poets  who  may  tower  into  tlie  sublimest 
paths  of  tragedy,  and  hghtly  tread  along  the  smihng,  flowery  road  of 
chaste  comedy.  But  if  in  sullen  silence  the  door  is  to  be  forever  kept 
shut,  and  this  Gothic  statute  is  to  remain  unrepealed,  our  genius  will 
be  stifled,  and  our  ears  will  continue  to  be  harassed  with  nothing  better 
than  the  untuned  screechings  of  the  dull  votaries  of  old  Sternhold  and 
Hopkins  !  "  In  the  same  year  he  pubhshed  A  Dissertation  on  the 
Ancient  Poetry  of  the  Romans,  in  which  he  said,  when  contrasting  the 
Roman  church  with  the  English  Estabhshed  church:  "The  first  of 
their  thirty-nine  articles  is  superstitious,  contradictory,  and  unintel- 
hgible :  for,  if  the  first  part  of  that  article  be  true,  to  a  plain,  honest 
mind,  the  latter  part  thereof  cannot,  in  my  opinion,  be  also  true ;  and 
if  the  latter  part  be  true,  it  is  a  direct  contradiction  of  the  first  part, 
for  the  second  person  there  mentioned  had  parts  and  passions.  Their 
dignified  clergy  claim  an  heavenly,  or  divine,  hereditary  succession, 
and  to  have  a  certain  spiritual  something  bottled  in  their  carcasses, 
which  they  can  communicate  to  Avhom  they  please,  and  which  none  but 
themselves,  and  those  whom  they  touch  for  that  purpose,  can  possess 
or  enjoy.  They  deny  transubstantiation,  and  yet  they  cherish  con- 
substantiation,  which  difiers  only  in  the  name.  In  short,  they  are  in 
a  very  small  degree  removed  from  the  Mother  of  Harlots."  The  opin- 
ions of  John  Gardiner,  barrister,  are  wide  apart  from  John  Sylvester 
John,  his  son,  the  divine,  who  pubhshed  a  very  learned  discourse, 
entitled  "A  Preservative  against  Unitarianism,"  at  Boston,  in  1810, 
wherein  he  thus  contemptuously  lashes  the  Unitarians  :  "No  faction 
was  ever  more  active  in  spreading  its  tenets  than  the  Unitarians.  In 
England  they  have  long  conducted  the  most  popular  magazines  and 
reviews,  and  here  they  are  eager  to  seize  on  every  avenue  to  the  pub- 
lic eye  and  ear.  From  the  slight  opposition  which  they  have  encoun- 
tered, they  really  seem  to  imagine  that  they  are  the  only  wise,  and  that 
all  learning  and  genius  are  confined  to  themselves.  But  if  there  be  a 
man  of  supereminent  talents  among  them,  let  him  be  pointed  out.  I 
know  him  not.  The  pert  conceit,  the  supercilious  sneer,  the  claim  to 
infallibility,  the  declamation  against  bigotry  and  superstition,  by  which 
they  mean  belief  in  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity,  may  excite 
admiration  among  the  thoughtless  and  superficial,  but  will  gain  them 
little  credit  with  the  sensible  and  reflecting.  The  Unitarians  are  for- 
ever harping  upon  candor  and  liberahty,  which  they  display  by  inefia- 
ble  contempt  for  all  sects  but  tieii-  own.     The  candor  of  a  Unitarian 


172  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

resembles  the  humanity  of  a  revolutionary  Frenchman.  It  is  entirely 
confined  to  words ;  and  I  will  venture  to  aflfirm  that  no  greater  out- 
rages against  good  manners  can  be  found  than  in  the  writings  of  their 
leaders,  Wakefield,  Belsham,  and  Priestley.  But  let  them  measure 
their  own  moderate  stature  with  the  gigantic  dimensions  of  a  Bacon,  a 
Milton,  and  a  Johnson,  and  perhaps  they  will  be  candid  enough  to 
allow  that  all  genius  and  knowledge  are  not  confined  to  Unitarians, 
and  that  a  man  may  be  a  Trinitarian  without  being  necessarily  either  a 
blockhead  or  a  hypocrite." 

In  1785,  John  Gardiner  took  an  active  part  in  the  alteration  of  the 
Liturgy  in  the  Common  Prayer,  being  on  a  committee,  with  Perez  Mor- 
ton and  others,  of  King's  Chapel  church,  striking  out  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity.  Dr.  Sylvester  Gardiner,  long  a  warden  of  King's  Chapel, 
was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article,  of  whom  John  Adams  said, 
that  "he  had  a  thin,  grasshopper  voice,  and  an  afiected  squeak;  a 
meagi'e  visage,  and  an  awkward,  unnatural  complaisance."  Barrister 
Gardiner  was  a  ripe  scholar,  a  rare  wit,  and  the  most  vigorous  wi'iter 
Df  his  day;  but  highly  sarcastic  and  vituperative  toward  his  opponents. 
He  was  a  zealous  politician,  learned  in  his  profession,  of  tenacious 
memory,  and  of  nervous  eloquence. 

When  on  his  passage  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  in  the 
packet  Londoner,  wrecked  off  Cape  Ann  in  a  storm,  he  was  drowned, 
October,  1793,  where  his  chest  of  clothing  floated  ashore. 


JONATHAN   LORING  AUSTIN. 

JULY  4,  1786.    FOR  THE  TOAYN  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  smooth  and  animated  oration  of  Mr.  Austin,  glowing  with 
patriotic  fervor,  it  is  said  :  "What  country,  my  friends,  can  produce 
so  many  events,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  as  must  ever  distinguish 
the  American  page, —  a  young  continent,  contending  with  a  nation 
whose  establishment  had  been  for  ages,  and  whose  armies  had  con- 
quered the  powers  of  the  world  ?  What  spirit,  short  of  an  heavenly 
enthusiasm,    could  have  animated  these  infant  colonies,   boldly   to 


JONATHAN  LORING  AUSTIN.  173 

renounce  the  arbitrary  mandates  of  a  Britisli  Parliament,  and,  instead 
of  fawning  like  suppliants,  to  arm  themselves  for  their  common  defence? 
You  dared  to  appeal  to  that  God  who  first  planted  the  principles  of 
natural  freedom  in  the  human  breast, —  principles  repeatedly  impressed 
on  our  infant  minds  by  our  great  and  glorious  ancestors ;  and  may 
yonder  sun  be  shorn  of  its  beams,  ere  their  descendants  forget  the 
heavenly  admonitions  ! 

"  When  I  behold  so  many  worthy  patriots,  who,  during  the  late  glo- 
rious struggle,  have  shone  conspicuous  in  the  cabinet  and  in  the  field, 
—  when  I  read  in  each  smiling  face  and  placid  eye  the  happy  occasion 
for  joy  and  gratulation, — the  transporting  subject  fires  my  bosom,  and, 
with  emotions  of  pleasure,  I  congratulate  my  country  on  the  return  of 
this  anniversary.  Hail,  auspicious  day !  an  era  in  the  American 
annals  to  be  ever  remembered  with  joy,  while,  as  a  sovereign  and 
independent  nation,  these  United  States  can  maintain  with  honor  and 
applause  the  character  they  have  so  gloriously  acquired !  Hoav  shall 
we  maintain,  as  a  nation,  our  respectability,  should  be  the  grand  sub- 
ject of  inquiry.  This  is  the  object  to  which  we  must  attend  ;  for  the 
moment  America  sullies  her  name,  by  forfeiting  her  honor,  the  fame 
she  has  acquired  from  the  heroism  of  her  sons,  and  the  virtues  she 
has  displayed  in  the  midst  of  her  distress,  will  only  serve,  like  a  train 
of  mourners,  to  attend  the  funeral  of  her  glory.  But,  by  a  due  culti- 
vation of  manners,  a  firm  adherence  to  the  faith  we  have  pledged,  an 
union  in  council,  a  refinement  in  sentiment,  a  liberality  and  benevo- 
lence of  conduct,  we  shall  render  ourselves  happy  at  home  and 
respectable  abroad ;  our  constellation  will  brighten  in  the  political  hem- 
isphere, and  the  radiance  of  our  stars  sparkle  with  increasing  lustre." 

Jonathan  Loring,  son  of  Hon.  Benjamin  Austin,  was  born  at  Bos- 
ton, Jan.  2,  1748 ;  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1755 ;  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1766,  on  which  occasion  he  delivered  the  first  Eng- 
hsh  oration  ever  assigned  to  a  candidate  for  the  bachelor's  degree.  The 
recent  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  spread  universal  joy  among  the 
people,  and  naturally  superseded  all  classical  subjects  for  such  an  occa- 
sion. The  boldness  of  some  of  the  sentiments  was  not  much  approved 
by  the  faculty,  and  had  well-nigh  cost  the  candidate  the  honora  of  his 
class.  Mr.  Austin's  father  was  of  the  Council,  and  a  selectman  in  Bos- 
ton in  1775,  whose  upright  and  venerable  form,  large,  white  wig,  scarlet 
roquelot,  and  gold-headed  cane,  were  the  personification  of  the  man- 
ners and  dress  of  that  period. 
15* 


174  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

After  leaving  Cambridge,  Mr.  Austin  commenced  business  as  a  mer- 
cbant,  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  He  was  appointed  a  major  in  a  volun- 
teer regiment,  under  the  command  of  the  late  Gov.  Langdon.  raised 
for  the  protection  of  that  place.  On  the  commencement  of  hostilities, 
he  became  aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Sullivan ;  but  being  about  that  period 
appointed  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  War  in  Massachusetts,  he  directly 
accepted  the  latter  situation,  -which  he  sustained  until  October,  1777. 
Mr.  Austin  married  Miss  Hannah  Ivors. 

When  it  became  probable  that  Gen.  Gates  and  the  northern  army 
would  be  able  by  their  success  to  counterbalance  the  loss  of  Philadel- 
phia and  the  gloomy  character  of  the  southern  campaign,  the  executive 
Council  of  Massachusetts  resolved  to  transmit  the  intelligence  by  a 
safe  and  early  conveyance  to  the  American  Commissioners  at  Paris. 
For  this  purpose  a  vessel  was  chartered  at  Boston,  and  Mr.  Austin 
was  appointed  a  special  messenger.  As  soon  as  the  official  despatches 
of  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Burgoyne  could  be  prepared,  Mr.  Austin 
sailed  from  Boston,  October,  1777.  It  would  seem  that  the  feeble 
resources  of  the  State  were  exhausted  by  the  expense  of  the  vessel. 
Their  messenger  was  allowed  to  provide  his  cabin  stores  at  his  own 
charge,  and  to  trust  to  the  effect  of  his  intelligence  for  the  means  of 
compensation.  The  pious  habit  of  New  England  did  not  at  that  time 
permit  a  voyage  to  Europe,  without  proposing  a  note  at  church  on  the 
Sunday  previous,  for  the  prayers  of  the  congregation.  Such  was 
accordingly  offered  at  the  Old  Brick,  where  his  father's  family  wor- 
shipped. The  good  Dr.  Chauncy,  though  not  gifted  like  Dr.  Cooper 
in  prayer,  was  on  this  occasion  strongly  excited.  He  thanked  the  Lord 
most  fervently  for  the  great  and  glorious  event  which  required  the 
departure  of  a  special  messenger.  He  prayed  that  it  might  pull  down 
the  haughty  spirit  of  our  enemies ;  that  it  might  warm  and  inspirit  our 
friends ;  that  it  might  be  the  means  of  procuring  peace,  so  anxiously 
desired  by  all  good  men ;  and  he  prayed  that  no  delay  might  retard 
the  arrival  in  Europe  of  the  packet  which  conveyed  this  great  news. 
He  invoked  a  blessing,  as  desired,  on  the  person  who  was  about  to 
expose  himself  to  the  dangers  of  the  deep  to  cai'ry  this  wonderful  intel- 
ligence across  the  mighty  waters ;  but,  said  he,  good  Lord,  whatever,  in 
thy  wise  providence,  thou  seest  best  to  do  with  the  young  man,  we 
beseech  thee  most  fervently,  at  all  events,  to  preserve  the  packet.  The 
vessel  arrived  at  Nantes,  November,  1777. 

The  commissioners  had  assembled  at  Dr.  Franklin's  apartments,  on 


JONATHAN  LORINa  AUSTIN.  175 

the  rumor  that  a  special  messenger  had  arrived,  and  were  too  impatient 
to  suffer  a  moment's  delay.  They  received  him  in  the  court-yard. 
Before  he  had  time  to  alight,  Dr.  Frankhn  addressed  him,  —  "  Sir,  is 
Philadelphia  taken?  "  "  Yes,  sir  !  "  The  old  gentleman  clasped  his 
hands,  and  went  to  the  hotel.  "  But,  sir,  I  have  greater  news  than 
that;  General  Burgoyne  and  his  whole  army  are  prisoners  of  war!  " 
The  effect  was  electrical.  The  despatches  were  scarcely  read  before 
they  were  put  under  copy.  Mr.  Austin  was  himself  impressed  into 
the  service  of  transcribing  them.  Communication  was,  without  delay, 
made  to  the  French  ministry.  Lord  Stormont,  the  English  ambassa- 
dor, left  Paris,  and,  on  the  6th  of  December,  official  information  was 
given  to  the  American  commissioners  that  the  king  recognized  the 
independence  of  the  United  States.  Treaties  to  that  effect,  and  for 
commerce  and  alUance,  were  negotiated  and  signed  in  sixty  days  from 
that  date ;  and  the  American  commissioners,  who  before  were  obliged 
almost  to  keep  themselves  prisoners,  were  received  into  favor  at  court, 
and  into  unbounded  popularity  through  all  France. 

Dr.  Franklin  transferred  to  Mr.  Austin  the  affection  of  a  father,  as 
if  he  had  been  not  merely  the  messenger,  but  the  cause,  of  this  glorious 
information.  He  took  him  directly  into  his  family,  constituted  him  an 
additional  private  secretary,  and  continued  towards  him  the  kindest 
regards  during  the  whole  period  of  his  abode  in  France.  Often,  at 
breakfast  or  other  occasions  of  their  meeting,  the  old  gentleman  would 
break  from  one  of  those  musings  in  which  it  was  his  habit  to  indulge, 
and,  clasping  his  hands  together,  exclaim,  "  0  !  Mr.  Austin,  you 
brought  glorious  news  !  "  He  made  it  a  matter  of  etiquette  that  Mr. 
Austin  should  accompany  him  wherever  he  was  invited.  He  held  him 
at  his  bedside  during  the  intervals  of  the  painful  disease  with  which  he 
was  visited  ;  taught  him  to  play  chess,  that  he  might  have  some  con- 
stant cause  for  the  enjoyment  of  his  society,  to  heap  upon  him  every 
mark  of  personal  attachment  during  the  period  of  nearly  two  years  of 
his  residence  in  France.  • 

Dr.  Franklin  was  from  that  moment  the  object  of  unbounded  curi- 
osity and  interest.  The  saloons  of  Paris  were  incomplete  without  his 
presence.  There  was  an  enthusiasm  excited  concerning  him,  which 
brought  him  into  all  the  most  beautiful  society  of  that  great  metropolis, 
and  in  which  his  dress  and  simplicity  of  appearance  formed  a  singular 
contrast  to  the  rich  and  splendid  attire  of  all  others  of  the  company. 
The  young  American,  it  may  well  be  imagined,  was  delighted  with  the 


176  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

splendor  and  fascinations  of  these  novel  scenes  ;  and  might  have  found 
in  their  allurements  a  too  dangerous  occupation,  if  the  cause  of  all  this 
attraction  had  not  extended  to  him  as  well  the  watchfulness  of  a  father 
as  the  kindness  of  a  friend. 

A  rigid  etiquette  controlled  the  court  di-ess,  of  -which  a  sword  and 
bag  were  indispensable  parts.  The  costume,  which  was  regulated  by 
the  season,  was  so  strictly  enforced,  that  admission  was  refused  to  him 
who  wore  lace  ruffles  when  the  time  required  cambric  ;  but  a  sword 
was  as  inappropriate  to  Franklin  as  it  would  be  in  the  hands  of  a 
woman,  and  he  determined  to  go  unanued.  This  resolution  aston- 
ished the  chamberlain  of  the  palace,  and  delayed,  for  a  time,  the 
presentation  of  the  American  commissioners.  But  Frankhn  knew  his 
ground ;  and,  although  it  is  not  probable  he  would  have  sacrificed  the 
advantage  of  an  introduction  at  court  to  any  vain  regard  to  costume, 
he  determined,  if  possible,  to  appear  in  the  simple  fashion  of  his  own 
country.  The  privilege  was  accorded  to  him,  and  the  novelty  of  his 
appearance  served  to  increase  admiration  for  his  character. 

Attended  by  liis  suite,  he  had  a  public  audience  of  the  king,  and 
was  introduced  to  the  private  circle  of  the  queen ;  and  from  that 
moment,  everything  Franklin,  and  everything  American,  was  first  in 
style  in  the  gay  coteries  of  the  French  capital.  Dr.  Franklin's 
quarters  became  the  point  of  attraction  to  all  that  was  distinguished  or 
desirous  of  being  prominent  in  philosophy  or  fashion,  in  pohtics  and 
taste ;  and  the  duty  of  receiving  and  attending  to  their  numerous  calls 
generally  devolved  on  Loring  Austin.  Ten  thousand  marks  of  per- 
sonal kindness  which  were  lavished  on  Dr.  Franklin  could  not  but 
sometimes  excite  the  good-natured  jealousy  of  the  other  commissioners, 
who,  though  his  equals  in  pohtical  rank,  seemed  to  be  forgotten  entirely 
by  the  French  people ;  and  it  required  some  address,  certainly,  on  the 
part  of  Franklin,  to  preserve  harmony.  Among  numberless  similar 
instances  of  the  consideration  in  which  he  was  held,  a  large  cake  was 
sent,  one  morning,  to  the  commissioners'  apartment,  inscribed,  "  Le 
digne  Franklin,"  or,  For  the  worthy  Frankhn.  ''We  have,"  said 
one  of  the  gentlemen,  "  as  usual,  to  thank  you  for  our  accommodations, 
and  to  appropriate  your  present  to  our  joint  use."  '•  Not  at  all,"  said 
Franklin ;  "  this  must  be  intended  for  all  the  coumiissioners,  only  these 
French  people  cannot  write  English.  They  mean,  no  doubt,  '  Lee, 
Dean,  Franklin.'  "  "That  might  answer,"  said  Mr.  Lee;  "  but  we 
know,  whenever  they  remember  us  at  all,  they  always  put  you  first." 


JONATHAN  LORING   AUSTIN.  177 

The  capture  of  Burgoyne,  and  the  French  alliance,  changed  wholly 
the  character  of  the  American  cause,  and  it  began  to  be  believed  in 
Europe  that  the  independence  of  the  Colonies  might  bo  maintained. 
The  members  of  the  English  opposition  in  Parliament  maintained  a 
correspondence  with  Dr.  Franklin ;  and  it  has  been  said  that  he  was 
privately  visited  in  Paris  by  more  than  one  of  them.  The  ministry,  it 
was  known,  was  desirous  of  keeping  the  nation  in  great  ignorance  of 
the  state  of  American  affairs.  Little  confidence  was  placed  in  their 
accounts  ;  and  the  most  intelligent  men  sought  information  from  other 
sources,  and  especially  through  France.  The  Americans  in  England 
were  principally  loyalists,  and  the  fairness  of  their  representations  was 
hable  to  suspicion.  There  was  in  the  conduct  and  constitution  of 
American  affairs  a  great  departure  from  the  usual  course  of  European 
politics :  —  the  mode  of  government,  the  strength,  resources  and 
prospects  of  the  country,  were  little  understood ;  —  Ihow  the  war  was 
conducted,  when  there  was  none  of  that  machinery  which  was  thought 
indispensable  to  raise  taxes,  support  armies,  and  enforce  authority. 
They  were  desirous  of  having  these  matters  explained,  especially  as 
the  enemies  of  the  American  cause  made  this  the  constant  theme  for 
their  prophecy  of  ruin.  To  communicate  this  information  in  an 
authentic  and  satisfactory  manner,  to  explain  and  illustrate  the  actual 
state  of  things  in  the  United  States,  it  was  thought  could  best  be 
done  by  personal  interviews  with  some  intelligent  and  confidential  per- 
son ;  and  Dr.  Franklin  proposed  a  mission  for  this  purpose  to  Loring 
Austin.  It  may  readily  be  supposed  that  the  young  American  acceded 
to  this  proposal  with  pleasure. 

The  business  was  in  a  high  degree  confidential ;  and,  as  preparatory 
to  it,  Franklin  required  of  Austin  to  burn  in  his  presence  every  letter 
which  he  had  brought  from  his  friends  in  America,  —  in  exchange  for 
which  he  gave  him  two  letters,  which  he  assured  him  Avould  open  an 
easy  communication  to  whatever  was  an  object  of  interest  or  curiosity, 
either  among  men  or  things.  One  diflSculty  had,  however,  nearly 
destroyed  this  plan.  Franklin  w^as  unwilling  that  Austin  should  be 
known,  lest  his  connection  with  the  commissioners  in  France  might  be 
suspected.  But  he  had  many  relatives  in  England  of  distinction,  and 
was,  besides,  personally  acquainted  with  all  the  loyahsts  who  had  left 
Boston.  Trusting,  however,  to  his  prudence,  and  enjoining  on  him 
the  most  scrupulous  attention  to  preserve  from  all  but  the  proper  per- 


178  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

sons  the  secret  of  his  connection  with  the  commissioners,  Franklin 
furnished  him  with  the  means  of  a  passage  to  England. 

Probably  no  American  ever  visited  England  under  more  fortunate 
circumstances  than  did  Loring  Austin.  Few  of  our  countrymen  have 
the  means  of  associating  with  the  rank  and  wealth  of  that  nation. 
Those  who  gain  this  access  by  means  of  oflScial  station  maintain  a  cold, 
and  formal  intercourse,  limited  in  its  character,  and  confined  to  official 
circles.  But  the  letters  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and  the  desire  that  was  felt 
by  the  leaders  of  the  opposition  to  see  and  converse  with  an  intelligent 
American,  who  had  the  confidence  of  that  eminent  man.  and  was  from 
the  country  of  their  absorbing  interest,  brought  Loring  Austin  into 
familiar  personal  intercourse  with  the  master  spirits  of  the  age. 

In  narrating  the  progress  of  his  commission,  Mr.  Austin  writes : 
"  My  time  passes  with  so  little  of  the  appearance  of  business,  that  if  I 
was  not  assured  it  was  otherAvise,  I  should  think  myself  without  useful 
employment.  The  mornings  I  devote  to  seeing  such  objects  of  curi- 
osity or  interest  as  I  am  advised  to,  and  wholly  according  to  my  own 
inclination.  I  attend  constantly  the  debates  of  Parliament,  to  which 
I  have  ready  admission ;  and  have  been  particularly  enjoined  to 
attend,  that  I  may  not  miss  any  question  on  our  affairs.  Dinner,  — 
or,  as  it  ought  to  be  called,  supper,  —  which  follows  afterward,  is 
the  time  allotted  to  conversation  on  the  affairs  of  our  country.  I  am 
invariably  detained  to  parties  of  this  kind,  sometimes  consisting  of 
seven  or  eight,  and  sometimes  of  the  number  of  twenty.  The  com- 
pany is  always  composed  of  members  of  Parliament,  with  very  few 
additions ;  indeed,  I  do  not  know  of  any  ;  and  no  question  which  you 
can  conceive  is  omitted,  to  all  which  I  give  such  answers  as  my  knowl- 
edge permits.  I  am  sadly  puzzled  with  the  various  titles  which  differ- 
ent ranks  require.  My  small  knowledge  of  French  prevented  this 
trouble  in  Paris ;  but  here  I  frequently  find  myself  at  fault,  which 
subjects  me  to  embarrassment,  that  is  yet  forgiven  to  a  stranger." 

A  constant  and  familiar  intercourse  with  whatever  was  noble  or 
learned  or  eminent  in  the  British  capital  must  have  made  this  a  most 
delightful  winter  in  London  to  a  young  American,  educated  in  the  plain 
habits  of  New  England.  Mr.  Austin  was  domesticated  in  the  family 
of  the  Earl  of  Shelburne ;  placed  under  the  particular  care  of  liis  chap- 
lain, the  celebrated  Dr.  Priestley ;  introduced  to  the  king,  then  a  youth ; 
in  company  with  Mr.  Fox,  present  at  all  the  coteries  of  the  opposition, 
and  called  upon  to  explain  and  defend  the  cause  and  character  of 


I 

JONATHAN   LOUINa  AUSTIN.  179 

his  countrymen,  in  the  freedom  of  colloquial  discussion,  before  the 
greatest  geniuses  of  the  age,  against  the  doubts  of  some,  the  ridicule 
of  others,  the  censure  of  many,  and  the  inquiries  of  all. 

The  communications  made  by  Mr.  Austin  were  calculated  to  explain 
the  condition  and  circumstances  of  his  countrymen,  to  give  a  better 
Conception  of  their  physical  and  moral  strength,  to  do  away  the 
impression  of  their  being  at  variance  among  themselves,  to  explain 
what  might  otherwise  lead  to  a  belief  of  their  want  of  harmony  ;  and, 
by  stating  facts  which,  with  the  minuteness  that  was  known  to  him, 
his  hearers  could  not  be  acquainted  with,  he  effected  a  very  useful 
impression. 

The  object  of  liis  visit  to  England  was  accomplished  to  the  satisfaction 
of  Dr.  Franklin,  in  whose  family  he  continued  for  some  time  after  his 
return  to  Paris.  Being  charged  with  the  despatches  of  the  commis- 
sioners to  Congress,  he  left  France,  and  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  INIay, 
1779.  A  very  liberal  compensation  was  made  him  by  Congress  for 
his  services  in  Europe  ;  and  Mr.  Austin  again  returned  to  his  business 
in  Boston,  as  an  owner  of  a  rope-walk,  and  interested  in  shipping. 

On  the  11th  January,  1780,  Mr.  Austin  was  appointed  by  the  State 
of  jSIassachusetts  a  commissioner  to  negotiate  in  Europe  for  a  loan  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  "  and  to  pledge  the 
faith  of  the  government  for  the  repayment  of  the  same ;  "  and  shortly 
after  embarked  for  Spain.  Such,  however,  was  the  low  credit  of  the 
country  abroad,  or  the  want  of  information  among  monied  men  of  its 
resources  and  condition,  that  this  small  sum  could  not  be  obtained. 

Mr.  Austin  was  captured  on  his  outward  passage,  and  carried  a 
prisoner  into  England.  Personal  incivility,  inconsistent  with  the 
usages  of  more  modern  warfare,  was  practised  towards  him  by  the 
captor,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  the  object  of  his  voyage,  the 
papers  concerning  it  having  been  thrown  overboard  during  the  chase  ; 
and,  on  the  appearance  of  an  American  vessel  of  force,  the  master  of 
the  English  ship  actually  confined  him  to  the  main-mast,  and  threat- 
ened to  keep  him  there  during  the  action,  —  a  threat  which  he  would 
probably  have  put  in  execution,  if  an  engagement  had  ensued.  Mr. 
Austin,  having  obtained  his  liberation  in  England,  by  means  of  friends 
to  whom  he  had  formerly  been  known,  passed  over  to  France,  and  there 
and  in  Spain  and  Holland  pursueci  the  object  of  his  mission,  with 
very  indifferent  success.  He  was  enabled,  by  adding  his  own  per- 
sonal credit  to  that  of  the  State,  to  procure  some  articles  of  clothing, 


180  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

but  far  short  of  the  amount  desired  by  the  common-svealth.  Mr. 
Austin  continued  his  exertions  in  Holland  until  the  summer  of  1781 ; 
and,  after  twenty-two  months'  absence,  returned  to  the  United  States. 
After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  Mr.  Austin  engaged  again 
in  commercial  and  manufacturing  pursuits,  and  confined  himself  chiefly 
to  these  occupations.  In  his  native  town  he  -was  repeatedly  honorei 
■with  the  confidence  of  the  people.  He  served  for  many  years  on  the 
boards  of  overseers  of  the  poor  and  school  committee,  and  in  the  State 
Senate,  as  a  member  from  Suffolk.  On  removing  to  Cambridge,  where 
he  resided  during  the  period  his  sons  were  passing  through  the  imi- 
versity,  —  one  of  whom  prepared  the  greatest  part  of  this  sketch,  — 
]\Ir.  Austin  was  elected  a  representative  from  that  town  to  the  Legis- 
lature, and  was  successively  elected  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
commonwealth. 

The  associations  of  his  early  hfe,  and  his  intercourse  with  educated 
society  in  the  courts  of  Europe,  had  given  a  refinement  and  poHsh  to 
his  manners  and  mode  of  thinking,  that  entitled  him  to  the  reputation 
he  then  universally  enjoyed,  of  being  one  of  the  most  accomphshed 
gentlemen  of  the  day.  There  are  those  remaining  who  remember  that 
he.  whom  for  many  years  we  had  been  accustomed  to  see  bowed  down 
by  infirmity  and  age,  was  once 

"  The  glass  of  fashion  and  the  mould  of  form, 
The  observed  of  all  observers." 

Shortly  before  his  death,  Mr.  Austin  interested  some  young  friends, 
by  reciting,  memoriter,  several  of  the  fine  descriptions  of  Homer  and 
Virgil,  which  he  was  ever  able  fluently  to  repeat.  He  died  at  Boston, 
May  15,  1826. 

The  Hon.  Benjamin  Austin,  an  active  and  zealous  leader  of  the  old 
Ptepubhcan  party,  and  a  brother  of  Jonathan  Loring  Austin,  was  a 
frequent  writer  in  the  Independent  Chronicle,  over  the  signature 
of  Honestus,  and  author  also  of  a  warm  pohtical  work,  entitled  ''  Old 
South,"  comprising  350  pages,  8vo.  His  political  articles  effected  a 
greater  sensation  than  the  productions  of  any  writer  in  Ms  party,  and 
elicited  the  following  severe  effusion  from  the  most  satirical  poet  of 
Boston : 

*'  In  vain  our  literai-y  champions  ■wi'ite,  — 
Their  satire  tickles,  amd  their  praises  bite. 
They,  by  their  poor,  dull  nonsense,  clearly  own 
Our  depth  of  anguish  to  the  laughing  town. 


JONATHAN  LORING  AUSTIN.  181 

Their  pens  inflict  not  e'en  a  moment's  pain, 

And  Honee  scribbles,  and  his  friends,  in  vain  ; 

Like  angry  flies  that  buzz  upon  the  wing, 

They  show  the  will,  but  not  the  power,  to  sting  ; 

Ambitious  with  ephemeras  to  vie. 

Or  moles  that  thunder  into  light,  and  die." 

Here  follows  an  account  of  the  fruitless  efforts  of  Honestus  to  make 
a  speech  at  the  Jacobin  Club,  which  ruet  at  the  Green  Dragon  Tavern : 

"  Thrice  from  his  seat  his  form  Honestus  reared. 
And  thrice  in  attitude  to  speak  appeared  ; 
His  lean  left  hand  he  stretched  as  if  to  smite. 
And  manful  grasped  his  breeches  with  his  right. 
Thrice  he  essayed  to  speak,  and  thrice  his  tongue 
In  his  half-opened  mouth  suspended  hung  ; 
Once  more  he  rose,  with  mortifying  pain,  — 
Once  more  he  rose,  —  and  then  sat  down  again. 
His  disappointed  bosom  heaved  a  sigh. 
And  tears  of  anguish  started  from  his  eye. 

*  *  *  * 
Thrice  he  essayed,  and  thrice,  in  sjpite  of  scorn, 
Tears,  such  as  angels  weep,  burst  forth  at  last ; 
Words,  interwove  with  sighs,  found  out  their  way. 

*  *  *  * 
Of  all  her  sons,  none  gained  so  much  applause 
As  lank  Honestus ,  with  his  lanthorn  jaws. 

*  *  *  « 
Once,  too,  misguided  by  some  adverse  power, 
You  aped  patrician's  airs  in  evil  hour. 

And  Federal  Russell,  in  resentful  fit. 
Thy  back  belabored,  and  thy  face  bespit." 

in  "The  Democratiad,"  a  political  satire,  published  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1795,  we  find  the  following  allusion  to  a  speech  of  Benjamin 
Austin,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  on  Jay's  treaty,  and  in  our  sketch  of  Joseph 
Hall  are  further  allusions.  The  "satirizing  priest"  of  whom  the 
poet  says  Mr.  Austin  had  such  dread  was  probably  Dr.  Gardiner  : 

"  Now,  sage  Honestus  from  his  seat  arose. 
Thrice  stroked  his  chops,  and  thrice  surveyed  his  toes  ; 
Thrice  strove  his  mighty  project  to  declare, 
Thrice  stopped  to  see  if  Parson  G.  were  there  ;  — 
For  well  he  knew  the  satirizing  priest 
Would  hang  him  up,  a  scarecrow  and  a  jest, 
If  once  he  saw  his  wayward  footsteps  stray 
But  a  small  distance  in  the  factious  way. 

16 


182  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Ah  !  timid  man,  thou  nothing  hadst  to  dread, 
Among  thy  Club  appeared  no  honest  head  ; 
No  Parson  G.  was  there  thy  steps  to  trace. 
And  paint  the  guilty  terrors  of  thy  face." 


THOMAS   DAWES. 

JULY  4,  1787.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Judge  Dawes  introduced  the  following  felicitous  figure,  in  this  pro- 
duction: "One  of  the  late  aerostatic  navigators," — probably  Dr. 
John  Jeffries, —  "has  intimated  that,  when  sailing  in liis  balloon  through 
the  blue  chmes  of  air,  over  European  territories,  the  eye  was  gratified 
in  the  accuracy  with  which  the  divisions  were  made  between  contiguous 
owners  of  the  lands  below.  The  circumstance  sucro-ested  the  idea  of 
firm  laws.  Had  this  philosopher  made  his  aerial  voyage  over  the  fields 
of  ^lassachusetts,  he  would  have  enjoyed  an  additional  sentiment, —  an 
idea  of  equahty  would  have  been  joined  to  that  of  certainty.  The  senti- 
mentalist would  not  only  have  discovered  the  justness  of  outlines  in  the 
bounds  of  property,  but  he  would  have  observed  the  equality  of  por- 
tions of  the  respective  owners, —  a  species  of  equality  how  exalted 
above  the  condition  of  those  countries  where  the  peasant  is  alienated 
with  the  soil,  and  the  price  of  acres  is  the  number  of  slaves !  Not, 
indeed,  that  perfect  equality  which  deadens  the  motives  of  industry, 
and  places  demerit  on  a  footing  with  virtue ;  but  that  happy  mediocrity 
which  soars  above  bondage,  without  aspiring  to  domination.  Less 
favorable  to  liberty  were  those  agrarian  laws  which  lifted  the  ancient 
republics  into  grandeur." 

In  the  peroration  of  this  oration,  Judge  Dawes  says,  in  a  strain 
of  eloquence  :  "  Poverty  of  genius  is  not  our  misfortune.  The  forms 
of  free  and  justly  balanced  politics  maintain  our  title  to  legislative  wis- 
dom. Nor  have  we  narrowed  the  gates  of  our  religious  institutions. 
Liberality  is  not  an  exotic  that  dies  on  our  soil.  Independent  ground 
is  not  watered  with  the  blood  of  unbelievers.  "\Ye  have  not  contracted 
the  worship  of  the  Deity  to  a  single  estabhshment,  but  we  have  opened 
an  asylum  to  all  people,  and  kindred,  and  tongues,  and  nations.     No  ! 


THOMAS   DAWES.  183 

Mediocrity  is  not  the  bane  of  independent  minds.  Nature  has  dealt 
with  us  not  on  the  minute  scale  of  economy,  but  the  broader  principles 
of  bounty.  What  remains,  then,  but  that  we  improve  the  gratuities 
of  Providence  7  Roused  by  a  sense  of  past  suffering  and  the  dignity 
of  freedom,  Ave  have  once  more  called  on  venerable  sages  of  our  first 
Congress,  on  other  immortal  characters,  to  add  new  strength  and 
beauty  to  the  fair  fabric  of  independence. 

''A  legislation,  common  in  certain  cases  to  all  the  States,  will  make 
us  a  nation  in  reality,  as  well  as  in  name.  This  will  permit  us  to 
respect  our  own  station,  and  to  treat  on  equal  grounds  with  other 
powers ;  will  suffer  us  to  be  just  at  home  and  respectable  abroad ; 
will  render  property  secure,  and  convince  us  that  the  payment  of  debts 
is  our  truest  policy  and  highest  honor.  This  will  encourage  husbandry 
and  arts ;  will  settle,  with  numerous  and  happy  families,  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  and  the  borders  of  Kennebec.  Huron's  neglected  waves 
—  Superior's  wilderness  of  waters,  now  forlorn  and  unemployed  — 
shall  bear  the  countless  vessels  of  internal  traffic.  Niagara's  foaming 
cataract,  crowned  with  columns  of  vapor  and  refracted  lines,  shall  not 
always  bar  the  intercourse  of  mighty  lakes.  The  mechanic  arts  shall 
find  a  passage  from  Erie  to  Ontario,  and  Champlain  shall  be  led  in 
triumph  to  the  bosom  of  the  deep. 

"Hail,  glorious  age  !  when  the  potent  rays  of  perfect  liberty  shall 
burst  upon  the  now  benighted  desert ;  when  the  tawny  natives  of 
America,  and  the  descendants  of  those  who  fled  hither  from  the  old 
world,  shall  forget  their  animosities ;  when  all  parts  of  this  immense 
continent  shall  be  happy  in  ceaseless  communications,  and  the  mutual 
exchange  of  benefits;  when  the  cornucopia  of  peace  shall  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  waste- of  war,  as  the  genial  gales  of  summer  to  the  ruf- 
fian blasts  of  winter ;  when  nations,  who  now  hold  the  same  jealous 
relation  to  each  other  which  individuals  held  before  society  was  formed, 
shall  find  some  grand  principle  of  combination,  like  that  which  rolls 
the  heavenly  bodies  round  a  common  centre.  The  distinct  fires  of 
American  States,  which  are  now  blended  into  one,  rising  just  through 
broken  clouds  from  the  horizon,  shall  blaze  bright  in  the  zenith, —  the 
glory  of  the  universe  ! " 

"You  and  I,"  says  John  Adams  to  Samuel  Adams,  "have  scon 
four  noble  families  rise  up  in  Boston, —  the  Crafts,  Gores,  Dawes  and 
Austins.  These  are  as  really  a  nobility,  in  our  town,  as  the  Howards, 
Somersets,  Bertics,  &c.,  in  England.  By  nobles  I  mean  not  pecu- 
liarly an  hereditary  nobility,  or  any  particular  modification,  but  the 
natural  and  actual  aristocracy  among  mankind." 


184  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

JOHN   BROOKS. 

JULY  4,  1787.    FOR  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SOCIETY  OF  CIXCTNNATI. 

Before  the  dissolution  of  the  American  army,  the  officers,  in  their 
cantonments  near  Hudson's  river,  instituted  a  society,  May  10,  1783, 
which,  from  similarity  in  their  situation  to  that  of  the  celebrated 
Roman,  was  to  be  denominated  "The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati."  It 
was  to  be  designated  by  a  medal  of  gold,  representing  the  American 
eagle,  bearing  on  its  breast  the  devices  of  the  order,  which  was  to  be 
suspended  by  a  deep  blue  ribbon,  edged  with  white,  descriptive  of  the 
union  of  America  and  France.  The  immutable  principles  of  the 
society  required  the  members  to  preserve  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
human  nature,  for  which  they  had  fought  and  bled,  and  to  promote 
and  cherish  union  and  honor  between  the  respective  States.  Its  objects 
Avere  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  the  American  Revolution,  as 
well  as  a  cordial  affection  among  the  officers,  and  to  extend  acts  of 
beneficence  to  those  officers  and  their  families  whose  situation  might 
require  assistance.  A  common  fund  was  to  be  created,  by  the  deposit 
of  one  month's  pay  on  the  part  of  every  officer  becoming  a  member. 
This  institution  excited  no  inconsiderable  degree  of  jealousy  and  oppo- 
sition. The  ablest  dissertation  against  it  was  entitled  "Considerations 
on  the  Society  or  Order  of  Cincinnati,"  dated  Charleston,  S.  C,  Oct. 
10,  1783,  and  signed  "  Cassius."  It  was  the  production  of  Acdamus 
Burke,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  South  Carolina, 
who  undertook  to  prove  that  the  Cincinnati  creates  two  distinct  orders 
among  our  people :  a  race  of  hereditary  nobles  founded  on  the  military, 
together  with  the  most  influential  families  and  men  in  the  State, —  and 
the  people,  or  plebeians.  On  about  the  year  1803,  Col.  Humphrey 
wrote,  in  reply,  that  ' '  more  than  twenty  years  have  elapsed,  and  not 
one  fact  has  occurred  to  countenance  these  jealous  insinuations."  This 
institution  is  said  to  have  been  originated  by  Maj.  Gen.  Knox.  Its 
first  president  was  George  Washington,  who  gave  his  signature  at  the 
head  of  the  list  of  members  on  its  establishment.  Gen.  Knox  was 
secretary-general.  The  first  officers  for  the  Massachusetts  branch  of 
that  society  were  as  follows  : 

Maj.  Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln,  Presidoit;  Maj.  Gen.  Henry  Knox, 
Vice  President;  Col.  John  Brooks,  Secretary]  Col.  Henry  Jackson, 
Treasurer ;  Capt.  Benjamin  Haywood,  Assistant  Treasurer. 


JOHN   BROOKS.  185 

The  first  orator  for  this  branch  of  the  institution  was  Hon.  John 
Brooks,  in  1787.  After  1790,  the  dehverj  of  orations  for  tliis  society 
ceased ;  but  annual  meetings,  and  civic  feasts,  with  toasts  and  senti- 
ments, on  the  anniversary  of  independence,  are  to  this  day  perpetuated. 

A  strong  indication  of  the  patriotic  motives  of  this  remnant  of  revo- 
lutionary heroes  is  evident  from  the  eloquent  appeal  of  Gen.  John 
Brooks,  in  this  oration.  "  Considering  the  temper  of  the  times,"  says 
Gen.  Brooks,  "  in  which  you  live,  the  part  you  have  to  act  is  confess- 
edly difficult.  For,  although,  as  a  society,  friendship  and  benevolence 
are  your  great  objects,  yet  apathy  in  you  with  regard  to  the  public 
welfare  would  be  construed  into  disaffection,  and  uncommon  sensibility 
into  design.  It  is  impossible  for  men,  whose  great  ambition  it  has 
been  to  deserve  the  approbation  of  their  fellow-citizens,  to  view  with 
indifference  the  reproach  which  has  been  cast  upon  your  institution. 
But  there  is  a  degree  of  respect  due  from  every  man  to  himself,  as  well 
as  to  others ;  and  there  are  situations  from  which  one  may  not  recede, 
without  the  unavoidable  imputation  of  weakness  or  of  guilt.  While, 
therefore,  a  consciousness  of  virtuous  and  laudable  views  will  prompt 
you  to  cherish  the  benevolent  principles  which  first  induced  you  to 
associate,  you  will  be  led  to  respect  that  spirit  of  jealousy  which 
always  characterizes  a  free  government,  and,  Avhen  not  carried  to 
excess,  is  useful  in  its  support.  Time,  which  places  everything  in  its 
true  light,  will  convince  the  world  that  your  institution  is  founded  in 
virtue,  and  leads  to  patriotism. 

"  Besides  the  motives  you  have,  in  common  with  others,  to  seek  the 
public  welfare,  a  regard  to  the  consistence  of  your  own  character, 
that  sense  of  honor  which  has  raised  you  superior  to  every  temptation 
and  to  every  distress,  the  reiterated  testimonials  you  have  received 
from  your  country  of  their  sense  of  your  patriotism  and  military  merit, 
are  ties  that  must  forever  bind  you  most  sacredly  to  her  interests. 
Prosecute,  then,  with  resolution,  what  you  have  instituted  in  sincerity. 
Make  it  the  great  object  of  your  ambition,  as  you  have  shone  as 
soldiers,  to  excel  as  citizens.  Treat  with  just  indifference  the  insinua- 
tions which  envy  may  be  disposed  to  throw  out  against  you.  Silence 
the  tongue  of  slander,  by  the  rectitude  of  your  conduct  and  the  bril- 
liance of  your  virtues.  Suffer  not  the  affected  jealousy  of  individuals 
to  abate  the  ardor  of  your  patriotism.  As  you  have  fought  for  lib- 
erty, convince  the  world  you  know  its  value.  As  you  have  greatly 
contributed  to  establish  these  governments,  teach  the  licentious  traitor 
16* 


186  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

that  you  will  support  tliem ;  and  as  you  have  particularly  fought  under 
the  banners  of  the  Union,  inculcate,  in  your  several  circles,  the  neces- 
sity of  preserving  the  unity  of  the  national  character.  Fortify  your 
minds  against  that  foe  to  integrity,  that  bane  of  republicanism,  an 
immoderate  thirst  for  popularity."' 

Hon.  John  Brooks  was  born  at  Medford,  June  6,  1752,  and  received 
a  town-school  education.  He  was  an  indented  apprentice  to  Simon 
Tufts,  M.  D.,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  until  he  became  of  age.  He 
early  settled  at  Reading,  in  medical  practice,  and  married  Lucy  Smith, 
an  orphan.  V*''hile  at  Reading,  he  became  captain  of  a  company  of 
minute-men,  and  it  being  at  the  period  when  Boston  was  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  British  troops,  under  pretext  of  going  into  town  for 
medicine  to  be  used  in  his  profession,  he  engaged  a  drill-sergeant  of 
the  regulars  to  secretly  instruct  him  in  the  manual  exercise  ;  and  he 
often  remarked,  it  was  of  this  British  soldier  that  he  acquired  the 
rudiments  of  military  tactics.  He  was  not  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  but  was  engaged  in  other  services  on  that  day  and  night,  at 
Cambridge.  His  daughter  Lucy  was  prematurely  born,  at  Reading, 
on  that  memorable  day ;  and,  being  remarkable  for  active  and  ener- 
getic habits,  her  brother  Alexander  observed  to  her,  one  day,  when  she 
was  bustling  about  the  house,  "  Why,  Lucy,  you  was  born  in  a 
bustle,  and  I  believe  you  will  die  in  a  bustle."  Mr.  Brooks  was 
a  schoolmate  with  the  eminent  Count  Rumford.  Hon.  Loammi 
Baldwin,  of  Woburn,  was  his  early  friend ;  and  each  was  destined 
for  college,  but  neither  of  them  ever  received  a  literary  education, 
being  diverted  from  their  purpose  by  patriotic  ardor.  Capt.,  Brooks 
was  in  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and,  meeting  the  British  force  on 
their  return  from  Concord,  he  ordered  his  men  to  post  themselves 
behind  the  barns  and  fences,  and  fire  incessantly  upon  them.  Col. 
Brooks,  in  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  stormed 
and  carried  the  intrenchments  of  the  German  troops.  In  the  battle 
of  Monmouth,  Brooks  was  acting  adjutant-general.  After  the  battle 
of  Saratoga,  ho  thus  laconically  wrote  to  a  friend:  "We  have  met 
the  British  and  Hessians,  and  have  beat  them;  and,  not  content 
with  this  victory,  we  have  assaulted  their  intrenqhments,  and  carried 
them." 

Col.  Brooks  detected  a  conspiracy  of  officers  at  Newburgh,  early  in 
1783.  He  kept  them  within  quarters,  to  prevent  an  attendance  on 
the  insurgent  meeting.     On  this  occasion,  which  was  probably  the 


JOHN   BROOKS.  187 

most  anxious  period  in  the  career  of  Washington,  -who  rode  up  to  him 
for  counsel  on  this  point,  Brooks  said,  "Sir,  I  have  anticipated  your 
wishes,  and  my  orders  are  given."  Washington,  -with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
extended  to  him  his  hand,  and  said,  "  Col.  Brooks,  this  is  just  -what 
I  expected  from  you."  What  a  scene  for  an  artist !  In  1780,  Col. 
Brooks  delivered  a  Masonic  oration  at  West  Point,  in  the  presence  of 
the  noble  Washington.  He  was  commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Hon- 
orable Artillery  Company  in  1786,  and  major-general  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts troops  in  Shays'  insurrection.  In  1788  he  was  a  member  of 
the  State  convention  for  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution. 
Was  president  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.  In  1795  Gen. 
Brooks  published  an  oration  for  the  Massachusetts  Humane  Society. 
In  1800  he  published  a  eulogy  on  Washington,  delivered  at  Medford. 
He  had,  previous  to  this  period,  been  appointed  a  U.  S.  marshal, 
and  supervisor  of  the  direct  tax.  He  was  vice-president  of  the  first 
temperance  society  in  New  England,  on  its  institution,  in  1813.  He 
was  the  State  adjutant-general  under  Caleb  Strong,  and  Governor 
of  the  State  from  1816  to  1823.  We  well  remember  the  beautiful 
scene  of  August  25,  1824,  when  Lafayette  stood  on  the  balcony  of  the 
mansion-house  at  the  head  of  Park-street,  attended  by  Gov.  Eustis  on 
the  right,  and  his  immediate  predecessor,  Gov.  Brooks,  on  the  left  side 
of  him,  each  in  full  military  dress  amid  the  cheerings  of  the  gathered 
multitude,  and  the  escort  of  the  Boston  regiment,  on  retiring  to 
their  quarters.  When  Lafayette  visited  liis  old  companion-in-arms, 
during  this  month,  one  of  the  arches  displayed,  on  his  entrance  into 
Medford,  this  inscription,  "  Welcome  to  our  Hills  and  Brooks." 
Gov.  Brooks  died  at  Medford,  March  1,  1825. 

Lieut.  John,  a  son  of  Gov.  Brooks,  of  youthful  beauty  and  generous 
enterprise,  fell  in  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  September  10,  1813,  on 
board  Perry's  flag-ship  LaAvrence.  Alexander  S.,  his  other  son,  en- 
tered the  U.  S.  army.     Lucy  married  Rev.  Geo.  0.  Stuart,  of  Canada. 

"In  the  character  of  this  estimable  man,"  remarks  his  pastor, 
Andrew  Bigelow,  D.  D.,  "there  was  a  junction  of  qualities  equally 
great  and  good.  Great  qualities  he  certainly  possessed.  The  faculties 
of  his  mind,  naturally  of  no  inferior  order,  had  been  unusually  strength- 
ened by  culture  and  exercise.  Separately,  they  were  all  entitled  to 
respect  on  the  score  of  power ;  and,  had  the  entire  assemblage  centred 
in  some  one  not  endued  with  his  genuine  goodness  of  heart,  or  in 
"whose  breast  a  baleful  ambition  reigned,  they  would   have  clearly 


188  THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON   ORATORS. 

proved  the  possessor  to  be  a  talented  man,  in  the  popular  sense  of  the 
phrase.  In  the  case  supposed,  they  -would  have  stood  all  naked  and 
open,  and  have  glared  upon  human  observation."  The  best  memoir 
of  John  Brooks  extant  is  that  written  by  his  pastor. 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS. 

JULY  4,  1788.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIIS. 

In  this  spirited  and  elegant  oration  of  Mr.  Otis,  it  is  remarked : 
"  A  review  of  the  history  of  the  North  American  settlements  exhibits 
an  early  and  almost- a  continual  struggle  between  tyranny  and  avarice 
upon  one  side,  and  an  ardent  sense  of  native  liberty  upon  the  other. 
Those  are  mistaken  who  think  that  the  original  source  of  oppression 
may  be  traced  in  the  ordinance  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  first  colonial 
institution  established  in  Virginia  was  subjected  to  an  arbitrary 
council,  dependent  upon  the  capricious  pleasure  of  a  king.  Patience 
and  enterprise  at  length  had  discovered  to  the  inhabitants  a  staple 
production  at  that  period  peculiar  to  the  colony,  when  the  harsh  man- 
date of  a  tyrant  foe  had  the  cultivation  of  it,  and  condemned  commerce 
to  defile  her  infant  hands  in  the  fruitless,  ignoble  drudgery  of  seai'ching 
after  mines.  In  other  southern  colonies,  instances  are  not  wanting 
of  inquisitorial  writs  and  of  violated  charters. 

"  It  must,  however,  be  allowed,  that,  sheltered  by  the  canopies  of 
their  paramounts,  they  Avere  in  general  less  exposed  than  their  sister 
provinces  to  the  scorching  rays  of  supreme  majesty.  Advancing  into 
New  England,  the  system  of  oppression  becomes  more  uniform,  and 
the  resistance  consequently  more  conspicuous.  No  affluent  proprie- 
tary appeared  to  protect  our  hardy  ancestors.  The  immeasurable  wild 
had  yielded  to  their  industry  a  vacancy  barely  sufiicient  for  their 
household  gods.  At  the  same  moment,  the  pestilential  breath  of  a 
despot  blew  into  their  country  a  swarm  of  locusts,  commissioned  to 
corrode  their  liberties  to  the  root.  Even  in  those  early  times,  not 
only  the  freedom,  but  the  use  of  the  press,  was  prohibited ;  new  taxes 
were  imposed ;  old  charters  were  abrogated ;  citizens  were  impressed. 


HAKRISON   GRAY  OTIS.  189 

The  crown  of  England  restrained  emigrations  from  that  country,  dis- 
couraged population  upon  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  confiscated  estates, 
suppressed  the  habitual  modes  of  public  worship,  and  precluded  the 
wretched  privilege  of  complaint.  Oppressed  in  a  manner  so  irritating, 
so  unworthy,  how  did  our  forefathers  sustain  these  accumulated  mis- 
eries 7  Did  they  crouch,  dismayed,  beneath  the  iron  sceptre  1  Did 
they  commit  treason  against  themselves,  by  alienating  the  dearest  pre- 
rogatives of  humanity  ?  No ;  we  find  them  persevering  in  decent, 
pathetic  remonstrances,  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  First,  refusing  to 
surrender  their  patent  to  Cromwell,  and  exhibiting  a  bill  of  rights  at 
the  time  of  the  restoration.  After  the  aljiiication  of  James,  the  tri- 
umph of  liberty  in  Britain  became  complete.  Ministers  naturally 
grew  fearful  lest  her  pervading  influence  should  extend  to  the  colonies ; 
and  from  the  era  of  the  Revolution  until  the  gloomy  hour  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  the  plan  of  our  slavery  was  always  resumed  in  the  inter- 
vals of  domestic  peace.  AiFairs  now  assumed  a  more  serious  aspect. 
The  minds  of  men  became  vehemently  agitated ;  and,  after  a  sad  vari- 
ety of  disappointment,  the  citizens  of  these  provinces  were  compelled 
to  draw  their  swords,  and  to  appeal  to  the  God  of  armies.  What,  then, 
may  we  hence  infer,  were  the  principles  which  actuated  the  high-spir- 
ited Americans, placed  in  a  situation  so  critical  and  disastrous?  They 
were  elevated,  patriotic,  godlike.  They  induced  a  voluntary  sacrifice 
of  ease  and  fortune,  a  contempt  for  danger,  and  inspired  confidence  in 
leaders  chosen  by  themselves.  What  were  the  manners  1  These  con- 
sisted in  honor,  temperance,  fortitude,  rehgion.  What  were  the  feel- 
ings ?  These,  no  power  of  language  can  describe.  Had  they  still 
continued  to  animate  our  bosoms,  they  might  have  supplied  the  want 
of  a  new  government,  which  now  alone  can  save  us  from  perdition."' 

Harrison  Gray  Otis  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Alleyne  Otis,  a  native  of 
Barnstable,  Avho  married  Elizabeth,  the  only  daughter  of  Harrison 
Gray,  Receiver-general  of  this  province ;  and  second  to  Mary,  the  widow 
of  Edward  Gray,  Esq.,  and  daughter  of  Isaac  Smith.  His  father  was 
early  in  mercantile  life,  settled  in  Boston,  and  was  active  in  the  cause 
of  liberty,  but  was  too  youthful  to  become  eminent  in  the  Revolution, 
like  his  brother  James,  the  great  advocate.  He  was,  however,  a  rep- 
resentative from  Boston  in  1776,  and  member  of  the  State  convention 
of  1780.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  War,  and  Speaker  of  the 
House,  1784.  In  1787  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners 
to  negotiate  regarding  Shays'  insurrection.     He  was  elected  a  member 


190  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  Congress  in  1788,  and  after  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitu- 
tion was  chosen  Secretary  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  -which 
he  filled  with  scrupulous  fidelity,  blandness  and  courtesy, —  without, 
it  is  said,  being  absent  from  his  post  a  single  day  during  a  period  of 
thirty  years,  and  till  his  decease,  amid  the  collision  of  party  strife,  to 
the  approbation  of  all  parties.  He  died  at  "Washington,  April  22, 
1814,  aged  73. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  article  —  Harrison  Gray.  Esq. 
—  adhered  to  the  royal  cause,  and  removed  from  Boston,  March  17, 
1776,  with  the  British  troops,  on  their  evacuation.  John  Adams  once 
impulsively  said  of  HarrJion  Gray,  that  he  has  a  very  tender  mind, 
and  is  extremely  timid.  He  says,  "When  he  meets  a  man  of  the  other 
side,  he  talks  against  him;  when  he  meets  a  man  of  our  side,  he 
opposes  him,  —  so  that  he  fears  he  shall  be  thought  against  everybody, 
and  so  everybody  will  be  against  him."  And  at  another  time,  Mr.  Adams 
remarked :  "I  went  in  to  take  a  pipe  with  brother  Cranch,  and  there 
I  found  Zab  Adams.  He  told  me  he  heard  that  I  had  made  two  very 
powerful  enemies  in  this  town,  and  lost  two  very  valuable  clients  — 
Treasurer  Gray  and  Ezekiel  Goldthwaite ;  and  that  he  heard  that 
Gray  had  been  to  me  for  my  account,  and  paid  it  off,  and  determined  to 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  me.  0,  the  wretched,  impotent  malice  ! 
They  show  their  teeth, —  they  are  eager  to  bite, —  but  they  have  not 
strength.  I  despise  their  anger,  their  resentment,  and  their  threats ; 
but  I  can  tell  Mr.  Treasurer  that  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  tell  the 
world  a  tale  which  will  infallibly  unhorse  him,  whether  I  am  in  the 
house  or  out.  If  this  province  knew  that  the  public  money  had  never 
been  counted  these  twenty  years,  and  that  no  bonds  were  given  last 
year,  nor  for  several  years  before,  there  would  be  so  much  uneasiness 
about  it  that  INIr.  Treasurer  Gray  would  lose  his  election  another  year." 
And  Trumbull,  in  JNIcFingal,  satirically  says  : 

"  What  Puritan  could  ever  pray 
In  godlier  tone  than  Treasurer  Gray  ? 
Or  at  town-meetings,  speechifying, 
Could  utter  more  melodious  whine. 
And  shut  his  eyes,  and  vent  his  moan, 
Like  owl  afiiicted  in  the  sun  ?  " 

Bold  imputations  having  been  declared  that  Treasurer  Gray  had 
appropriated  funds  of  this  province  to  private  purposes,  the  grand- 
son prepared  a  clear  refutation  of  the  unjust  accusation,  from  which  we 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  191 

select  a  portion.  It  may  be  found  entire  in  Russell's  Centinel,  June, 
1830.  Alluding  to  grandfather  Gray,  Mr.  Otis  says :  "  I  was  indeed 
only  nine  years  old  when  I  last  saw  him,  but  my  recollections  of  him 
and  of  the  circumstances  of  his  exile  are  associated  with  the  most  vivid 
and  affectionate  impressions  of  that  tender  age.  My  paternal  ances- 
tors were,  in  the  phrase  of  the  day,  high  Whigs.  My  paternal  grand- 
father was  president  of  the  council  held  in  1774,  immediately  after 
the  dissolution  de  facto  of  the  regular  government,  by  Gage  ;  and  in 
the  years  next  following  the  departure  of  the  British  from  Boston,  my 
uncles  and  father  were,  some  of  them,  in  the  General  Court,  and  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  public  transactions  of  the  times.  In  1775, 
my  father,  with  his  wife,  the  treasurer's  only  daughter  and  children, 
took  refuge  in  my  paternal  grandfather's  mansion  in  the  country.  In 
177G,  immediately  after  the  evacuation,  we  returned  to  Boston.  Though 
the  opposite  political  attitudes  of  the  two  families  never  interrupted  for 
a  moment  the  tender  attachment  of  my  parents  for  each,  other,  yet  the 
separation  of  my  father  from  her  father,  whose  darling  child  she  was, 
preyed  upon  her  peace  of  mind,  and  finally  destroyed  her  health.  Thus 
it  may  well  be  conceived  that  the  public  relation  and  affairs  of  Treas- 
urer Gray,  from  November,  1774,  when  the  people  took  the  reins  of 
government  into  their  own  hands, —  my  paternal  grandfather  then  being, 
in  fact,  the  presiding  officer, —  to  the  time  of  his  leaving  the  country, 
and  that  his  departure  itself  and  the  circumstances  attending  it,  were 
themes  of  constant  discussion  and  intense  interest  in  the  family  circle, 
in  my  hearing ;  and  that,  had  any  suspicion,  hint  or  accusation,  of 
his  carrying  away  the  public  money,  prevailed  among  the  ruling  party, 
they  could  not  have  been  hidden  or  forgotten  by  me.  Two  years  after 
this  time,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  I  began  a  correspondence  with  the 
treasurer.  After  the  peace,  and  before  I  was  of  age,  he  employed  me 
in  attempting  to  save  and  convey  to  him  something  from  the  wreck  of 
his  fortune.  In  1794,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  this  excellent 
and  virtuous  man  sunk  to  rest.  Yet,  through  the  long  period  of  eighteen 
years  of  constant  correspondence  Avith  him,  and  the  longer  time  of 
six-and-thirty  years,  during  which  his  bones  have  been  mouldering  in 
the  grave,  I  solemnly  declare  that  I  never  heard  of  the  suggestion  of 
any  defalcation  of  the  public  money  by  him,  or  of  any  offence  commit- 
ted against  his  country,  but  his  acceptance  of  the  mandamus  commis- 
sion. But  I  well  remember  the  constant  exultation  of  my  mother,  in 
the  midst  of  her  troubles,  that  '  his  enemies  could  say  nothing  against 


192  '  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

him.'  This  negative  testimony  should  suffice  to  put  down  the  idle  and 
unsupported  fabrication."  Mr.  Otis,  after  going  into  a  detail  unequiv- 
ocally proving  the  financial  honor  of  his  maternal  grandfather,  thu8 
eloquently  remarks  :  "I have  never,  to  the  best  of  my* remembrance, 
written  a  line  in  vindication  of  my  own  pubhc  character,  though  for 
years  together  I  have  been  doomed  to  run  the  gauntlet  through  rank 
and  file  of  my  political  opponents.  But  I  have  now  no  choice.  Some 
old  resurrectionist,  in  fumbhng  over  the  tomb  of  a  relative  recently 
deceased,  disturbs  the  ashes  of  another  long  since  dead.  It  is  my  duty 
to  protect  them.  They  are  the  sacred  relics  of  my  earliest  friend  and 
benefactor,  whose  name  I  bear,  whose  blood  is  in  my  veins,  and  whose 
exile  I  was  taught  to  regard  as  the  heaviest  calamity  that  befell  my 
childhood  and  youth.  He  atoned  for  a  solitary  pohtical  error  of  judg- 
ment by  sacrificing  fortune  to  principle,  and  left  instead  of  it  the  leg- 
acy only  of  a  good  name.  An  attempt  is  now  made  to  conjure  up  a 
mist  of  slander  or  suspicion  over  his  antiquated  tomb.  To  the  name 
of  the  dark  magician  I  have  no  clue.  He  calls  himself  Senex,  and 
deals  in  the  gossip  by  which  '  narrative  old  age '  betrays  its  approxima- 
tion to  dotage.  I  hope  the  exceeding  absurdity  of  the  statement  into 
which  he  has  been  led  will  naturally  restrain  him  hereafter, — the  pro- 
pensity natural  to  old  folks  of  prating  about  sixty  years'  since, — and 
that  he  will  remember,  when  they  grow  anecdotical,  they  become 
obnoxious  to  the  character  once  given  by  a  lady  to  an  old  busy-body, 
who,  inquiring  what  the  world  thought  of  liim,  was  answered,  'All  the 
women  think  you  an  old  man,  and  all  the  men  consider  you  an  old 
woman.'  " 

Harrison  Gray,  in  a  letter  to  Rev.  Mr.  Montague,  of  Christ  Church, 
Boston,  dated  London,  Aug.  1,  1791,  remarks  to  him,  in  a  spirit  of 
loyalty  to  the  crown  of  Britain,  as  follows  :  "  The  melancholy  state  in 
wliich  you  represent  religion  to  be  in  Boston  and  New  England  is  con- 
firmed by  all  who  come  from  thence.  Is  this  one  of  the  blessings  of 
your  independence,  to  obtain  which  you  sacrificed  so  many  lives  7  I 
am  glad  that  your  federal  constitution  '  has  had  a  very  great  and  good 
efiect,'  but  very  much  question  whether  you  will  ever  be  so  happy  as 
you  were  under  the  mild  and  gentle  government  and  protection  of  Great 
Britain ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  freedom  my  countrymen  boast  of,  if, 
in  order  to  obtain  it,  they  have  sacrificed  their  religion,  they  have  made 
a  poor  bargain.  They  cannot,  in  a  rehgious  sense,  be  called  a  firee 
people,  till  the  Son  of  God  has  made  them  free. 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  193 

*•'  It  is  very  surprising,  considering  the  establishment  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  at  Quebec  was  one  of  the  heavy  grievances  the  Amer- 
ican Congress  complained  of,  that  your  governor  and  other  great  men 
in  your  town  should  attend  the  worship  of  God  in  a  Roman  Catholic 
church,  to  hear  a  Romish  bishop,  on  a  Sunday ;  and  that  he  should  be 
one  of  the  chaplains  who  officiated  at  a  public  dinner !  I  cannot,  at 
present,  account  for  their  inconsistency  any  otherwise  than  by  supposing 
the  part  they  took  in  the  late  unhappy  contest  lays  so  heavy  upon  their 
consciences  that  they  imagine  no  one  can  absolutely  absolve  them  but 
a  Romish  priest." 

Harrison  Gray  Otis  was  born  in  Boston,  Oct.  8,  1765,  on  the  estate 
adjoining  the  Revere  House,  and  next  that  of  the  late  Capt.  Jonathan 
Chapman.  He  remembered  standing  at  the  window  of  his  birth-place, 
to  see  the  British  regulars,  when  on  the  march  to  Lexington.  He 
entered  the  public  Latin  School  in  1773.  The  youthful  days  of  Mr. 
Otis,  at  this  period,  are  narrated  by  himself,  in  his  speech  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  Otis  School,  on  Lancaster-street,  March  13,  1845 ;  and 
this  was  his  last  public  address.  Mr.  Otis  said  that  nothing  was  more 
remote  from  his  mind  than  the  idea  of  making  an  address  upon  a  sub- 
ject of  such  importance  as  education.  The  day  for  making  addresses 
had  long  since  passed  with  him.  Old  men  should  know  when  to 
retire.  They  should  not,  like  old  ladies,  appear  in  public  bedizened 
with  the  ornaments  of  youth.  He  was  not  competent  to  make  one 
now,  but  he  could  do  what  all  old  men  could, —  tell  a  story  about  him-' 
self  As  the  school  had  been  named  after  him,  he  was  vain  enough  to 
suppose  that  some  of  the  pupils  would  be  interested  in  hearing  some- 
thing that  related  to  his  school-boy  days.  He  was  a  Boston  boy,  and 
he  had  received  all  his  education  at  the  public  schools  after  he  was 
seven  years  old.  He  cherished  a  great  affection  for  those  days,  and  he 
thought  with  pleasure  on  the  memory  of  his  schoolmasters,  with  whom 
he  had  always  been  on  good  terms,  excepting  an  occasional  flogging. 
The  first  school  he  went  to  was  a  quasi  public  school.  It  was  kept  by 
Master  Griffith,  in  Hanover-street.  His  friend.  Deacon  Grant,  who 
was  near  him,  knew  exactly  where  it  was.  Master  Griffith  was  a 
worthy  old  creature,  and  had  some  pretensions  to  facetiousness.  His 
ideas,  as  to  rewards,  were  a  little  peculiar.  Every  Wednesday  after- 
noon, the  boys  who  had  demeaned  themselves  with  propriety  expected 
to  receive  a  prize,  which  expectation  was  not  disappointed.  But  what 
did  they  think  it  was  7  Shcllbarks,  thrown  out  of  the  window,  for 
17 


194  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

■which  the  boys  scrambled  !  He  then  went  to  the  Latin  School,  which 
was  in  School-street.  The  master,  Mr.  Lovell,  was  a  worthy  old  gen- 
tleman ;  but  there  had  been  a  sort  of  rivalry  between  the  Latin  and 
the  writing  schools,  which  was  the  cause  of  several  curious  doggerel 
effusions  on  the  part  of  the  boys,  some  extracts  of  which  were  repeated 
by  Mr.  Otis  with  humorous  effect. 

Forty  years  ago,  continued  Mr.  Otis,  the  place  where  this  school  was 
built  was  a  mill-pond.  The  tide  flowed  into  it  to  the  depth  of  ten  or 
twelve  feet.  There  was  then  no  expectation  that  a  school-house  would 
ever  be  erected  on  this  spot.  There  were  '•  schools"  of  fishes  here, 
but  there  was  no  schoolmaster,  except  the  successor  of  St.  Anthony, 
who,  it  was  said,  could  preach  to  the  fishes.  Mr.  Otis  said  he  was 
entirely  inadequate  to  describe  the  great  advantages  which  the  children 
of  the  present  day  had  over  the  boys  and  girls  of  his  time.  "What  did 
they  learn  then  1  A  few  Latin  roots  to  squeeze  them  into  college,  and 
mere  ciphering.  They  had  then  none  of  those  advantages  which  he 
now  saw.  There  was  not  then  that  group  of  learned  teachers,  who  were 
deserving  of  the  thanks  of  the  country.  He  spoke  with  great  venera- 
tion of  those  who  had  lived  in  his  time ;  but  he  did  not  think  it  was 
any  disparagement  to  their  memory  to  say  that  they  were  not  to  be 
compared  to  the  instructors  of  the  present  day.  He  commended  them 
to  their  teachers,  and  their  teachers  to  them ;  and  he  prayed  them  to  be 
satisfied  of  the  great  advantages  which  they  enjoyed,  and  to  improve 
the  opportunity  which  was  afforded  to  them  of  becoming  good  and 
enlightened  citizens.  He  hoped  that,  as  the  school  had  been  called 
after  him,  they  would  remember  him  in  their  good  will ;  and  he  more 
affectionately  and  fervently  commended  them  —  teachers  and  pupils  — 
to  the  care  and  protection  of  their  Maker. 

In  connection  with  this  period  in  the  youth  of  Otis,  we  have  a  rem- 
iniscence, finely  woven  in  his  own  charming  language.  "  Barnstable," 
says  he,  "  was  not  only  the  place  of  the  birth  and  residence  of  my 
immediate  ancestors  for  four  generations,  but  it  afforded  to  my  child- 
hood an  asylum  from  the  storms  of  war,  and  a  retreat  for  my  peaceful 
studies,  during  the  siege  of  Boston.  I  had  been  there  but  a  few  weeks 
before  the  news  arrived  of  the  conflagration  of  Charlestown.  This 
came  to  us  not  in  the  shape  Avhich  it  has  since  assumed,  of  a  real  vic- 
tory, though  nominal  defeat ;  but  with  the  unmitigated  horrors  of  con- 
flagration and  massacre,  and  as  a  specimen  of  the  mode  in  which  oui* 
peaceful  villages  were  intended  to  be  swept  with  the  fire  and  sword. 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  195 

"  I  was  placed  at  school,"  continues  Mr.  Otis,  "  -with  the  admirable 
pastor,  Mr.  Hilhard,  of  the  east  parish,  where  I  passed  mj  time  from 
Mondays  to  Saturdays.  On  the  last  day  of  the  week,  I  was  sent  for 
and  conveyed  to  the  patriarchal  mansion,  and  attended  on  Sundays  the 
religious  instructions  of  the  pious  and  venerable  Mr.  Shaw.  In  these 
weekly  journeyings,  I  became  familiar  with  the  location  of  every  house 
and  building  between  my  points  of  departure,  and  with  the  younger 
inmates  of  many  of  them ;  and  I  feel  as  if  I  could  jot  doAvn  the  principal 
part  of  them  upon  a  plan  of  the  road.  Barnstable  was  not  only  the 
scene  of  my  earliest  friendship,  but  of  my  first  love.  I  became  enam- 
ored of  a  very  charming  young  person,  nearly  of  my  own  age,—  but 
the  course  of  this  love  did  not  run  smoothly.  In  an  innocent  ramble 
over  the  fields  and  hedges  with  her  and  other  young  persons,  she  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  a  necklace  of  genuine  gold  beads  :  the  fault  Avas 
neither  hers  nor  mine,  but  of  the  string  on  which  they  were  threaded  ; 
but  s,till,  as  real  mint-drops  were  in  that  day  very  valuable,  and  treasury- 
notes  greatly  on  the  decline,  the  circumstance  brought  me  into  some 
discredit  with  the  family,  as  accessory  to  a  loss  which  impaired  the 
faculty  of  resuming  specie  payments  when  the  time  should  arrive,  and 
resulted  in  a  future  non-intercourse."  The  mother  of  young  Otis,  in 
a  letter  to  her  father,  while  in  this  seclusion,  speaking  of  him,  says, 
"  I  shall  enclose  you  a  letter  from  Harry,  of  his  own  writing  and  indit- 
ing, which  will  enable  you  to  form  some  judgment  of  his  genius,  which, 
his  tutor  tells  me,  is  very  uncommon." 

Young  Otis  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1783,  when  but 
eighteen  years  of  age,  receiving  the  highest  honors  of  a  class  among 
whom  were  William  Prescott,  Artemas  Ward,  and  Ambrose  Spencer. 
At  that  period,  his  young  friends  warmly  conceded  that  the  mantle 
of  his  eloquent  uncle,  James  Otis,  had  encircled  him,  for  he  was 
greatly  admired  for  brilliant  and  graceful  oratory : 

" Otis  rises  like  a  vernal  morn, 

Clear,  brilliant,  sweet,  in  nature's  gifts  arrayed. 
Where  not  a  cloud  obtrudes  its  devious  shade." 

Here  we  will  again  recur  to  the  sprightly  and  delightful  remembrance 
of  Mr.  Otis  in  relation  to  this  period,  contained  in  his  letter  read  at 
the  centennial  celebration  of  Harvard  University,  Sept.  8,  183C.  "  It 
is  now  fifty-throe  years  since  I  first  received  the  honors  of  the  tmiver- 
sity.     The  surviving  number  of  my  fellow-classmates  is  very  small. 


196  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

To  those  of  us  -who  are  present  —  '  remnant  of  ourselves '  —  these 
years  probably  appear  like  the  '  tale  that  is  told.'  My  own  career, 
through  the  long  period,  seems,  in  the  retrospect,  like  a  rapid  journey 
through  a  path  beset  with  flowers  and  thorns  ;  —  the  wounds  received 
from  the  latter  remaining,  while  the  color  and  fragi-ance  of  the  former 
are  gone  forever.  In  the  year  in  which  I  was  graduated,  the  com- 
mencement was  preceded  by  the  acknowledgment  of  independence  and 
the  treaty  of  peace,  and  the  English  oration  was  assigned  to  me.  You 
will  naturally  presume  that  the  event,  adapted  to  enkindle  enthusiasm 
in  an  orator  of  the  gravest  character  and  age,  would  stimulate  the  fervid 
imagination  of  eighteen  to  paint  in  somewhat  gorgeous  colors  the  pros- 
pects unfolded  to  our  country  by  this  achievement  of  its  liberties,  and 
its  probable  effect  upon  the  destinies  of  other  nations.  I  remember 
that  I  did  so,  and  indulged  the  impulse  of  a  sanguine  temperament  in 
building  what  doubtless  seemed  to  others,  and  perhaps  to  myself, 
castles  in  the  air.  But,  had  it  been  in  my  imagination  to  conceive, 
and  in  my  power  to  describe,  what  we  now  know  to  be  a  reahty,  I 
should  have  been  considered  as  ballooning  in  the  regions  of  bombast, 
and  appeared  ridiculously  aiming  to  be  subhme." 

Mr.  Otis,  in  the  same  admirable  epistle,  of  which  we  cite  only  a  part, 
makes  very  shrewd  remarks  on  the  great  topic  of  education.  "It  is 
of  incomparably  less  moment,"  says  he,  "that  a  few  persons  should 
wear  the  gown  of  the  scholar,  than  that  the  great  body  of  the  commu- 
nity should  be  clad  in  the  costume  of  fixed  principles.  But  one  cannot 
flourish  without  the  other.  Unless  a  due  proportion  of  the  people  be 
educated  in  universities  and  colleges,  learning  must  nin  wild.  There 
might  be  plenty  of  itinerant  orators  and  preachers  to  the  dear  people, 
and  of  political  sportsmen  to  set  man-traps  for  straggling  patriots.  It 
is  vain  to  say  'the  schoolmaster  is  abroad,'  unless  he  is  qualified  for 
his  vocation.  "Wlien  the  schoolmaster  has  been  educated  at  a  uni- 
versity, or  has  otherwise,  by  means  of  instruction  from  scholars,  become 
fit  for  the  calling,  then,  indeed,  he  goes  abroad  a  most  respectable  and 
interesting  member  of  an  honorable  profession,  implanting  the  seeds  of 
religion  and  of  morality,  private  and  public,  wherever  he  goes.  With- 
out these,  he  travels,  like  a  pedler,  with  bundles  of  trashy  pamphlets 
and  orations  on  his  back,  scattering  his  miserable  wares  through  all  the 
cottages  and  workshops  and  kitchens  in  the  country,  defrauding  the 
humble  purchasers.  It  is  from  the  colleges  that  the  wants  of  the 
legislatures,  the  pulpits,  the  courts  and  the  school,  can  be  most  effectu- 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  197 

ally  supplied.  They  are  the  mints  in  ^vhich  the  genuine  bullion  is 
kept,  and  the  pure  coin  stamped.  The  pulpit,  the  press  and  the  school, 
are  the  banks  of  deposit,  whence  it  is  circulated ;  and,  without  fre- 
quent recurrence  to  the  standards  kept  in  the  mints,  they  will  put  in 
circulation  base  coin  and  rag  money,  to  the  confusion  and  destruction 
of  the  sound  currency.  Let  us  cultivate  and  adhere  to  the  principles 
taught  here,  and  not  trust  to  the  promises  of  the  conductors  on  the 
modern  intellectual  railroad,  to  grade  and  level  the  hills  of  science, 
and  to  take  us  along  at  rates  that  will  turn  our  heads  and  break  our 
bones.  Let  us  eschew  the  vagaries  and  notions  of  the  new  schools, 
and  let  each  of  us  be  reminded  of  a  quotation  which  Burke  did  not 
think  unworthy  of  him,  and  be  ready  to  say, 

'  What  though  the  flattering  tapster  Thomas 
Hangs  his  new  angel  two  doors  from  us, 
As  fine  as  painter's  daub  can  make  it, 
Thinking  some  traveller  may  mistake  it  ? 
I  hold  it  both  a  shame  and  sin 
To  quit  the  good  old  Angel  Inn.'  " 

On  the  year  previous  to  graduating  at  college,  Mr.  Otis  had  an 
impressive  interview  with  his  noble  uncle,  the  great  advocate  ;  and  as 
it  was  the  last  period  of  intercourse  with  him,  we  will  quote  his  OAvn 
words:  "I  brought  James  Otis  in  a  gig  from  Andover  to  Boston,  in 
the  year  1782,  at  a  period  when  my  father  and  his  friends  thought  he 
was  recovered.  Nothing  could  be  more  delightfully  instructive  than 
his  conversation  on  the  journey,  but  it  was  in  reference  chiefly  to  the 
study  of  my  profession,  which  it  was  intended  I  should  pursue  under 
his  patronage.  But  I  went  back  to  college.  He  remained  at  home 
for  a  few  weeks,  and  was  induced  to  go  into  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  where,  it  is  said,  he  displayed  great  powers  in  a  very  pathetic 
case,  but,  as  I  have  learnt  from  those  who  heard  him,  he  appeared  a  sun 
shorn  of  his  beams.  His  house,  however,  became  the  resort  of  much 
company,  calling  to  visit  and  converse  with  him.  Gov.  Hancock  was 
particularly  attentive,  and  forced  him  to  dine  with  him  in  a  very  large 
party.  He  was  observed,  before  this  time,  to  become  thoughtful  and 
sad,  lying  in  bed  until  a  very  late  hour ;  but  immediately  after  the  dinner 
there  was  a  visible  oscillation  of  his  intellect.  He  was  overwhelmed  by 
the  recollection  of  past  days,  impressed,  probably,  with  greater  force  by 
the  presence  of  Hancock  and  others  of  the  convives^  by  the  scene  alto- 
17* 


198  the'  hundked  boston  orators. 

gether.  There  was,  however,  no  frenzy.  A  hint  was  given  him,  by 
my  father,  that  he  had  better  return  to  Andover  ;  and  he  went  hke  a 
lamb,  where  in  a  very  short  period  he  was  struck  with  hghtning." 

This  statement  imphes  that  this  was  the  last  time  of  his  visit  to 
Boston.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  his  uncle  was  moderator  of  a  town- 
meeting,  in  March,  1783.  Perhaps  Mr.  Otis  mistook  the  date  of 
conveying  him  from  Andover. 

The  profession  of  law  was  the  pursuit  of  his  choice  while  at  college, 
and  he  long  anticipated  the  privilege  of  entering  Temple  Inns,  London ; 
but  the  confiscation  of  his  grandfather  Gray's  estate,  and  the  derange- 
ment of  his  father's  pecuniary  aifairs,  consequent  on  the  Revolution, 
crushed  that  hope.  He,  however,  prepared  himself  for  the  profession 
under  the  guidance  of  Judge  John  Lowell,  the  jurist  and  patriot.  He 
pursued  his  studies  with  an  intensity  of  application  unsurpassed  by 
any  young  student  in  the  courts  of  SuJSblk,  being  well  apprized  of  the 
opinions  of  his  uncle  James,  who  said  once,  in  relation  to  his  father, 
when  he  had  it  in  view  to  study  law,  "  I  hold  it  to  be  of  vast  import- 
ance that  a  young  man  should  be  able  to  make  some  eclat  at  his 
opening.  It  has  been  observed,  before  I  was  born,  if  a  man  don't 
obtain  a  character  in  any  profession  soon  after  his  first  appearance, 
he  hardly  ever  will  obtain  one."  We  will  i:elate  a  remarkable  fact  in 
relation  to  his  devotion  to  study.  Mr.  Bussey,  afterwards  an  eminent 
merchant,  who  was  accustomed  to  rise  early  to  go  to  his  store,  often 
noticed,  in  passing  Judge  Lowell's  ofiice,  a  pair  of  shoes  posted  at  the 
window,  and  soon  discovered  that  a  young  man  was  engaged  there  in 
close  study.  Feeling  curiosity  to  know  whether  he  was  engaged  there 
all  night,  Mr.  Bussey  arose  one  morning  before  daybreak,  and,  as  he 
passed,  he  saw  the  shoes  were  on  the  window.  He  then  ventured 
to  inquire  of  the  young  law-student  if  he  engaged  there  all  night  in 
study.  On  which  Mr.  Otis  replied  that  early  study  in  the  morning 
was  his  decided  choice. 

'•  On  leaving  college,  in  1783,"  relates  Mr.  Otis,  "  I  entered  Mr. 
Lowell's  office  as  a  pupil,  and  in  the  following  autumn  was  graciously 
invited  by  him,  and  permitted  by  my  father,  to  accompany  him,  Dr. 
Lloyd,  and  !Mr.  Adam  Babcock,  in  a  journey  to  Philadelphia.  This 
afibrded  me  a  better  opportunity  of  seeing  him  in  hours  of  unguarded 
relaxation  from  the  cares  of  business  than  afterwards  occurred.  The 
whole  journey  was  a  continued  scene  of  pleasant  and  instructive  con- 
versation, and  on  his  part  of  kind  and  condescending  manners,  spark- 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  199 

ling  anecdotes,  and  poetical  quotations.  We  came  to  New  York 
before  the  evacuation  bj  the  British  army  Avas  consummated. 
There  Mr.  Lowell  found  Col.  Upham,  aid  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  and 
Mr.  Ward  Chipman,  judge-advocate,  as  I  recollect,  of  the  British 
army,  —  both  old  acquaintances  and  early  companions.  Their  inter- 
view, after  eight  years'  separation  and  various  fortunes,  was  most 
cordial.  They  introduced  Mr.  Lowell  to  Sir  Guy,  with  whom  he  and 
my  other  fellow-travellers  dined,  with  a  large  and  splendid  party  of 
military  and  civilians,  into  which  they  had  me  worked,  as  an  attache 
to  the  Boston  delegation  ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  as  brilliant  as  Alexan- 
der's feast.  While  in  New  York,  Mr.  Lowell  received  the  hospitality 
and  attentions  of  the  distinguished  citizens  who  had  begun  to  return 
from  exile.  In  Philadelphia,  among  others,  he  was  waited  upon  by 
Mr.  Robert  Morris,  who  Avas  still  in  his  glory,  and  regarded  in  public 
estimation  next  to  Washington,  as  the  man  on  whose  financial  exer- 
tions had  depended  the  success  of  the  Revolution.  He  entertained  us, 
I  still  hanging  as  a  bob  to  the  kite,  at  a  dinner  of  thirty  persons,  in  a 
style  of  magnificence  which  I  have  never  seen  equalled.  I  left  him  at 
Philadelphia,  and  went  on  an  excursion  to  Baltimore  for  a  few  days. 
On  my  return  to  Boston,  I  resumed  my  desk  and  books  in  his  oflBce. 
At  the  end  of  my  probationary  term,  in  1786,  Mr.  Amory,  the  partner 
of  Mr.  Lowell,  set  up  on  his  own  account.  I  was  thereupon  invited 
by  Judge  Lowell  to  take  his  place  and  business  in  the  lower  courts, 
which  I  gladly  accepted."  A  few  weeks  after  Mr.  Otis  had  opened 
his  oflBce,  the  late  Benjamin  Bussey,  already  alluded  to,  —  a  gentleman 
still  remembered  in  this  city,  —  needing  the  services  of  a  lawyer  at  an 
early  hour  in  the  morning,  found  none  of  the  profession  in  their  cham- 
bers but  Mr.  Otis,  whom  he  consequently  employed,  and  who  was  his 
advocate  ever  after.  Mr.  Otis  having  at  this  time  no  books,  and  no 
other  means  of  obtaining  any,  borrowed  of  Mordecai  M.  Hayes,  Esq., 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  pounds,  in  December,  1786,  Avhich  he 
expended  jn  purchasing  a  law  library.  At  the  close  of  his  first  year's 
practice  at  the  bar,  the  loan  was  refunded  out  of  his  professional 
income. 

About  this  period  Mr.  Otis  partially  turned  his  attention  to  military 
tactics,  and  in  1787  he  was  elected  captain  of  a  company  of  young 
gentlemen, —  the  Light  Infimtry.  Avhich  in  1789  escorted  Washington 
on  his  entrance  into  Boston, —  Avhich  station  he  held  until  1793; 
and,  presuming  that  the  present  Boston  Light  Infantry  is  a  scion  of 


200  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

that  stock,  he  gave  this  company  a  splendid  entertainment  at  his  resi- 
dence, shortly  before  his  death.  lie  was  an  aid-de-camp  to  Major 
General  John  Brooks  in  Shays'  Insurrection.  In  1790  Mr.  Otis 
married   Sarah,  daughter  of  William  Foster. 

In  1792,  -when  Mr.  Otis  spoke  with  great  eloquence  in  town-meeting, 
at  Faneuil  Hall,  in  opposition  to  Gardiner's  proposed  instructions  to 
the  representatives,  tolerating  the  drama  in  Boston,  so  strong  was  his 
rhetorical  power,  that  Samuel  Adams  lifted  up  liis  hands  in  ecstasy, 
and  thanked  God  that  there  was  one  young  man  wilhng  to  step  forth 
in  defence  of  the  good  old  cause  of  morality  and  religion.  At  another 
town-meeting,  in  the  Old  South  Church,  in  a  period  of  pohtical  excite- 
ment, Mr.  Otis,  standing  amid  a  great  throng  of  people,  on  the  top  of 
a  pew,  exclaimed,  "  There  is  ever  a  strong  spirit  of  discontent  among 
these  democrats.  Why,  j\Ir.  Moderator,  I  sincerely  beheve,  if  they 
were  in  heaven,  they  would  forthwith  rebel."  On  this,  the  famous 
Dr.  Charles  Jar\is,  who  was  in  the  gallery,  sprang  upon  his  feet,  and 
remarked,  "  That's  good,  Mr.  Otis  ;  I  should  like  to  have  said  that, 
myself." 

In  1796  Mr.  Otis  was  elected  one  of  seven  representatives  from 
Boston  to  the  State  Legislature ;  and  in  this  year  he  was  elected  to 
Congress  as  the  successor  of  Fisher  Ames,  and  became  a  decided 
opponent  of  the  measures  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  He  was  one  of  the 
embarrassed  number  who  had  to  choose  between  Jefferson  and  Aaron 
Burr.  From  that  period  to  the  close  of  Madison's  war,  Mr.  Otis  was 
constantly  in  Congress ;  and  towards  the  close  of  Adams'  administra- 
tion he  was  U.  S.  District  Attorney,  which  station  he  occupied  until 
he  was  succeeded  by  George  Blake. 

During  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  in  1798, 
the  government  was  located  at  Trenton.  In  that  summer.  President 
John  Adams  visited  his  seat  in  Quincy :  and  whilst  there,  Mr.  Otis, 
one  morning,  meeting  his  friend  WiUiam  Lee  in  State-street,  Boston, 
who  was  an  auditor  of  the  treasury  at  Washington,  and  a  decided 
opponent  of  Mr.  Adams,  proposed  to  liim  to  ride  out  and  present  their 
respects  to  the  president.  Mr.  Lee  objected,  on  account  of  the  pohtical 
stand  he  had  taken  against  the  federal  administration,  and  presuming 
he  would  not  be  a  welcome  visiter  to  his  excellency  just  at  that  time. 
Mr.  Otis  repHed  that  himself  being  a  strong  advocate  to  the  president's 
principles  was  a  sufficient  passport,  not  only  to  the  president,  but  to 
the  whole  Essex  junto.     This  decided  Mr.  Lee  to  visit  Quincy  with 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  201 

Mr.  Otis.  On  arriving,  they  found  George  Cabot,  with  a  committee 
of  the  old  Essex  junto,  who  had  come  out  to  remonstrate  against  the 
appointment  of  Elbridge  Gerry's  mission  abroad.  Mr.  Otis,  with  his 
friend  Lee,  entered  the  room  in  the  midst  of  the  president's  reply  to 
the  committee.  He  most  cordially  received  them ;  and,  after  inviting 
them  to  be  seated,  turned  to  the  committee,  and  continued  in  warm 
terms  his  positive  and  fixed  determination  in  favor  of  Mr.  Gerry. 
Otis,  seeing  the  committee  wince  at  the  strong  expressions  from  the 
president,  and  thinking  himself  an  intruder  in  the  eyes  of  the  discom- 
fited committee,  all  of  whom  were  his  pohtical  friends,  gave  a  wink  to 
Lee  that  it  was  high  time  to  retire ;  and,  taking  a  hasty  leave  of  the 
president  and  his  speech  to  the  Federal  committee,  returned  to  Boston 
highly  elated ;  and  from  that  day  Lee  became  a  convert  to  the  Adams 
dynasty,  for  the  independent  course  which  the  president  pursued 
towards  the  Essex  junto  committee. 

In  the  year  1802,  a  political  vihfier  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis  publicly 
declared  that  he  was  a  member  from  the  royal  State  of  Massachusetts, 
who  labored,  with  all  the  cunning  of  a  quibbling  attorney,  to  have  the 
ahen  bill  passed  into  a  law.  This  man,  it  was  said,  is  not  entirely 
devoid  of  fancy,  but  is  a  stranger  to  argument,  and  unacquainted  with 
the  virtues  of  truth  and  candor.  The  interested  British  merchants,  it 
is  reported,  procured  him  to  be  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States ;  and  several  pecuniary  favors  which  he  has  granted  these 
gentlemen  in  return  prove  that  he  possesses  in  an  eminent  degree  the 
qualification  of  gratitude,  and  a  bountiful  hand  to  his  friends.  He  is 
neither  devoid  of  filial  affection,  if  we  may  judge  from  his  petty  man- 
oeuvres to  procure  an  addition  of  two  hundred  dollars  to  the  salary  of 
his  father.  But  the  fear  he  expresses  of  the  Frenchmen,  and  his 
hatred  at  L'ishmen,  are  the  two  striking  •characteristics  of  his  mind. 
In  the  summer  of  1798,  Mr.  Otis  so  much  dreaded  a  French  invasion, 
that  it  is  said  he  would  have  removed  into  some  of  the  back  settle- 
ments, had  it  not  been  for  the  persuasion  of  Dwight  Foster  and  George 
Thacher.  "No  man,"  says  Callender,  one  of  the  rudest  and  coarsest 
politicians  of  that  day,  ' '  can  be  more  ambitious  to  be  the  scavenger  of 
his  party  than  this  calumniator  of  the  Irish  nation.  Mr.  Otis  has 
since  obtained  his  wish,  for  no  man  is  more  employed  in  rallying  and 
collecting  together  the  scattered  dregs  of  FederaUsm  than  Harrison 
Gray  Otis." 

The  most  decided  refutation  of  vituperative  slander,  like  that  in  the 


202  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

paragraph  preceding,  appears  in  the  eloquent  eulogium  of  Samuel  L. 
Ivnapp,  who  remarked  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  that  "from  his  cradle, 
as  from  Plato's,  swarmed  the  Hyblean  bees,  and  left  the  honeys  of  elo- 
quence on  his  tongue.  Minerva  was  his  tutelar  goddess,  but  the 
Graces  had  no  small  share  in  his  education.  His  pohtical  course  was 
early  shaped ;  and  from  the  dawn  of  manhood  to  this  his  meridian  day, 
he  has  been  a  firm,  undeviating  disciple  of  Washington.  Long  in  pub- 
lic life,  he  has  constantly  been  the  champion  of  the  cause  he  espoused. 
In  every  political  contest  he  has  carried  terror  and  dismay  into  the 
ranks  of  his  opponents,  searched  the  dark  caverns  of  corruption  and 
intrigue,  and  dragged,  wdth  Herculean  strength,  each  Cacus  to  the 
hght,  and  held  him  up  for  the  contempt  and  derision  of  the  world. 
Democracy  knew  his  worth,  and  has  used  every  endeavor  to  allure  him 
to  come  over  to  her  cause.  ISIighty  meeds  of  honor  have  been  hinted 
as  his  rewards,  but  he  did  not  yield.  We  love  him,  for  he  has  fre- 
quently turned  aside  from  his  labors,  and,  with  reverence  and  homage, 
sacrificed  at  the  tomb  of  the  immortal  Hamilton.  No  envy,  which 
disturbs  little  minds,  chafed  his  breast ;  but,  penetrated  with  grief,  he 
shed  upon  Hamilton's  grave  such  tears  as  genius  weeps  at  the  loss  of 
kindred  souls." 

]\Ir.  Otis  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  in  1803  until  1805,  and 
President  of  the  Senate  in  1805,  which  stations  he  filled  during  twelve 
years,  with  grace,  dignity,  and  urbanity.  He  was  appointed  judge  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  on  its  institution  in  1814,  and  continued 
in  that  vocation  until  April,  1818,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Wilham 
Prescott,  the  father  of  the  historian. 

The  most  important  event  in  the  political  life  of  Mr.  Otis  was  his 
connection  with  the  Hartford  Convention.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
legislative  committee  which,  October,  1814,  urged  arguments  in  favor 
of  calling  a  convention  of  the  New  England  States,  because  of  internal 
difficulties  arising  from  the  war  with  Great  Britain.  He  Avas  a  member 
of  this  convention,  which  gathered  at  Hartford,  Dec.  15th  of  that  year, 
v.'hen  Hon.  George  Cabot  was  elected  president.  The  nature  of  tliis 
conclave  may  be  apprehended  from  the  instructions  ejitended  to  com- 
missioners sent  to  the  General  Government,  January,  1815,  by  this 
State  and  Connecticut.  Mr.  Otis,  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  and  Wilham 
Sullivan,  represented  Massachusetts  in  this  matter.  They  were 
instructed  to  make  earnest  and  respectful  application  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  requesting  their  consent  to  some  arrangement 


HARBISON   GRAY   OTIS.  203 

whereby  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  separately,  or  in  concert  with 
neighboring  States,  may  be  enabled  to  assume  the  defence  of  their  ter- 
ritories against  the  enemy;  and  that,  to  this  end,  a  reasonable  portion 
of  the  taxes  collected  within  said  States  may  be  paid  into  the  respective 
treasuries  thereof,  and  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  the  balance  due 
to  the  said  States,  and  to  the  future  defence  of  the  same, —  the  amount 
so  paid  into  the  treasuries  to  be  credited,  and  the  disbursements  so 
made  to  be  charged,  to  the  United  States.  The  commissioners  were 
further  required  to  consult  with,  and  to  solicit  the  assistance  and  coop- 
eration of,  the  senators  and  representatives  of  this  commonwealth  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  The  commission  was  dated  Jan. 
31,  1815.  The  commissioners  had  just  arrived  at  Washington,  about 
the  14th  of  February,  when  the  joyful  news  of  peace  was  proclaimed, 
thus  rendering  nugatory  the  necessity  of  their  object ;  and  this  result 
was  doubtless  hastened  by  a  fear  of  the  consequences  of  this  conven- 
tion. 

The  popular  clamor  was  forthwith  raised  against  the  Hartford  Con- 
tion,  accusing  its  managers  of  an  attempt  to  dissolve  the  Union ;  and, 
at  a  national  festival  of  the  Washington  Society,  a  democratic  leader 
said  that  it  was  a  dangerous  combination  of  internal  foes,  who  had  art- 
fully entwisted  themselves  within  the  legitimate  branches  of  our  federal 
and  State  governments.  And  the  charge  has  been  reiterated  —  Novem- 
ber, 1850 — by  another  democratic  leader,  the  moderator  of  a  party 
caucus  at  Faneuil  Hall,  that  the  Hartford  Convention  designed  a  north- 
ern confederacy,  mvoiving  an  entire  change  in  the  organization  of  our 
institutions.  The  lively  and  forcible  language  of  Fisher  Ames,  that 
falsehood  will  travel  from  Maine  to  Georgia  -while  truth  is  putting  on 
her  boots,  was  fully  verified  in  the  early  efforts  to  assert  the  patriotic 
intent  of  this  assembly.  The  inquiry  has  often  been  urged,  Was  not 
the  Hartford  Convention  conceived  by  that  constellation  of  very  estima- 
ble and  talented  men,  the  Essex  junto,  as  it  was  brought  forth  by  that 
lesser  light,  the  Bay  State  Legislature  of  Caleb  Strong  ?  We  will 
cite  Mr.  Otis  on  this  question.  The  convention  was  not  the  plan  or 
contrivance  of  one  man,  or  of  a  junto,  or  cabal ;  but  a  simultaneous 
and  instinctive  conception  cff  many,  prompted  by  the  nature  and  the 
imagined  necessity  of  the  case. 

The  surpassingly  eloquent  defence  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  from 
the  highly-polished  hand  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  like  his  speeches, — 
or,  rather,  orations,  as  they  should  be  termed, —  so  often  pronounced 


204  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

at  Faneuil  Hall,  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  and  in  our  State  Legislature, 
for  force  and  beauty  of  argument,  will  be  treasured  by  posterity  among 
the  noblest  efforts  of  patriotism ;  and  posterity  -will  rank  the  epistles  of 
Junius  and  Otis,  for  purity  of  diction,  effective  sarcasm  and  elevation  of 
thought,  as  models  of  diction,  in  both  hemispheres.  Moreover,  the 
speeches  of  Otis,  when  Napoleon  was  in  the  zenith  of  his  power, 
awakened  in  the  Eostonians  a  keen  jealousy  of  his  thirst  for  conquest, 
and  remind  one  of  the  eloquence  of  Demosthenes,  when  rousing  the 
Athenians  to  precautions  against  the  ambition  of  Philip  of  Macedon. 

Mr.  Otis  remarks  that  his  mission  to  Hartford  was  forced  upon  him 
by  three-fourths  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  against  his  most 
earnest  remonstrances,  and  to  the  great  sacrifice  of  his  convenience. 
The  germ  of  the  expedient  may  be  traced  to  Gov.  Jones,  of  Rhode 
Island,  who,  in  September,  1814,  proposed  to  this  State,  in  case  of 
invasion,  to  march  his  troops  to  the  aid  of  any  neighboring  State,  and 
requested  the  cooperation  of  our  State  in  like  emergency.  The  great 
objects  of  the  convention  were,  to  devise,  if  possible,  means  of  security 
and  defence,  consistent  with  preservation  from  total  ruin,  adapted  to 
their  local  situation,  and  not  repugnant  to  their  obligations  as  members 
of  the  Union.  The  faculty  of  defending  the  States  by  their  own 
militia,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  has  since  been  sanc- 
tioned by  Congress.  INIr.  Otis  says,  here  is  a  curious  subject  of  specu- 
lation for  posterity.  The  principal  measure  of  an  assembly  intended, 
as  was  said,  to  concentrate  all  the  force  of  opposition  to  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  nation,  was,  by  deliberate  act  of  those  authorities, 
virtually  adopted ;  and  the  egg  that  was  laid  in  the  darkness  of  the 
Hartford  conclave  was  hatched  by  daylight,  under  the  wing  and 
incubation  of  the  national  eagle.  Those  who  serve  the  State  in  the 
ci\al  department  have  no  court  of  inquiry,  like  those  in  the  naval  and 
mihtary  service,  for  protection,  but  are  at  the  mercy  of  every  popinjay, 
says  Otis,  who  can  throw  a  squib  or  discharge  an  air-gun  from  a  garret 
window, —  of  editors  who  pander  for  the  bad  passions  of  party,  and  for 
rivals  who  humble  themselves  to  imitate  the  starlings  and  halloo  "  Mor- 
timer," instead  of  giving  an  elevated  tone  to  the  public  sentiment,  in 
which  all  men  of  high  minds,  even  of  their  own  party,  would  be  glad 
to  harmonize. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  convention  was  influenced  by  a  decided 
love  of  country,  and,  of  course,  by  the  most  honorable  motives.  Another 
serious  object  of  this  convention  was  to  prevent  the  danger  of  a  civil 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  205 

war,  as  in  the  western  parts  of  Massachusetts  and  in  Connecticut  there 
was  a  decided  opposition  to  an  internal  tax,  for  the  purpose  of  contin- 
uing the  contest  with  Great  Britain.  We  make  this  statement  on  the 
authority  of  the  Hon.  Judge  Wilde,  probably  the  last  survivor  of  the 
delegates  to  the  convention.  "  I  am  sensible,"  remarks  Mr.  Otis,  "  that 
among  such  men  I  was  not  meet  to  be  called  an  'Apostle.'  But  hav- 
ing nothing  to  retract,  no  favors  to  ask,  no  propitiatory  incense  to  oifer 
upon  new  altars,  I  hope  there  will  be  seen  neither  vanity  nor  conde- 
scension in  my  declaring  that  I  am  unconscious  of  any  conduct  that 
would  justify  the  singling  me  out  as  a  political  desperado,  who  offered 
to  the  convention  projects  by  which  they  were  revolted.  I  challenge 
the  production  or  quotation  of  any  speech  or  writing  for  -which  I  am 
accountable,  without  garbling  or  interpolation,  conspicuous  for  unseemly 
violonce,  intolerance,  or  even  disrespect  for  my  political  adversaries ; 
much  less,  pointing  to  a  disunion  of  the  States,  which  I  should  dread 
as  a  national  and  perpetual  earthquake.  In  the  ardor  of  debate,  I  have 
repelled  personalities  by  giving  '  measure  for  measure ; '  but  if  I  am 
inimical  to  republican  principles  and  equal  rights,  I  must  have  basely 
degenerated  from  my  parent  stock.  And  though  I  claim  no  merit 
from  '  genus  et  'proavos^  yet,  that  I  should  go  into  the  convention 
to  instigate  others  to  pull  down  that  '  temple '  which,  for  at  least 
forty-and-two  years,  my  ancestors  with  their  countrj^men  had  been 
engaged  in  building,  from  the  first  trench  and  corner-stone,  and  in 
which  I  had  always  professed  to  worship,  would  seem  to  be  an  unnatu- 
ral act,  at  least,  of  which  all  just  men  will  one  day  require  better  proof 
than  has  been  or  can  be  furnished  by  the  unjust.  My  political  sins 
are  those  of  congresses,  senates,  and  houses  of  representatives, —  of  a 
majority  of  the  people,  first  of  the  United  States,  then  of  my  native 
State  and  city.  Of  my  full  aliquot  part  of  these,  I  would  nothing 
extenuate,  and  more  should  not  be  set  down  to  me  in  malice.  I  have 
lived  to  see  triumphant  all  the  principles  of  the  great  original  Federal 
party,  of  which  Washington  was  the  head,  and  of  which  I  was  an  indi- 
vidual member,  though,  by  the  perversity  of  the  course  of  human 
afiairs,  I  have  survived  the  downfall  of  the  party  itself  There  is  no 
prominent  feature  of  Federal  pohcy, — unless  the  alien  and  sedition  law 
be  so  regarded,  by  means  of  a  factitious  importance, —  which  the  ruling 
party  has  not  found  itself  compelled  to  adopt,  and  place  in  a  bolder 
relief  The  funding  system,  bank,  navy,  army,  loans,  taxes,  embas- 
sies,—  in  short,  Avhatever  appertaining  to  the  civil  and  military  estab- 
18 


206  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

lishments  was  formerly  a  tlieme  of  opposition, —  have  been  patronized 
not  merely  as  appendages,  but  essentials  to  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment. All  the  hydras  and  chimeras  are  transformed  into  goodly 
shapes  and  proper  agents.  And  not  a  question  has  been  decided — nor, 
as  far  as  I  am  informed,  agitated  —  upon  old  party  principles,  since  the 
peace." 

Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  the  very  system  recommended  by  the 
Hartford  Convention  became,  by  act  of  Congress,  the  law  of  the  land, 
and  its  effect  has  been  to  consolidate  the  national  union ;  and  though  Mr. 
Otis  has  often  been  denounced  by  political  Hotspurs,  in  public  caucus, 
as  an  enemy  to  his  country,  posterity  in  all  coming  time  will  simulta- 
neously concede  the  purity  of  his  motives,  and  exclaim,  in  their  pro- 
found sense  of  his  honesty,  like  Aufidius  in  Shakspeare : 

"  If  Jupiter  should,  from  yond  cloud. 
Speak  divine  things,  and  say  't  is  true, 
I'  d  not  believe  them  more  than  thee,  all  noble  Marcius  !  " 

President  John  Quincy  Adams  declared,  in  a  communication  under 
his  authority,  in  the  National  Intelligencer  of  Oct.  21,  1828,  that 
during  the  session  of  Congress  in  1808  he  had  informed  his  confiden- 
tial correspondents  that  he  knew,  from  unequivocal  evidence,  although 
not  provable  in  a  court  of  law,  that  the  object  of  certain  leaders  of  the 
party  which  had  in  its  hands  the  management  of  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts  was,  and  had  been  for  several  years,  "a  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  and  the  estabhshment  of  a  separate  confederation ;  and  that, 
in  case  of  a  civil  war,  the  aid  of  Great  Britain  to  effect  that  purpose 
would  be  as  surely  resorted  to  as  it  would  be  indispensably  necessary 
to  the  design."  And  in  a  communication  addressed  to  the  following 
persons,  namely,  H.  G.  Otis,  Israel  Thorndike,  T.  H.  Perkins,  Wil- 
liam Prescott,  Daniel  Sargent,  John  Lowell.  Wilham  Sullivan,  Charleg 
Jackson,  Warren  Dutton,  Benjamin  Pickman,  Henry  Cabot  (son  of 
Hon.  George  Cabot),  C.  C.  Parsons  (son  of  Chief  Justice  Theophilus 
Parsons),  Franklin  Dexter  (son  of  Hon.  Samuel  Dexter),  who  had 
requested  him  to  state  who  are  the  persons  designated  as  leaders  of  the 
party  prevailing  in  Massachusetts  in  the  year  1808,  whose  object,  he 
asserted,  was,  and  had  been  for  several  years,  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union,  and  the  establishment  of  a  separate  confederation,  together  with 
the  whole  evidence  on  which  that  charge  is  founded, —  at  the  same 
time  protesting  that,  constrained  by  a  regard  to  their  deceased  friends 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  207 

and  to  posterity,  as  Avell  as  by  a  sense  of  what  was  due  to  their  own 
honor,  most  solemnly  to  declare  that  they  have  never  known  nor  sus- 
pected that  any  party  in  Massachusetts  ever  entertained  the  design  of 
a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or  the  establishment  of  a  separate  confed- 
eracy,—  President  Adams  replied  :  "That  project,  I  repeat,  had  gone  to 
the  length  of  fixing  upon  a  military  leader  for  its  execution;  and, 
although  the  circumstances  of  the  time  never  admitted  of  its  execution, 
nor  even  of  its  full  development,  I  had  yet  no  doubt  in  1808  and 
1809,  and  have  no  doubt  at  this  time,  that  it  is  the  key  to  all  the  great 
movements  of  these  leaders  of  the  Federal  party  in  New  England,  from 
that  time  forward  till  its  final  catastrophe  in  the  Hartford  Convention." 
And  Pi-esident  Adams  said,  in  the  conclusion  of  his  letter :  "It  is 
not  improbable  that,  at  some  future  day,  a  solemn  sense  of  duty  to  my 
country  may  require  me  to  disclose  the  evidence  which  I  do  possess, 
and  for  which  you  call.  But  of  that  day  the  selection  must  be  at  my 
own  judgment ;  and  it  may  be  delayed  till  I  myself  shall  have  gone  to 
answer  for  the  testimony  I  may  bear,  before  the  tribunal  of  your  God 
and  mine.  Should  a  disclosure  of  names  ever  then  be  made  by  me,  it 
will,  if  possible,  be  made  with  such  reserve  as  tenderness  to  the  feelings 
of  the  living,  and  to  the  families  and  friends  of  the  dead,  may  admon- 
ish." The  evidence  in  support  of  this  opinion  of  John  Quincy  Adams 
never  having  to  this  day  been  exhibited,  and  it  being  admitted  that 
it  is  not  such  as  would  suffice  to  establish  the  charge  in  a  court  of 
justice,  the  opinion  remains,  for  all  purposes  of  evidence,  utterly  inef- 
fective. We  have  the  charity  to  express  the  opinion  that  President 
Adams  over-estimated  the  weight  of  the  evidence  on  which  he  relied, 
—  an  opinion  which,  at  the  worst,  does  him  no  injustice,  since,  should 
it  be  well  founded,  his  mistake  of  judgment  would  be  like  that  of 
heated  partisans  of  every  name  and  age.  The  origin  of  the  whole 
mystery  is  probably  traceable  to  the  disclosures  of  John  Henry,  an 
officer  in  the  British  army,  who,  in  the  year  1809,  was  employed  by 
Sir  James  Craig,  the  Governor  of  Canada,  to  visit  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  dominant  party  of  New  Eng- 
land would  favor  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  a  connection  with 
Great  Britain.  We  refer  our  readers  to  Dwight's  History  of  the  Hart- 
ford Convention,  and  to  Walsh's  review  of  that  work  in  the  American 
Quaiixsrly  Review,  for  a  clear  development  of  this  subject.  In  reply 
to  the  in((uiry,  Why  not  leave  the  honor  of  the  Hartford  Convention 
where  Ford's  heroine  left  her  fame,  "to  Memory,  and  Time's  old 


208  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

daughter,  Truth  "  1  —  Mr.  Walsh  says,  in  reply,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  all  experience  has  taught  us  that  memory  is  always  defective,  and 
truth  frequently  perverted.  Already,  in  the  case  before  us,  newspaper 
surmises  have  gradually  grown  up  into  rhetorical  text ;  and  these,  by 
dint  of  repetition,  are  fast  forming  into  materials  for  history. 

In  the  year  1817  Mr.  Otis  was  elected,  by  a  strong  vote  of  the  State 
Legislature,  to  the  United  States  Senate,  in  the  place  of  Gen.  Joseph 
B.  Varnum,  the  successor  of  Timothy  Pickering.  Here  Mr.  Otis 
shone  with  peculiar  lustre,  for  his  force  as  a  statesman  and  graceful 
rhetoric.  His  speech  in  reply  to  Mr.  Pinckney,  on  the  Missouri  ques- 
tion, January,  1820,  was  a  noble  burst  of  eloquence,  in  a  caveat  on 
slavery,  classed  among  the  imperishable  few  of  the  floor  of  Congress. 
He  was  ever  devoted  to  the  interest  of  his  native  State,  especially  in 
asserting  her  claims  in  public  service  during  the  contest  with  Britain. 
Mr.  Otis  resigned  his  seat  in  1823  ;  and,  on  the  retirement  of  John 
Brooks  from  the  chair  of  State,  he  became  the  Federal  candidate,  in 
competition  with  WiUiam  Eustis.  Mr.  Otis  was  defeated ;  and  he 
remarked  to  a  friend,  "  My  failure  in  this  contest  was  a  mortification 
and  a  severe  disappointment  to  me  at  the  time,  but  I  look  back  upon 
it  now  without  regret.  I  regard  it  as  the  most  fortunate  event  of  my 
life.  I  have  been  a  happier  and  better  man,  since  I  was  thrown  out  of 
pohtical  life,  than  I  should  ever  have  been  had  I  remained  in  it." 

Mr.  Otis  was  elected  mayor  of  his  native  city  in  1829,  and  in  the 
inaugural  address  delivered  on  the  occasion  he  remarks:  "With  the 
friends  of  former  days,  whose  constancy  can  never  be  forgotten,  others 
have  been  pleased  to  unite,  and  to  honor  me  with  their  sufirages,  who 
hold  in  high  disapprobation  the  part  I  formerly  took  in  political  aflairs. 
Their  suppoit  of  me  on  this  occasion  is  no  symptom  of  a  change  of 
their  sentiment  in  that  particular.  I  presume  not  to  infer  from  it  even 
a  mitigation  of  the  rigor  with  which  my  public  conduct  has  been 
judged.  But  it  is  not  presumptuous  to  take  it  for  granted  that  those 
who  have  favored  me  with  their  countenance  on  this  occasion  confide 
in  my  sense  of  the  obhgation  of  veracity,  and  of  the  aggravated  prof- 
ligacy that  would  attend  a  violation  of  it,  standing  here  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  my  country.  On  this  faith,  I  feel  myself  justified  by  cir- 
cumstances to  avail  myself  of  this  occasion, —  the  first,  and  probably 
the  last,  so  appropriate,  that  it  will  be  in  my  power, —  distinctly  and 
solemnly  to  assert,  that  in  no  time  in  the  course  of  my  life  have  I 
been  present  at  any  meeting  of  individuals,  public  or  private,  of  the 


HARRISON   GRAY  OTIS.  209 

many  or  the  few,  or  privy  to  any  correspondence  of  whatever  descrip- 
tion, in  which  any  proposition  having  for  its  object  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  or  its  dismemberment  in  any  shape,  or  a  separate  confed- 
eracy, or  a  forcible  resistance  to  the  government  or  laws,  was  ever 
made  or  debated;  that  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  any  such 
scheme  was  ever  meditated  by  distinguished  individuals  of  the  old  Fed- 
eral party.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  every  reason  which  habits  of 
intimacy  and  communion  of  sentiment  with  most  of  them  afforded,  for 
the  persuasion  that  they  looked  to  the  remote  possibihty  of  such  events 
as  the  most  to  be  deprecated  of  all  calamities,  and  that  they  would 
have  received  any  serious  proposal,  calculated  for  those  ends,  as  a  par- 
oxysm of  political  delirium.  This  statement  will  bear  internal  evi- 
dence of  truth  to  all  who  reflect  that  among  those  men  were  some  by 
the  firesides  of  whose  ancestors  the  principles  of  the  union  and  inde- 
pendence of  these  States  were  first  asserted  and  digested ;  from  which 
was  taken  the  coal  that  kindled  the  hallowed  flame  of  the  Revolution; 
from  whose  ashes  the  American  eagle  rose  into  life.  Others,  who  had 
conducted  the  measures  and  the  armies  of  that  Revolution, —  Solo- 
mons in  council,  and  Samsons  in  combat ;  others,  who  assisted  at  the 
birth  of  the  federal  constitution,  and  watched  over  its  infancy  with 
paternal  anxiety ;  —  and,  I  may  add,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and 
belief,  that  all  of  them  regarded  its  safety  and  success  as  the  best  hope 
of  this  people,  and  the  last  hope  of  the  friends  of  hberty  throughout 
the  world.  I  again  express  my  hope  that  these  remarks  will  not  be 
considered  ill-timed.  They  are  a  testimony  ofiered  in  defence  of  the 
memory  of  the  honored  dead,  and  of  patriotic  survivors,  who  have  not 
the  same  opportunity  of  speaking  for  themselves.  Their  object  is  not 
personal  favor,  though  I  am  free  to  admit  that  I  am  not  indifferent  to 
the  desire  of  removing  doubts  and  giving  satisfaction  to  the  minds  of 
any  who,  by  a  magnanimous  pledge  of  kind  feelings  toward  me,  have  a 
claim  upon  me  for  every  candid  explanation  and  assurance  in  my  power 
to  afford." 

In  this  connection,  we  cannot  restrain  the  desire  to  introduce  an 
instance  of  the  condescension  and  courtesy  of  Mr.  Otis  towards  his 
pohtical  opponents.  At  a  festival  of  Federal  advocates  of  the  admin- 
istration of  Andrew  Jackson,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  when  it  was  splendidly 
decorated  with  the  banners  of  the  old  Washington  Benevolent  Society, 
March  4,  1829,  Mr.  Otis,  the  mayor,  gave —  ''Homage  to  the  con- 
stitution, manifested  in  respect  to  its  chief  functionary :  May  New 
18* 


210  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

England  conquer  his  esteem,  as  he  conquered  the  public  enemy,  by 
meeting  him  more  than  half-way."  And  when  Mr.  Otis  had  retired, 
the  Hon.  Theodore  Lyman,  who  presided  on  the  occasion,  gave  this 
sentiment  —  "  The  Mayor :  May  the  discerning  citizens  of  Boston  ren- 
der full  justice  to  his  patriotic  endeavors  for  the  welfare  of  a  city  of 
which  he  has  so  long  been  a  conspicuous  ornament." 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  day  of  September,  1830,  just  previous 
to  the  delivery  of  the  centennial  discourse  on  the  history  of  Boston,  by 
Josiah  Quincy,  an  address  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Otis,  the  mayor,  on 
the  removal  of  the  municipal  government  to  the  old  State-house,  in 
which  he  chronicles  the  men  and  the  occurrences  giving  celebrity  to  the 
edifice,  thereafter  named  the  City  Hall,  until  its  removal  to  Court- 
square.  We  will  cite  a  few  passages  from  this  graphic  view  of  remem- 
brances :  The  history  of  the  town-house,  considered  as  a  compages  of 
brick  and  wood,  is  short  and  simple.  It  was  erected  between  the  years 
1657  and  '59,  and  was  principally  of  wood,  as  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained. The  contractor  received  six  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  on  a 
final  settlement,  in  full  of  all  contracts.  This  was  probably  the  whole 
amount  of  the  cost,  being  double  that  of  the  estimate, —  a  ratio  pretty 
regularly  kept  up  in  our  times.  The  population  of  the  town,  sixty 
years  afterwards,  was  about  ten  thousand;  and  it  is  allowing  an 
increase  beyond  the  criterion  of  its  actual  numbers  at  subsequent  peri- 
ods, to  presume  that  at  the  time  of  the  first  erection  of  the  Town-house 
it  numbered  three  thousand  souls.  In  1711  the  building  was  burnt 
to  the  ground,  and  soon  afterwards  it  was  built  with  brick.  In  1747 
the  interior  was  again  consumed  by  fire,  and  soon  repaired  in  the  form 
which  it  retained  until  the  present  improvement,  with  the  exception  of 
some  alterations  in  the  apartments  made  upon  the  removal  of  the  Leg- 
islature to  the  new  State-house.  The  eastern  chamber  was  originally 
occupied  by  the  Council,  afterwards  by  the  Senate.  The  representa- 
tives constantly  held  their  sittings  in  the  western  chamber.  The  floor 
of  these  was  supported  by  pillars,  and  terminated  at  each  end  by  doors, 
and  at  one  end  by  a  flight  of  steps  leading  into  State-street.  In  the 
day-time  the  doors  were  kept  open,  and  the  floor  served  as  a  walk  for 
the  inhabitants,  always  much  frequented,  and  during  the  sessions  of 
the  courts  thronged.  On  the  north  side  were  ofl5ces  for  the  clerks  of 
the  supreme  and  inferior  courts.  In  these  the  judges  robed  them- 
selves, and  walked  in  procession,  followed  by  the  bar,  at  the  opening 
of  the  courts.     Committee-rooms  were  provided  in  the  upper  story. 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  211 

Since  the  removal  of  the  Legislature,  it  has  been  internally  divided 
into  apartments  and  leased  for  various  uses,  in  a  mode  familiar  to  you 
all,  and  it  has  now  undergone  great  repairs.  This  floor  being  adapted 
to  the  accommodation  of  the  city  government  and  principal  officers, 
while  the  first  floor  is  allotted  to  the  post-oSice,  news-room,  and  private 
warehouses. 

"In  this  brief  account  of  the  natural  body  of  the  building,  which,  it  is 
believed,  comprehends  whatever  is  material,  there  is  nothing  certainly 
dazzling  or  extraordinary.  It  exhibits  no  jwmp  of  architectural  grand- 
eur, or  refined  taste ;  and  has  no  pretensions  to  vie  with  the  magnifi- 
cent structures  of  other  countries,  or  even  of  our  own.  Yet  it  is  a 
goodly  and  venerable  pile ;  and,  with  its  recent  improvements,  is  an 
ornament  of  the  place  of  whose  liberty  it  was  once  the  citadel.  And 
it  has  an  interest  for  Bostonians  who  enter  it  this  day,  like  that  which 
is  felt  by  grown  children  for  an  ancient  matron  by  whom  they  were 
reared,  and  whom  visiting  after  years  of  absence,  they  find  in  her  neat, 
chaste,  old-fashioned  attire,  spruced-up  to  receive  them,  with  her  com- 
forts about  her,  and  the  same  kind,  hospitable  creature  and  excellent, 
whom  they  'left  in'  less  flourishing  circumstances.  But  to  this 
edifice  there  is  not  only  a  natural,  but  'a  spiritual  body,'  which  is 
the  immortal  soul  of  independence.  Nor  is  there  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  another  building, —  however  venerable  for  its  antiquity,  or  stately 
in  its  magnificence,  however  decorated  by  columns,  and  porticos,  and 
cartoons,  and  statues,  and  altars,  and  outshining  '  the  wealth  of  Ormus 
or  of  Ind,' — entitled  in  history  to  more  honorable  mention,  or  whose 
spires  and  turrets  are  surrounded  with  a  more  glorious  halo,  than  this 
unpretending  building. 

"This  assertion  might  be  justified  by  a  review  of  the  parts  performed 
by  those  who  have  made  laws,  for  a  century  after  the  first  settlement 
of  Boston  ;  of  their  early  contention  for  their  chartered  rights ;  of  their 
perils  and  difficulties  with  the  natives;  of  their  costly  and  heroic 
exertions,  in  favor  of  the  mother  country,  in  the  common  cause.  But 
I  pass  over  them  all,  replete  as  they  are  with  interest,  with  wonder,  and 
with  moral.  Events  posterior  to  these  —  growing  out  of  them,  indeed, 
and  taking  from  them  their  complexion  —  are  considered,  by  reflecting 
men,  as  having  produced  more  radical  changes  in  the  character,  rela- 
tions, prospects,  and,  so  far  as  becomes  us  to  prophesy,  in  the  destinies 
of  the  human  family,  than  all  other  events  and  revolutions  that  have 
transpired  since  the  Christian  era.     I  do  not  say  that  the  principles 


212  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

•which  have  led  to  these  events  originated  here.  But  I  venture  to 
assert  that  here,  within  these  walls,  they  were  first  practically  applied 
to  a  well-regulated  machinery  of  human  passions,  conscious  rights  and 
steady  movements,  which,  forcing  these  United  States  to  the  summit 
of  prosperity,  has  been  adopted  as  a  model  by  which  other  nations  have 
been,  and  will  yet  be,  propelled  on  the  railroad  which  leads  to  universal 
freedom.  The  power  of  these  engines  is  self-moving,  and  the  motion  is 
perpetual.  Sages  and  philosophers  had  discovered  that  the  world  was 
made  for  the  people  who  inhabit  it,  and  that  kings  were  less  entitled 
in  their  own  right  to  its  government,  than  lions,  whose  claims  to  be 
lords  of  the  forest  are  supported  by  physical  prowess.  But  the  books 
and  treatises  which  maintained  these  doctrines  were  read  by  the  admir- 
ers of  the  Lockes,  and  Sidneys,  and  jNIiltons,  and  Harringtons,  and 
replaced  on  their  shelves  as  brilhant  theories.  Or,  if  they  impelled  to 
occasional  action,  it  ended  in  bringing  new  tyrants  to  the  throne,  and 
sincere  patriots  to  the  scaffold.  But  your  progenitors,  who  occupied 
these  seats,  first  taught  a  whole  people  systematically  to  combine  the 
united  force  of  their  moral  and  physical  energies,  to  learn  the  rights  of 
insurrection  not  as  written  in  the  language  of  the  passions,  but  in 
codes  and  digests  of  its  justifiable  cases ;  to  enforce  them,  under  the 
restraints  of  discipline ;  to  define  and  limit  its  objects;  to  be  content 
with  success,  and  to  make  sure  of  its  advantages.  All  this  they  did ; 
and  when  the  propitious  hour  had  arrived,  they  called  on  their  coun- 
trymen, as  the  angel  called  upon  the  apostles,  '  Come,  rise  up  quickly ! 
—  and  the  chains  fell  from  their  hands.'  The  inspiring  voice  echoed 
through  the  welkin  in  Europe  and  America,  and  awakened  nations. 
He  who  would  learn  the  effects  of  it  must  read  the  history  of  the 
world  for  the  last  half-century.  He  who  would  anticipate  the  conse- 
quences must  ponder  well  the  probabilities  with  which  time  is  preg- 
nant, for  the  next.  The  memory  of  these  men  is  entitled  to  a  full 
share  of  all  the  honor  arising  from  the  advantage  derived  to  mankind 
from  this  change  of  condition,  but  yet  is  not  chargeable  with  the  crimes 
and  misfortunes,  more  than  is  the  memory  of  Fulton  with  the  occa- 
sional bursting  of  a  boiler. 

"  Shall  I,  then,  glance  rapidly  at  some  of  the  scenes,  and  the 
actors  who  figured  in  them,  wdthin  these  walls  7  Shall  I  carry  you 
]jack  to  the  controversies  between  Gov.  Bernard  and  the  House  of 
Representatives,  commencing  nearly  seventy  years  ago,  respecting  the 
claims  of  the  mother  country  to  tax  the  colonies  without  their  consent  1 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS.  213 

To  the  stand  made  against  writs  of  assistance,  in  the  chamber  now 
intended  for  your  mayor  and  aldermen,  where  and  when,  according  to 
John  Adams,  'Independence  was  born,'  and  whose  star  was  then 
seen  in  the  east  by  wise  men.  To  the  memorable  vindication  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  by  one  of  its  members?  To  the  "Rights 
of  the  Colonies,"  adopted  by  the  Legislature  as  a  text-book,  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  British  ministry  ?  To  the  series  of  patriotic  resolutions, 
protests,  and  State  papers,  teeming  with  indignant  eloquence  and  irre- 
sistible argument  in  opposition  to  the  stamp  and  other  tax  acts  —  to 
the  landing  and  quartering  of  troops  in  the  town  ?  To  the  rescinding 
of  resolutions  in  obedience  to  royal  mandates  ?  To  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  government,  and  the  untiring  struggle  in  which  the  Legislature 
was  engaged  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  supported  by  the  Adamses, 
the  Thachers,  the  Hawleys,  the  Hancocks,  the  Bowdoins,  the  Quincys, 
and  their  illustrious  colleagues  ?  In  fact,  the  most  important  measures 
■which  led  to  the  emancipation  of  the  colonies,  according  to  Hutchinson, 
a  competent  judge,  originated  in  this  house,  in  this  apartment,  with 
those  men  who,  putting  life  and  fortune  on  the  issue,  adopted  for  their 
motto 

'  Let  such,  such  only,  tread  this  sacred  floor. 
Who  dare  to  love  their  country  and  be  poor.' 

"  Events  of  a  different  complexion  are  also  associated  with  the  Boston 
Town-house.  At  one  time  it  was  desecrated  by  the  king's  troops 
quartered  in  the  Representatives'  chamber,  and  on  the  lower  floor. 
At  another  time,  cannon  were  stationed  and  pointed  towards  its  doors. 
Below  the  balcony  in  King-street,  on  the  doleful  night  of  the  fifth  of 
March,  the  blood  of  the  first  victims  to  the  military  executioners  was 
shed.  On  the  appearance  of  the  governor  in  the  street,  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  an  immense  throng,  who,  to  prevent  mischief  to  his  person, 
though  he  had  lost  their  confidence,  forced  him  into  this  building,  with 
the  cry,  '  To  the  Town-House !  to  the  Town-House  ! '  He  then 
went  forth  into  the  balcony,  and,  promising  to  use  his  endeavors  to 
bring  the  offenders  to  justice,  and  advising  the  people  to  retire,  they 
dispersed,  vociferating  '  Home  !  home  !  '  The  Governor  and  Council 
remained  all  night  deliberating  in  dismal  conclave,  while  the  friends  of 
their  country  bedewed  their  pillows  with  tears,  '  such  tears  as  patriots 
shed  for  dying  laws.'  But  I  would  not  wish,  under  any  circumstances, 
to  dwell  upon  incidents  like  these,  thankful  as  I  am  that  time,  which 


214  THE   nUNDKED    BOSTON   ORATORS. 

has  secured  our  freedom,  has  extinguished  our  resentments.  I  there- 
fore turn  from  these  painful  reminiscences,  and  refer  you  to  the  day 
■when  Independence,  mature  in  age  and  lovehness,  advanced  with  angehc 
grace  from  the  chamber  in  which  she  was  born,  into  the  same  balcony ; 
and,  holding  in  her  hand  the  immortal  scroll  on  which  her  name  and 
character  and  claims  to  her  inheritance  were  inscribed,  received,  from 
the  street  filled  with  an  impenetrable  phalanx,  and  windows  glittering 
with  a  blaze  of  beauty,  the  heartfelt  homage  and  electrifying  peals  of 
the  men,  women  and  children,  of  the  whole  city.  The  splendor  of  that 
glorious  vision  of  my  childhood  seems  to  be  now  present  to  my  view, 
and  the  harmony  of  universal  concert  to  vibrate  in  my  ear." 

When  our  immortal  Webster,  —  that  presiding  genius  of  the  consti- 
tution, often  characterized  as  the  modern  Dexter,  —  on  the  decision  of 
the  Whig  party,  in  the  presidential  contest,  to  adopt  Zachary  Taylor 
as  their  candidate,  exclaimed,  in  the  heat  of  disappointed  ambition, 
that  it  was  a  nomination  not  fit  to  be  made,  thus  exciting  confusion  in 
the  minds  of  the  party,  our  venerable  octogenarian,  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Otis,  in  a  magnanimous  spirit  of  conciliation,  addressed  an  epistle  to 
the  public,  in  the  style  of  freshness,  beauty  and  eflFect,  so  peculiar  to 
him  before  the  prime  of  life,  advocating  the  expediency  of  this  nomina- 
tion. It  had  a  tendency  to  unite  the  party,  and  insure  the  elevation  of 
Zachary  Taylor ;  and  this  last  generous  act  of  his  life  so  overpowered 
his  mind,  that  it  accelerated  his  decease,  written  as  it  was  under  the 
pressure  of  years  and  infirmity.  "  The  general  objections  to  placing  a 
military  chieftain  at  the  head  of  the  nation  are  two-fold,"  says  Mr. 
Otis,  in  this  document:  "first,  the  apprehension  that  the  habits  of 
absolute  authority  may  be  carried  from  the  field  to  the  cabinet, —  that 
he  may  thus  be  inclined  to  say,  '  I  am  the  State ; '  and,  if  he  cannot 
bend  the  constitution  to  his  wall,  to  pierce  it  with  his  sword.  But  a 
soldier  of  this  species,  before  he  is  intrusted  with  civil  offices,  displays 
his  character  sufficiently  to  give  warning.  Like  the  rattlesnake,  he 
may  be  known  by  his  notes  of  preparation ;  and  if  the  people  will  incur 
a  danger  equal  to  plague,  pestilence  and  famine,  it  is  their  own  fault. 
Second,  the  want  of  political  experience,  and  other  quahfications  for  a 
new  sphere  of  action.  But,  for  these,  the  constituency  must  generally 
take  its  chance.  In  our  country,  few  persons  '  make  commonwealth's 
affairs  their  only  study.'  Pohtics  are  not  a  regular  profession  for 
which  men  are  educated,  though  too  many  make  it  a  trade.  This 
last  objection,  therefore,  apphes  to  all  other  professions.     Eminence 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS,  215 

in  either  of  them,  especially  of  the  bar,  is  regarded  as  an  earnest 
of  ability  adequate  to  the  most  elevated  station.  Yet  a  great  lawyer, 
in  full  practice,  can  do  little  more,  if  so  much,  to  quahfy  himself  for  a 
ne"W  vocation,  than  a  general.  They  will  each  have  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  current  of  affairs  from  the  pubhc  journals  and  from  inter- 
course with  others ;  and  neither  will  have  been  able  to  do  more.  The 
soldier,  perhaps,  has  most  leisure  for  such  pursuits,  except  in  time  of 
actual  war.  The  studies  and  occupation  of  the  lawyer  seem  to  be 
most  congenial  to  those  of  a  civil  chieftain ;  yet  great  names  may  be 
found  to  contend  that  these  very  studies  and  pursuits  contract  the 
mind  of  the  practical  jurist,  and  impair  his  qualifications  for  enlarged 
views  of  civil  administration  and  adroit  diplomacy. 

"The  truth,  however,  is,  that  a  truly  great  man  will  always  show 
himself  great.  The  talents  called  forth  by  the  strategy  of  a  succession 
of  mihtary  campaigns,  in  a  country  new  and  unexplored,  and  inacces- 
sible by  ordinary  means,  where  resources  must  be  created,  and  embar- 
rassments not  to  be  foreseen  arc  constantly  met  and  surmounted, 
would  easily  accommodate  themselves  to  the  varying,  though  less 
difficult  exigencies  of  civil  affairs.  For  myself,  I  rest  satisfied  that 
General  Taylor  would  be  found  fidly  competent  to  the  office  of  presi- 
dent, for  the  same  reasons  that  I  think  Daniel  Webster  would  make  a 
great  general.  Each  would  require  some  little  training  and  experience, 
in  a  new  harness,  and,  perhaps,  a  good  deal  of  consultation  with  others. 
History  is  replete  with  heroes  transformed  into  statesmen.  Who  is 
unacquainted  with  the  agency  and  influence  of  the  great  Marlborough, 
in  the  councils  as  well  as  in  the  wars  of  Queen  Anne  7  Where  did 
the  greater  Duke  of  Welhngton  qualify  liimself  to  settle  the  peace  of 
Europe,  wliich  he  had  won  by  his  sword,  associated  in  congress  with 
emperors  and  kings,  and  the  most  accomphshed  diplomatists  from  the 
principal  cabinets  of  the  old  world  7  And  whence  did  he  derive  the 
faculty  which  since  that  period  has  been  displayed,  in  the  intuitive 
sagacity  with  which  he  has  controlled  the  measures  of  the  British 
cabinet  and  peerage,  and  enabled  his  country  to  persevere  in  her 
career  of  power  and  glory,  despite  the  most  novel  and  serious  embar- 
rassments 7  In  what  school  did  the  great  Napoleon  acquire  the 
knowledge  of  affairs  which  enabled  him  to  hold  the  strings  of  his 
administration  in  his  own  hands,  to  reform  the  interior  management  of 
the  whole  empire,  and  to  preside  in  a  council  of  the  most  distinguished 
jurists  and  civilians  in  the  formation  of  the  civil  code,  himself  initiating 


216  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

some  of  the  most  essential  improvements  ?  Finally,  our  own  great 
"WashinjTton  was  a  Samson  in  combat  before  lie  became  a  Solomon  in 
council.  On  very  mature  reflection,  I  am  satisfied  tliat  General 
Taylor,  in  a  sliort  time  after  he  shall  have  taken  the  chair,  will  acquit 
himself  of  his  high  duties  to  the  entire  public  satisfaction. 

"  It  is  further  objected  that  General  Taylor  is  a  slave-holder.  This 
objection  comes  sixty  years  too  late.  It  was  disposed  of  in  substance 
by  the  original  articles  of  confederation,  and  annulled  in  form  by  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  Northern  States  were  glad 
enough  to  avail  themselves  of  the  cooperation  of  the  South  in  their 
struggle  for  independence,  and  'no  questions  asked.'  Not  less  thankful 
were  they  to  cement  the  incipient  alliance  by  a  most  solemn  compact, 
expressly  recognizing  their  right  to  property  in  their  slaves,  and  engag- 
ing to  protect  it, —  treating  with  them,  as  proprietors  of  slaves,  as  our 
equals  in  all  respects,  and  eligible,  of  consequence,  to  all  offices  under 
the  constitution.  What  would  have  been  the  fate  of  a  motion  in  that 
glorious  assembly  which  formed  the  constitution,  or  of  those  who  might 
have  made  it,  —  George  Washington  present, —  to  declare  a  slave-holder 
ineligible  to  any  office  under  it '?  I  well  remember  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution  by  my  fellow-citizens  of  the  State,  when  Hancock,  muffled 
in  red  baize,  was  brought  into  the  convention,  to  sign  the  ratification. 
The  evening  preceding,  a  demonstration  in  favor  of  the  measure  Avas 
made  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  by  an  assemblage  favorable  to  it,  whose 
numbers,  Paul  Revere  assured  Samuel  Adams,  were  like  the  sands  of 
the  sea-shore,  or  like  the  stars  in  heaven." 

This  vigorous  document  was  published  on  Oct.  2,  and  the  decease 
of  Otis  occurred  on  the  28th  of  October  1848.  His  remains  were 
entombed  at  Mount  Auburn.    He  was  aged  83  years  and  twenty  days. 

"  Of  no  distemper,  of  no  blast,  he  died, 

But  fell  like  autumn  fruit  that  mellowed  long,  — 
E'en  wondered  at,  because  he  dropped  no  sooner  ; 
Fate  seemed  to  wind  him  up  to  fourscore  years. 
Yet  freshly  ran  he  on  three  winters  more. 
Till,  like  a  clock  worn  out  with  eating  time. 
The  wheels  of  weary  life  at  last  stood  still." 

Old  Faneuil  Hall  will  ever  be  memorable  as  the  forum  whence,  with 
a  voice  of  silvery  sweetness,  the  flashes  of  wit  and  stirring  eloquence  of 
our  Boston  Cicero  captivated  the  people.  Like  Cicero,  our  Otis  was 
by  nature  a  statesman  ;  but  the  honestly-conceived  Hartford  Conven- 


nARRISON    GRAY   OTIS.  217 

tion,  of  AYliicli  he  was  the  most  po-wcrful  advocate,  Wighted  his  pohtical 

elevation  above  that  of  the  Senate  in  Congress.     Otis,  however,  was  the 

pride  of  the  Bostonians ;  and,  while  many  a  political  opponent,  both 

from  the  press  and  the  rostrum,  to  use  the  words  of  our  native  poet, 

Sprague, 

"  Soils  the  green  garlands  that  for  Otis  bloom. 
And  plants  a  brier  even  on  Cabot's  tomb," 

we  are  confident  that  posterity  will  view  him  as  a  luminous  star  in 
the  constellation  of  American  patriots.  He  was  never  rivalled  for 
eloquence  by  any  politician  of  his  native  city,  or  any  of  his  native 
State,  excepting  only  his  noble  kinsman,  and  the  accomplished  Fisher 
Ames.  The  contour  of  liis  head  was  beautiful,  with  animated  eyes, 
and  a  ruddy  complexion.  He  was  rather  tall,  of  noble  bearing,  grace- 
ful gestures,  and  courteous  manners.  A  full-length  portrait  of  Otis  is 
in  the  care  of  the  Massachusetts  Mechanics'  Charitable  Association,  and 
an  accurate  portrait  by  Stuart  is  in  the  family.  William  Sullivan  aptly 
remarks  of  him,  that  he  was  the  orator  of  all  popular  assemblies, —  the 
guide  of  popular  opinion  in  all  the  trying  scenes  of  commercial  restric- 
tions, embargo,  and  war.  "With  a  fine  person  and  commanding  elo- 
quence, with  a  clear  perception  and  patriotic  purpose,  he  was  the  first 
among  his  equals,  alike  ready  at  all  times  with  his  pen  and  his  tongue. 
And  Samuel  K.  Lothrop,  his  pastor,  says  of  him,  that  the  action  and 
play  of  his  mental  power  was  so  easy,  that  one  was  apt  to  forget  the 
profound  and  subtle  nature  of  the  subjects  with  which  he  was  dealing. 
His  power  of  nice  analysis  and  sharp  discrimination  was  extraordinary, 
and  the  broad  and  deep  wisdom  of  his  thought  was  often  as  remarkable 
as  the  language  in  which  he  clothed  it  was  brilliant  and  beautiful. 
The  biography  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis  remains  to  be  written.  It  was 
well  said  of  him,  at  the  Harvard  centennial,  by  William  H.  Gard- 
iner, that  he  was  the  first  scholar  of  the  first  class  of  a  new  nation, 
the  career  of  whose  life  has  been  according  to  the  promise  of  his  youth ; 
who  has  touched  nothing  which  he  has  not  adorned,  and  who  has  been 
rewarded  with  no  office,  nor  honor,  nor  emolument,  to  which  he  was 
not  richly  entitled. 

19 


218  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

GEN.   WILLIAM   HULL. 

JULY  4,  1788.    FOR  THE  MASSACHUSEflS  SOCIETY  OF  CINCINNATI. 

The  patriotic  appeal  of  the  orator  to  his  companions  in  arms 
arouses  in  their  descendants  an  impressive  conception  of  the  burning 
ardor  of  our  Revolutionary  heroes :  The  return  of  this  joyful  anniver- 
sary, my  dear  friends  and  companions,  will  naturally  recall  to  your 
minds  the  various  interesting  scenes  Avhich  have  fallen  to  your  lot 
"while  on  the  theatre  of  action.  The  rugged  and  thorny  paths  you 
have  together  trod, —  the  dangerous  but  honorable  part  you  have  been 
called  to  act, —  the  mingled  emotions  -which  have  been  excited,  -while 
the  fate  of  your  country  -was  uncertain,  and  the  scenes  of  your  military 
drama  -were  continually  shifting.  In  the  recollection  of  these  important 
transactions,  you  will  not  be  unmindful  of  your  companions  in  danger. 
Are  they  all  present  to  partake  in  the  festivity  of  the  day,  and  to  com- 
memorate those  great  events  for  the  acquisition  of  which  their  valor 
and  their  virtue  have  largely  contributed  ?  No,  my  friends,  many  of 
the  most  ornamental  pillars  have  fallen,  in  erecting  the  great  fabric  of 
freedom  ;  and,  -while  our  feelings  are  alive  on  the  subject,  scarcely  does 
the  magnitude  of  the  object  compensate  the  magnitude  of  the  sacrifice. 
May  unfading  laurels  ever  bloom  around  their  tombs  !  May  monu- 
ments more  durable  than  marble  be  erected  to  their  memories  !  ]May 
■we,  my  brethren,  ever  bear  on  our  minds  the  amiable  and  manly  virtues 
by  which  they  were  distinguished  while  actors  on  the  stage,  and  the 
glory  and  dignity  with  which  they  closed  the  scene.  And  while  their 
memories  live  deeply  engraven  on  the  hearts  and  affections  of  a  grate- 
ful people,  may  faithful  history  transmit  their  illustrious  deeds  to  the 
latest  time,  and  her  fairest  pages  be  ornamented  with  the  lustre  of  their 
fame  ! 

The  memorable  day  we  now  celebrate,  and  the  purposes  for  which 
we  are  assembled,  will  recall  to  our  recollection  the  period  which  gave 
birth  to  our  institution,  the  motives  from  whence  it  originated,  and  the 
principles  upon  which  it  is  founded.  Having  for  more  than  eight  years 
devoted  our  lives  to  the  service  of  our  country, —  having  cheerfully 
endured  the  dangers  and  fatigues  which  are  incident  to  a  military 
employment,  and  having  seen  our  efforts  crowned  with  success,  the 
period  arrived  when  we  Avere  to  take  a  farewell  of  each  other.     A 


WILLIAM   HULL.  219 

crisis  so  interesting  must  have  excited  a  variety  of  emotions.  While, 
on  the  one  hand,  we  were  animated  with  joy  that  our  country  was  freed 
from  danger,  and  honorably  seated  in  the  chair  of  independence, —  on 
the  other,  we  must  have  been  penetrated  with  grief ;  not  that  we  were 
about  to  quit  the  splendid  scenes  of  military  command,  and  mingle 
with  our  fellow-citizens ;  not  that  toil  and  poverty  would  probably  be 
our  portion, — for  to  them  we  had  long  been  wedded;  — but  that  we  were 
to  act  the  last  affectionate  part  of  our  military  connection,  and  to  sep- 
arate, perhaps  never  to  meet  again.  Was  it  possible  to  suppress  the 
feelings  which  the  occasion  excited?  Did  not  the  same  principles 
which  had  animated  you  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  war  and  dangers  of 
the  field,  for  the  attainment  of  independence,  loudly  call  upon  you  to 
institute  a  memorial  of  so  great  an  event  ? 

When  the  representatives  of  your  country  bestowed  upon  you  the 
honorable  appellation  of  the  patriot  army,  and  honored  you  with  the 
united  thanks  of  America  for  the  part  you  had  acted,  was  it  not  your 
duty,  by  your  future  conduct,  to  give  the  highest  possible  evidence 
that  the  applause  was  not  unmerited  7  Could  you  possibly  have  exhib- 
ited a  more  striking  example,  or  given  a  higher  proof,  than  by  forming 
an  institution  which  inculcated  the  duty  of  laying  down  in  peace  the 
arms  you  had  assumed  for  public  defence  ?  If  the  various  fortunes 
of  war  had  attached  you  to  each  other,  if  there  was  sincerity  in  that 
friendship  you  professed,  if  you  wished  to  contribute  a  small  portion 
of  the  little  you  possessed  to  the  relief  of  your  unfortunate  compan- 
ions, was  it  possible  for  you  to  separate,  without  forming  yourselves 
into  a  society  of  friends,  for  the  continuance  and  exercise  of  these 
benevolent  purposes  ?  Heaven  saw  with  approbation  the  purity  of  your 
intentions,  and  your  institution  arose  on  the  broad  foundation  of  patri- 
otism, friendship,  and  charity. 

William  Hull  was  born  at  Derby,  Ct.,  June  24,  1753.  He  grad- 
uated at  Yale  College  in  1772  ;  studied  divinity  during  one  year,  and 
then  attached  himself  to  the  Law  School  in  Litchfield,  Ct.,  and  entered 
the  bar  in  1775  ;  after  which  he  engaged  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
as  a  captain. 

The  first  incident  recorded  by  Capt.  Hull,  on  his  arrival  in  camp,  is 
a  striking  illustration  of  the  deficiency  of  military  order,  discipline  and 
etiquette,  with  which  Washington  had  to  contend.  A  body  of  the 
enemy  landed  at  Lechmerc's  Point,  in  Cambridge.  It  was  expected 
an  attack  would  be  made  on  the  American  lines.     The  alarm  was 


220  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

given,  and  the  troops  ordered  to  their  respective  stations.  When  the 
regiment  of  Col.  Webb  was  formed  for  action,  the  captains  and  subal- 
terns appeared  dressed  in  long  cloth  frocks,  with  kerchiefe  tied  about 
theu'  heads.  Capt.  Hull  Tvas  the  only  man  in  uniform.  The  officers 
inquired  why  he  came  out  in  full  dress, —  that  the  regiment  was  going 
into  action,  and  that  he  would  be  a  mark  for  the  enemy's  fire.  He 
replied  that  he  thought  the  uniform  of  an  officer  was  designed  to  aid 
his  influence  and  increase  his  authority  over  his  men ;  and  if  ever 
important  in  these  points,  it  was  more  particularly  so  in  the  hour 
of  battle.  They  referred  to  their  experience,  remarking  that  in  the 
French  war  it  was  not  customary,  and  they  had  never  worn  it.  Capt. 
Hull  yielded  to  age  and  experience,  sent  his  servant  for  a  frock  and 
kerchief,  and  dressed  himself  after  the  fashion  of  his  companions.  His 
company  was  in  advance  of  the  British  lines.  While  at  this  station, 
Gen.  Washington  and  suite,  in  the  course  of  reviewing  the  troops, 
stopped  at  the  redoubt,  and  asked  what  officer  commanded  there.  With 
feehngs  of  inexpressible  mortification,  says  Gen.  Hull,  I  came  forward 
in  my  savage  costume,  and  reported  that  Capt.  Hull  had  the  honor  of 
commanding  the  redoubt.  As  soon  as  Gen.  Washington  passed  on, 
Capt.  Hull  availed  himself  of  the  first  moment  to  despatch  his  ser- 
vant, with  all  possible  speed,  to  bring  him  his  uniform.  As  he  put  it 
on,  he  quietly  resolved  never  more  to  subscribe  to  the  opinions  of  men, 
however  loyal  and  brave  in  their  country's  service,  whose  views  were 
so  little  in  unison  with  his  own.  After  the  troops  had  waited  four  or 
five  hours  in  expectation  of  an  attack,  the  enemy  returned  to  his 
encampment,  having  no  other  object  in  making  the  descent  than  to 
procure  provisions.  Hull  was  in  the  surprise  on  Dorchester  Heights, 
at  IVhite  Plains,  battle  of  Trenton,  and  Princeton,  where  he  was 
promoted  as  major ;  was  at  Ticonderoga,  at  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne,  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  and  at  the  capture  of  Stoney  Point ; 
was  appointed  army-inspector  under  Baron  Steuben,  became  a  colonel 
in  the  capture  of  Cornwallis,  and  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Quebec 
to  demand  the  surrender  of  Forts  Niagara,  Detroit,  and  several 
smaller  forts.  In  Shays'  insurrection.  Col.  Hull  had  command  of 
the  left  wing  of  the  troops  under  Gen.  Lincoln,  and,  in  making  a 
forced  march  through  a  violent  snow-storm,  surprised  the  insur- 
gents in  their  camp,  who  fled  in  every  direction.  In  1781  Col.  Hull 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Judge  Fuller,  of  Newton.  In  1789  he 
was  the  commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  .Artillery  Company. 


WILLIAM  HULL.  221 

In  1793  he  was  a  commissioner  to  Upper  Canada  for  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians.  In  1798  he  visited  Europe,  and  on  his  return  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  was  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Senate.  In  1805  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Michigan,  when  he  surrendered  Deti'oit  to  Maj.  Gen.  Isaac 
Brock,  Aug.  15,  1812.  In  1814  he  was  condemned  by  court-martial 
for  cowardice,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot,  but  was  pardoned  by  President 
Madison.  In  1824  Maj.  Gen.  Hull  pubhshed  a  series  of  letters  in 
defence  of  his  conduct  in  the  campaign  of  1812.  The  North  Amer- 
ican Review  said  that,  from  the  public  documents  collected  and  pub- 
lished in  them,  the  conclusion  must  unequivocally  be  drawn  that  Gen. 
Hull  was  required  by  the  government  to  do  what  it  was  morally  and 
physically  impossible  that  he  should  do;  and  his  grandson,  Rev.  James 
Freeman  Clarke,  author  of  the  Military  and  Civil  Life  of  Gen.  William 
Hull,  in  482  pages  8vo.,  after  a  critical  examination  of  the  whole  case, 
remarks  that  the  charge  of  cowardice,  when  examined,  becomes  incred- 
ible and  absurd.  The  only  questions  which  can  now  be  raised  by  rea- 
sonable men  are  these :  Did  not  Gen.  Hull  err  in  judgment  in  some 
of  his  measures  7  Might  it  not  have  been  better  to  have  attacked  Mai- 
den ?  And  was  the  surrender  of  his  post  at  Detroit,  without  a  struggle 
for  its  defence,  reconcilable  with  his  situation  at  that  time  1 

The  reason  for  not  attacking  Maiden  was  the  deficiency  of  suitable 
cannon  for  that  purpose ;  and  a  want  of  confidence  in  the  militia,  as 
acknowledged  by  the  officers  in  command,  to  storm  the  works  at  Mai- 
den, which  were  defended  by  cannon  batteries,  while  reliance  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans  was  on  militia  bayonets  almost  entirely. 

In  considering  the  conduct  of  Gen.  Hull,  in  surrendering  Detroit, 
we  ought  always  to  bear  in  mind  that  he  was  governor  of  the  territory 
as  well  as  general  of  the  army ;  that  he  accepted  the  command  of  the 
army  for  the  express  purpose  of  defending  the  territory ;  and  that 
though,  in  compliance  with  the  orders  of  government,  he  had  invaded 
Canada,  a  principal  object  was  still  the  defence  of  the  people  of  Mich- 
igan. If,  therefore,  his  situation  was  such  that  even  a  successful  tem- 
porary resistance  could  not  finally  prevent  the  fall  of  Detroit,  had  he 
any  right  to  expose  the  people  of  Michigan  to  that  universal  massacre 
which  would  unquestionably  have  been  the  result  of  a  battle  at  Detroit? 
It  must  also  be  remembered  that  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  the  fort 
was  crowded  with  women  and  children,  who  had  fled  thither  for  protec- 
tion from  the  town,  which  tended  still  more  to  embarrass  the  situation 
19* 


222  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

and  move  the  sympathies  of  the  governor.  If,  therefore,  some  persons, 
"with  \?hom  military  glory  stands  higher  than  humanity  and  plain  duty, 
may  still  blame  Gen.  Hull  for  not  fighting  a  useless  battle,  and  for  not 
causing  blood  to  be  shed  where  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  its  effusion, 
we  are  confident  that  all  high-minded  and  judicious  persons  will  con- 
clude that,  to  sign  the  surrender  of  Detroit,  was  an  act  of  greater  cour- 
age and  truer  manliness,  on  the  part  of  Gen.  Hull,  than  it  would  have 
been  to  have  sent  out  his  troops  to  battle.  On  his  death-bed,  he 
expressed  his  happiness  that  he  had  thus  saved  the  wanton  destruction 
of  the  peaceful  citizens  of  Michigan.  He  died  at  Newton,  Mass  ,  Nov. 
29,  1825. 


SAMUEL   STILLMAN,  D.   D. 

JULY  4,  1789.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Samuel  Stillman  was  born  at  Philadelphia,  Feb.  27,  1737 ;  was 
educated  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Evin 
Morgan,  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  May  23,  1759.  He  settled  in  the 
ministry  at  James'  Island,  but  impaired  health  occasioned  his  removal 
to  Bordentown,  N.  J.,  in  1760,  where,  after  continuing  two  years,  he 
visited  Boston,  became  an  assistant  at  the  Second  Baptist  Church,  and 
was,  on  Jan.  9,  1765,  installed  as  successor  of  Kev.  Jeremiah  Condy, 
over  the  First  Baptist  Church. 

On  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  Mr.  Stillman  published  a  patriotic 
sermon,  which  was  greatly  admired.  This  occurred  May  17,  1766. 
"  Should  I  serve  you  a  century  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,"  says  Stillman 
in  this  performance,  "  I  might  never  again  have  so  favorable  an  oppor- 
tunity to  consider  this  passage, — '  As  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul,  so  is 
good  news  from  a  far  country.'  It  is  a  proverb,  the  truth  of  which  you 
are  now  feeling ;  hence,  great  is  the  propriety  of  improving  its  spirit- 
ual meaning.  And  the  preacher  will  have  the  advantage,  wliile  he 
attempts  to  illustrate  the  glories  of  the  Gospel,  by  what  the  people  feel. 
Has  not  a  general  joy  diffused  itself  amongst  us  7  Does  not  Boston 
and  the  country  wear  a  face  of  pleasantness  1  You  may  read  good 
news  in  every  countenance.  How  great  the  alteration  that  has  taken 
place  amongst  us,  in  consequence  of  a  late  most  interesting  decision  in 


SAMUEL   STILLMAN,  D.  D,  223 

our  favor  !  When  the  news  arrived,  so  as  to  be  confidently  bcheved, 
there  was  a  universal  shout.  It  now  became  impossible  for  every  lover 
of  liberty  and  his  country  to  conceal  the  gladness  of  his  heart, —  pub- 
lic and  private  were  the  expressions  of  joy  on  this  important  occasion. 
Yea,  your  children,  yet  ignorant  of  the  importance  of  this  event  to 
these  colonies,  bear  a  part  in  the  triumphs  of  the  day, —  in  imitation, 
no  doubt,  of  their  parents  and  others,  whom  they  observe  pleased  on 
this  happy  occurrence.  Well,  thought  I,  good  news  from  an  earthly 
prince,  that  brings  deliverance,  and  gives  us  the  prospect  of  the  contin- 
uance of  our  most  dear  and  invaluable  rights  and  privileges,  which  we 
apprehended  on  the  brink  of  departing  from  us,  fill  us  with  such  a  gen- 
eral gladness  that  scarce  a  tongue  will  be  silent.  0  !  how  much  more 
might  we  expect  that  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  —  salvation  from 
everlasting  misery,  to  the  fruition  of  endless  happiness  —  would  diffuse 
a  universal  joy  !  "  Samuel  Stillman,  at  that  period,  was  a  loyal  subject 
of  King  George  the  Third,  as  appears  by  this  passage:  "May  the 
British  Parliament  receive  that  deference  from  us  that  they  deserve, 
and  be  convinced  by  our  future  conduct  that  we  aim  not  at  independ- 
ency, nor  wish  to  destroy  distinctions  where  distinctions  are  necessary, 
—  that  we  rejoice  in  being  governed  according  to  the  principles  of  that 
constitution  of  which  we  make  our  boast  as  Englishmen ;  yea,  further, 
that  if  it  was  put  to  our  choice,  whether  our  connection  with  Great 
Britain  should  be  dissolved,  we,  the  inhabitants  of  these  colonies,  would 
rise  like  a  cloud,  and  deprecate  such  a  disunion." 

Mr.  Stillman  soon  became  one  of  the  most  popular  pulpit  orators  of 
his  day,  and  was  consequently  appointed  to  preach  on  great  occasions. 
He  pronounced  a  sermon  before  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company,  under  William  Heath,  and  the  train  of  Artillery,  under 
Capt.  Adino  Paddock,  June  4,  1770.  In  allusion  to  the  massacre  in 
King-street,  he  says,  "  On  account  of  which  we  have  wept  sore,  our 
tears  are  still  on  our  cheeks ;  which  doubtless  will  be  a  mournful 
anniversary  in  years  to  come.  And  it  is  but  entertaining  such  an 
opinion  of  his  majesty's  paternal  regards  for  his  subjects  as  they  ought 
ever  to  cherish,  to  suppose  that  he  has  wept,  or  will  weep  with  us,  over 
the  five  unhappy  men  who  fell  on  that  gloomy  night.  Wliat  heart  is 
hard  enough  to  refuse  a  tear  ?  "  And  in  a  note  Stillman  says,  "  How- 
ever well  a  wound  may  be  healed,  a  scar  always  remains.  So,  however 
satisfactorily  to  the  colonists  the  pi'esent  disputes  may  terminate,  they 
will  not  forget  the  names  of  those  who  were  the  cause  of  troops  being 


224  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

quartered  in  this  metropolig  in  a  time  of  peace,  nor  the  errand  on 
•which  they  came."  Pure  eloquence  hke  this,  together  with  the 
living  voice,  whose  tones  and  emphases,  in  an  orator  hke  our  own 
Stillman,  says  Dr.  Park,  of  Andover.  are  themselves  almost  a  doc- 
trine :  not  with  the  voice  alone,  hut  with  the  hand,  which  opens  in 
order  to  give  out  the  truth ;  with  the  eye,  which  radiates  a  thought 
unuttei-able  by  the  lips ;  with  the  whole  person,  which  bodies  forth  what 
is  concealed  within.  Mr.  Stillman,  in  this  discourse,  urges  the  neces- 
sity of  a  well-organized  militia,  and  says:  "  In  this  town  there  are 
above  two  thousand  men  able  to  bear  arms,  many  of  whom  are  excused 
from  duty,  except  in  cases  of  alarm ;  others,  inattentive  to  the  import- 
ance of  a  well-disciplined  militia,  choose  rather  to  pay  their  fines  than 
appear  in  the  field.  Permit  me,  then,  with  modesty  to  ask,  how  is  it 
possible,  things  continuing  thus,  that  the  regiment  should  appear  either 
complete  or  respectable?  Whereas,  would  gentlemen  of  reputation 
among  us  set  the  good  example,  it  would  render  our  militia  repu- 
table, and  tend  to  increase  the  number  of  volunteers  in  the  service. 
Hence  it  is  in  their  power,  in  a  great  degree,  to  strengthen  the  things 
which  remain  in  this  respect,  and  seem  ready  to  die.  This,  among 
other  things,  would  be  an  evidence  of  a  truly  pubhc  spirit,  and  an 
honor  to  those  who  should  lead  the  way."  In  Mr.  Stillman's  Election 
Sermon,  delivered  May,  1779,  we  find  the  following  bold  passage,  in 
which  he  says  that  "  the  very  men  who  wore  appointed  the  guardians 
and  conservators  of  the  rights  of  the  people  have  dismembered  the 
empire,  and,  by  repeated  acts  of  injustice  and  oppression,  have  forced 
from  the  bosom  of  their  parent  country  milhons  of  Americans,  who 
might  have  been  drawn  by  a  hair,  but  were  not  to  be  driven  by  all  the 
thunder  of  Britain.  A  few  soft  words  would  have  fixed  them  in  her 
interest,  and  have  turned  away  that  wrath  which  her  cruel  conduct 
had  enkindled.  The  sameness  of  religion,  of  language,  and  of  man- 
ners, together  with  interest,  that  powerful  motive,  and  a  recollection 
of  that  reciprocation  of  kind  offices  which  had  long  prevailed,  would 
have  held  America  in  closest  friendship  with  Great  Britain,  had  she 
not  governed  too  much;"  and,  in  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this 
article,  Dr.  Stillman  remarks,  "  We  have  often  been  told  that  the 
independence  of  America  hath  taken  place  fifty  or  an  hundred  years 
too  soon.  Rather,  it  hath  happened  at  the  very  time  Infinite  Wisdom 
saw  best.  He  without  whose  knowledge  the  sparrow  doth  not  fiill  to 
the  OTOund  hath  du'ected  the  innumerable  intermediate  events  which 


SAMUEL   STILLMANj    D.    D.  225 

connect  the  settlement  of  the  country  vrith  the  declaration  of  independ- 
ence, in  1776.  It  is  because  unerring  Avisdom  chose  it  should  be. 
What  makes  this  event  appear  altogether  providential  is,  that  it  was 
not  the  ground  of  the  quarrel  with  Great  Britain,  nor  the  object  for 
■which  the  Americans  first  contended.  They  fought  for  liberty,  not  for 
independence.  There  was  a  period,  after  the  contest  began,  when  they 
would  have  rejoiced  to  be  placed  in  the  same  condition  in  which  they 
were  in  1763.  And  when  the  proposition  of  independence  was  first 
made,  the  people  in  general  were  much  opposed  to  it,  and  consented  to 
it  at  last  as  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity." 

Dr.  Stillman  was  a  delegate  from  Boston  to  the  Massachusetts 
State  convention,  on  the  acceptance  of  the  federal  constitution,  in 
February,  1788.  In  his  speech  on  the  last  day  of  the  session,  he 
remarked  :  "  I  have  no  interest  to  influence  me  to  accept  this  constitu- 
tion of  government,  distinct  from  the  interest  of  my  country  at  large. 
We  are  all  embarked  in  one  bottom,  and  must  sink  or  swim  together. 
Heaven  has  stationed  me  in  a  line  of  duty  that  precludes  every  pros- 
pect of  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  office.  Let  who  will  govern,  I 
must  obey.  Nor  would  I  exchange  the  pulpit  for  the  highest  honors 
my  country  can  confer.  I,  too,  have  personal  liberties  to  secure,  as 
dear  to  me  as  any  gentleman  in  the  convention ;  and  as  numerous  a 
family,  probably,  to  engage  my  attention.  Besides  which,  I  stand 
here,  with  my  very  honorable  colleagues,  as  a  representative  of  the 
citizens  of  this  great  metropolis,  who  have  been  pleased  to  honor  me 
with  their  confidence. —  an  honor,  in  my  view,  unspeakably  greater 
than  a  peerage  or  a  pension."  After  an  elaborate  course  of  argument, 
he  remarks  :  "  Viewing  the  constitution  in  this  light,  I  stand  ready  to 
give  my  vote  for  it,  without  any  amendments  at  all,  I  am  ready  to 
submit  my  life,  my  liberty,  my  family,  my  property,  and,  as  far  as 
my  vote  will  go,  the  interest  of  my  constituents,  to  this  general  gov- 
ernment. After  all,  if  this  constitution  were  as  perfect  as  is  the  sacred 
volume,  it  would  not  secure  the  liberties  of  the  people,  unless  they 
watch  their  own  liberties.  Nothing  written  on  paper  will  do  this.  It 
is,  therefore,  necessary  that  the  people  should  keep  a  vigilant,  not  an 
over-jealous  eye,  on  their  rulers :  and  that  they  should  give  all  due 
encouragement  to  our  colleges  and  schools  of  learning,  that  so  knowl- 
edge may  be  difiiised  through  every  part  of  our  country."  Dr. 
Stillman  was  a  decided  Whig,  and  a  Federalist  of  the  Washington 
school.     He  died  March  13,  1807. 


226  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

A  biography  of  Dr.  Stillman,  written  by  bis  son-in-law,  Thomas 
Gray,  D.  D.,  of  Roxbury,  is  prefixed  to  a  volume  of  occasional  ser- 
mons, published  in  1808.  It  should  be  stated  that  the  analysis  of  his 
doctrinal  opinions  was  written  by  a  layman  of  Dr.  Stillman's  church. 
Madam  Stillman,  his  wife,  founded  the  Boston  Female  Asylum,  in 
1800,  where  her  portrait  is  exhibited.  A  person  detractingly  re- 
marked of  Stillman,  in  conversation  with  ]\Ioses  Stuart,  of  Andover, 
that  he  was  not  a  man  of  talents.  ''How  long  was  Dr.  Stillman 
pastor  of  the  church  ]"  inquired  Stuart.  "  He  was  its  pastor  forty 
years,"  was  the  reply.  "Was  he  popular  during  all  that  period  7" 
"  He  was."  "  What !  and  not  a  man  of  talents  —  impossible  !  "  said 
Stuart. 

The  oratory  of  Stillman  was  a  rare  exception  to  the  reply  of  Garrick 
to  a  clergyman  who  inquired  of  him  how  it  was  that  the  stage  pro- 
duced so  much  greater  an  effect  on  an  audience  than  the  pulpit.  "  The 
difference  consists  in  this,"  said  Garrick;  '•'  that  we  speak  fiction  as  if 
we  believed  it  fact,  while  you  preach  the  truth  as  if  you  supposed  it 
fiction."  So  flexile  was  the  bow  of  Stillman,  however,  that  the  well- 
directed  arrow  was  sure  to  reach  the  heart. 

"  One  of  the  best  specimens  of  effect  in  preaching,"  remarks  the 
Panophst,  "was  Dr.  Stillman,  of  the  Baptist  church.  It  should 
always  be  remembered  that  when  speaking  of  oratory  we  mean  two 
distinct  things,  which  are  seldom  found  united  in  one  person.  We 
call  Burke  an  orator,  and  the  same  appellation  we  give  to  White- 
field.  But  how  different !  Burke  was  a  very  tedious  speaker ; 
no  man  thinned  the  benches  of  the  House  of  Commons  more,— 
and  it  was  not  until  his  rich  and  flowing  style  appeared  from 
the  press  that  his  merits  were  appreciated.  With  Whitefield  it  was 
exactly  the  reverse.  He  was  thrilling  from  the  desk,  but  it  would 
have  been  happy  for  his  memory  if  none  of  his  discourses  had  ever 
been  published.  We  cannot  claim  for  Dr.  Stillman  the  oratory  of 
Burke.  His  printed  sermons  are  no  reflection  of  the  man.  The 
voice  is  wanting, —  the  melting  tones,  the  restless  activity,  the  match- 
less emphasis  (sometimes,  at  least),  the  fervor,  the  life,  the  energy. 
He  was  a  thin,  spare  man,  dressed  with  the  utmost  neatness ;  he 
wore  a  large,  powdered,  bushy  wig ;  his  motions  very  quick,  and  his 
tones  some  of  the  most  melting  and  quickening  we  ever  heard. 
There  was  a  sort  of  nervous  impatience  in  Mm  during  the  singing  of 
the  last  hymn  before  the  sermon,  which  seemed  to  say  to  you,  '  I 


SAMUEL   STILLMAN,   D.    D.  227 

long  to  be  at  my  work ;'  and  the  moment  the  choir  stopped,  he  started 
from  his  seat,  hke  shot  from  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  was  announcing 
his  text  before  your  hymn-book  was  half  closed.  It  was  once  our  lot 
to  see  him  enter  the  jail,  in  Court-street,  where  a  criminal  was  con- 
fined, waiting  for  execution.  A  vast  crowd  was  assembled  in  the  yard, 
around  the  old  court-house,  blocking  up  all  the  passages.  He  was 
driven  up  by  an  elderly  negro  man,  who  sat  on  a  strapped  seat  before 
the  body  of  the  chaise.  The  impatient  chaplain  leaped  from  his  carriage 
like  a  bird ;  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  his  motions  made 
on  me,  as  he  darted  through  the  crowd,  like  a  glancing  arrow  or  a 
bounding  rocket,  rushing  through  every  opening,  and  almost  pushing 
one  one  way,  and  another  another,  seeming  to  say  by  his  very  motions, 
'  Make  way,  gentlemen,  make  w^ay ;  your  business  cannot  be  equal  to 
mine.  I  have  but  one  work  to  do ;  it  must  be  done ;  I  go  to  rescue  a 
sinner  from  the  darkness  of  his  ignorance  and  the  pangs  of  the  second 
death.     Make  Avay,  gentlemen,  make  way.' 

"His  enunciation  was  rapid,  and  his  emphasis,  as  I  have  before 
said,  sometimes  inimitable.  He  had  some  nice  flexures  of  voice,  which 
I  have  never  heard  from  another  man.  and  which  never  can  be  restored, 
now  that  the  voice  that  modulated  them  is  silent  in  the  grave.  For 
example,  the  following  hymn,: 

« 
'  Well,  the  Redeemer 's  gone, 
To  appear  before  our  God  ; 
To  sprinkle  o'er  the  flaming  throne, 
With  his  atoning  blood.' 

"  Some  cold-blooded  critic  has  lately  censured  this  verse ;  but  I  think 
he  must  have  been  disarmed,  could  he  have  heard  Dr.  Stillraan  read  it. 
His  voice  had  a  beautiful  circumflex  to  it ;  he  threw  this  emphasis  on 
the  word  'well,'  then  a  pause,  and  the  rest  of  the  verse  pronounced  in 
that  cheerful  and  animating  tone  which  seemed  to  rend  the  veil,  and 
transport  the  hearer  into  the  unseen  Avorld.  The  most  skilful  actor 
never  made  a  more  sudden  and  happy  transition.  His  voice,  however, 
was  more  felicitous  in  sweetness  and  pathos  than  in  majesty  and  terror. 
The  solemn,  guttural  tones  were  entirely  wanting  to  him ;  and  there 
was  no  apparent  art  in  his  style  or  delivery.  It  was  all  earnest  sim- 
plicity." 


228  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON   ORATORS. 

DR.   SAMUEL  WHITWELL. 

JULY  4.  17S9.    FOR  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SOCIETY  OF  CINCINNATI. 

Was  born  at  Boston ;  entered  the  Latin  School,  1762 ;  graduated 
at  Princeton,  1774;  student  of  medicine  under  Dr.  James  Lloyd,  and 
married  Lucy  Tyler,  of  Boston,  1783.  Was  an  army  surgeon  in  Col. 
James  Jackson's  regiment,  and  died  at  Newton,  November,  1791, 
aged  38  years. 

In  Dr.  Whitwell's  oration  we  have  a  happy  allusion  to  the  adoption 
of  the  federal  constitution  :  '•  Fearful  of  exhibiting  any  appearance  of 
despotism,  at  a  time  when  every  heart  was  animated  with  republican 
principles,  the  most  rigid  in  their  form :  at  a  period  when  the  cry  of 
liberty  was  ushered  to  the  ear  as  the  goddess  of  the  country,  ensigns 
of  which  were  Avaved  around  as  emblems  of  true  contentment,  and  a 
name  which  our  little  offspring  were  taught  to  repeat  before  they  could 
scarcely  articulate ;  when  all  ranks  of  people  united  in  sentiment  to 
repel  every  principle  that  seemed  derogating  from  freedom,  suspicious 
of  infringing  their  darling  rights,  —  it  was  wisdom,  and,  indeed,  neces- 
sary, to  adapt  pubhc  conduct  and  measures  to  the  temper  and  feeling 
of  the  times.  But  what  a  train  of  evils,  my  friends,  was  hence  gener- 
ated,—  our  treasures  exhausted,  trade  decaying,  credit  sinking,  our 
national  character  blasted,  and  ruin  and  destruction  the  gloomy  pros- 
pect !  Where  was  the  soul  that  was  not  affected  with  the  most  poignant 
sensations  1  Where  was  the  patriot  that  did  not  bleed  at  every  vein, 
and  shed  tears  of  soitow  for  his  expiring  country  1  —  But  what  do  1 
say  —  expiring  7  I  recall  the  word ;  phoenix-like,  from  the  ruins  of 
the  old,  a  new  constitution  is  framed,  adopted,  and  is  now  in  operation. 
'\^Tiat  prospects  of  future  benefits  will  hence  result,  I  leave  my  antici- 
pating audience  to  determine ;  but,  as  your  countenances  bespeak  the 
sentiments  of  your  hearts  and  the  wishes  of  your  breasts,  suffer  me,  in 
all  the  warmth  of  enthusiastic  zeal,  to  congratulate  you  on  this  memo- 
rable era.  May  we  prostrate  ourselves  before  the  great  potentate  of 
the  universe,  and,  in  the  sublime  language  of  inspiration,  exclaim, 
'  Praise  waited  for  thee,  oh  God,  in  Zion,  and  unto  thee  shall  the  vow 
be  performed.'  " 


EDWARD    GRAY.  229 

EDWARD   GRAY. 

JULY  4,  1790.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES 

Edward  Gray  was  born  at  Boston,  1764 ;  entered  the  Latin  School 
1772.  graduated  at  Harvard  College  1782,  was  a  counsellor-at-law,  and 
married  Susanna  Turell,  1790 ;  was  a  polished  gentleman  of  great 
blandness  of  manners,  and  highly  esteemed.  Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray 
was  his  son.     He  died  at  Boston,  Dec.  10,  1810,  aged  forty-six. 


WILLIAM   TUDOR. 

JULY  i,  1790.    FOR  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SOCIETY  OF  CINCINNATI. 

William  Tudor,  the  last  orator  for  this  veteran  institution,  very 
pertinently  remarks,  that  "to  ascertain  the  precise  time,  under  tlxe 
administration  of  a  Cecil  or  a  Chatham,  when  Britain  and  her  colonies 
must  have  separated,  might  afford  amusement  to  a  speculative  inquirer, 
but  can  be  of  no  utiUty  now.  That  the  crisis  was  precipitated,  is  con- 
ceded. But  it  was  not  the  despotic  statutes  of  England, —  it  was  not 
the  haughty  and  fastidious  manners  of  her  officers,  civil  or  military, 
—  which  compelled  the  mighty  Revolution  which  severed  her  empire. 
These  did  rouse,  but  they  could  not  create,  that  unconquerable  spirit 
which  stimulated  America  to  vindicate,  and  irrevocably  to  fix,  those 
rights  which  distance  and  other  causes  might  for  ages  have  kept  indef- 
inite, dependent,  and  precarious.  No ;  it  was  that  native,  fervid  sense 
of  freedom,  which  our  enlightened  ancestors  brought  with  them  and  fos- 
tered in  the  forests  of  America,  and  which,  with  pious  care,  they  taught 
their  offspring  never  to  forego.  Although  the  present  age  cannot 
forget,  and  posterity  shall  learn  to  remember,  those  violences  which 
impelled  their  country  to  war,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  period 
of  parting  had  arrived.  British  influence  and  foreign  arts  might  have 
corrupted,  silenced  or  destroyed,  that  spirit  which,  thus  early  outraged, 
became  invincible,  gave  birth  to  the  immortal  edict,  and  all  those  glo- 
rious circumstances  in  which  we  tliis  day  rejoice. 
20 


230  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

"  Whole  oceans  rolled  bet-^'een,  yet  the  colonies  retained  a  strong 
attachment  to  their  parent  State.  The  numerous  memorials  transmit- 
ted from  every  province  to  that  infatuated  country  remain  the  evidence 
of  their  patience  and  affection.  But,  deaf  to  the  voice  of  supplication 
and  aloof  to  entreaty,  she  added  indignity  to  vrrong,  until  '  humility 
vras  tortured  into  rage.'  Oppression  was  crowded  upon  oppression, 
until  submission  was  criminal,  and  resistance  became  an  obHgation.  On 
this  auspicious  day,  and  through  every  revolving  year,  the  magnanimity 
exhibited  by  our  country  at  that  all-interesting  and  momentous  crisis 
shall  cheer  the  patriot  mind,  and  raise  a  glow  of  honest  pride.  She 
neither  hesitated  nor  halted ;  but,  sacrificing  her  attachments  at  the 
shrine  of  duty,  appealed  to  God  and  to  her  sword  for  justice  and  suc- 
cess. Heaven  approbated  the  appeal,  invigorated  her  councils,  and 
pointed  the  road  to  victory.  That  sword  which  she  drew  by  compul- 
sion she  wore  with  honor,  and  her  enemies  have  confessed  that  she 
sheathed  it  without  revenge." 


THOMAS   CRAFTS,   JR. 

JULY  4,  1791.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES 

In  the  peroration  of  this  performance  INIr.  Crafts  says :  "  Locally 
remote  from  the  causes  of  quarrel  which  drench  the  European  world 
in  blood,  what  have  we  to  do  but  cultivate  in  peace  those  virtues  which 
make  a  nation  great,  as  well  as  happy  1  The  goddess  of  Liberty  has 
condescended  to  reside  among  us.  Let  us  cherish  the  lovely  guest, — 
for  where  will  she  find  an  asylum,  if  driven  from  these  happy  shores  ? 
To  look  before  us,  a  field  presents  itself  over  which  the  excursive  wing 
of  fancy  might  soar  unwearied.  Li  a  few  years,  our  extensive  lakes 
shall  be  crowded  with  ships  charged  with  the  rich  produce  of  yet  unfur- 
rowed  soils.  On  the  banks  of  rivers,  where  human  footstep  yet  has 
never  trod,  cities  shall  rear  their  gilded  spires.  The  trackless  wilder- 
ness, where  now  the  tawny  aboriginals,  in  frantic  yells,  celebrate  their 
orgies,  shall  become  the  peaceful  abodes  of  civilized  life.  And  America 
shall  be  renowned  for  the  seat  of  science  and  the  arts,  as  she  already 
has  been  for  the  wisdom  of  her  counsels  and  the  valor  of  her  arms." 


JOSEPH   BLAKE,  JR.  231 

Thomas  Crafts,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Boston,  April  9,  17G7 ;  entered  the 
Latin  School  1774,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  1785,  where  he 
took  part  in  a  syllogistic  disputation  —  "Sol  est  habitabilis,"  and  read 
law  with  Gov.  Gore.  He  was  probably  a  son  of  Col.  Thomas  Crafts, 
who  proclaimed  the  Declaration  of  Independence  from  the  balcony  of 
the  old  State-house,  in  1776,  in  presence  of  the  people.  The  son  was 
counsellor-at-law.  He  was  secretary  to  Hon.  Mr.  Gore,  in  the  mission 
to  the  court  of  St.  James,  and  was  appointed  United  States  consul  for 
Bourdeaux.  He  was  a  bachelor.  He  was  an  effective  political  writer, 
and  his  chaste  productions  often  appeared  in  Russell's  Centinel.  He 
had  an  infinite  fund  of  wit  and  humor,  and  his  companionship  was 
eagerly  sought.  The  elder  Adams  remarked  of  him  that  he  was  one 
of  the  rarest  wits  he  ever  knew.     He  died  Aug.  25,  1798. 

This  was  not  the  person  so  graphically  characterized  by  the  Boston 
satirist.  Mr.  Crafts  was  too  decided  an  advocate  for  the  Federal  party 
to  be  the  subject  of  such  shafts.  Old  Democratic  Justice  Crafts  was 
probably  a  near  kinsman. 

*'  Dear  Justice  Crafts,  fair  faction's  partisan, 
I  like  thee  much,  thou  fiery-visaged  man  ; 
I  love  to  hear  thee  charm  the  listening  throng. 
Thy  head  and  wig  still  moving  with  thy  tongue  ' 
Thus  Jove  of  old,  the  heathen's  highest  god, 
Their  minor  godships  governed  with  his  nod. 
In  this  you  differ  from  that  great  divine,  — 
Once  from  his  head  came  wisdom,  ne'er  from  thine. 
The  mind  of  Justice  Crafts  no  subject  balks. 
Of  kingcraft,  priestcraft,  craftily  he  talks  ; 
Oft  have  we  heard  his  crafty  tales,  and  laughed, 
But  never  knew  him  mention  justic&-craft." 


JOSEPH   BLAKE,   JR. 

JULY  4,  1792.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Joseph  Blake,  Jr.,  was  baptised  at  Hardwick,  a  brother  of  Hon. 
George  Blake  ;  graduated  at  ILarvard  College  in  1786,  when  he  gave 
an  English  oration ;    became  an  attorney-at-law,  and  married  Anna 


232  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   OKATORS. 

Black,  in  1793.     He  removed  to  New  York,  and  died  at  Kingston, 
Jamaica,  July  10,  1802,  aged  tliirtj-four  years. 

We  find  in  the  Democratiad,  printed  in  1796,  a  poetical  sketch  of 
Dr.  Charles  Jarvis'  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall,  against  Jay's  treaty,  which 
ehcited  an  allusion  to  ]Mr.  Blake  : 

"  A'ow  loud  and  clamorous  the  debate  begins,  — 
Jarvis  liis  thread  of  tropes  and  figures  spins  ; 
And  often  pauses,  often  calls  aloud, 
To  every  member  of  the  gaping  crowd, 
To  show  him,  if  the  treaty  should  go  down. 
Why  faction's  hopes  were  not  forever  flown. 
He  wished  delay  —  delays  must  not  be  had  ; 
I  've  never  read  it,  but  I  say  't  is  bad. 
If  it  goes  down,  I  '11  bet  my  ears  and  eyes 
It  will  the  people  all  unpopularize  ; 
Boobies  may  hear  it  read  ere  they  decide,  — 
I  move  it  quickly  be  unratified." 

"We  quote  the  above  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  the  allusion  in 
a  note  of  the  Democratiad,  as, follows:  "The  doctor  said  this  '  in  a 
manner  that  would  have  done  honor  to  a  Cicero,'  says  his  printer,  Mr. 
Adams.  Pray,  INIr.  Adams,  who  ever  told  you  anything  about  Cicero  1 
Why  did  you  not  say,  which  would  have  done  honor  to  a  Joseph  Blake, 
Jr.,  that  classical  young  orator  who  seconded  the  doctor  at  the  town- 
meetings  in  routing  poor  Mr.  Hall  ?  You  might  then  have  appealed  for 
proof  to  an  oration  he  spoke  a  few  years  ago,  on  the  4th  of  July,  in 
which  he  says  that  this  continent  is  very  happily  situated,  being  '  bar- 
ricaded on  one  side  by  vast  regions  of  soil.'  Be  so  good,  Mr.  Blake, 
before  you  decide  against  the  treaty,  as  to  tell  us  which  side  of  this  con- 
tinent is  barricaded  by  vast  regions  of  soil."  We  will  quote  the  passage 
exactly  as  it  is  given  in  Mr.  Blake's  oration  :  "  Most  favorable  is  the 
situation  of  this  continent.  It  stands  a  world  by  itself  Barricaded 
from  external  danger  on  one  side  by  vast  regions  of  soil ;  on  the  other, 
by  wide  plains  of  ocean.  The  Atlantic,  upon  her  bosom,  may  undulate 
riches  to  its  shore,  but  all  the  artillery  in  Europe  cannot  shake  it  to 
its  centre." 

As  political  meetings  in  Boston  are  known  by  the  term  caucus^  it  is 
not  irrelevant  to  cite  Gordon,  who,  in  his  history  of  the  American 
Revolution,  published  in  1788,  says,  "  More  than  fifty  years  ago  Mr. 
Samuel  Adams'  father,  and  twenty  others, —  one  or  two  from  the  north 
end  of  the  town,  where  all  ship  business  is  carried  on, —  used  to  meet, 
make  a  caucus,  and  lay  their  plan  for  introducing  certain  persons  into 
places  of  trust  and  power." 


JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS.  233 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

JULY  4,  1793,    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

In  this  model  oration,  our  orator,  viith.  a  burst  of  fervor,  exclaims : 
"Americans  !  let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to  consider  the  situation  of  our 
country  at  that  eventful  day  when  our  national  existence  commenced. 
In  the  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  those  prerogatives  for  which 
you  then  dared  to  adventure  upon  '  all  the  varieties  of  untried  being,' 
the  calm  and  settled  moderation  of  the  mind  is  scarcely  competent  to 
conceive  the  tone  of  heroism  to  which  the  souls  of  freemen  were  exalted 
in  that  hour  of  perilous  magnanimity.  Seventeen  times  has  the  sun,  in 
the  progress  of  his  annual  revolutions,  difiused  his  prolific  radiance 
over  the  plains  of  independent  America.  Millions  of  hearts,  which 
then  palpitated  with  the  rapturous  glow  of  patriotism,  have  already 
been  translated  to  a  brighter  world, —  to  the  abodes  of  more  than  mor- 
tal freedom  !  Other  millions  have  arisen,  to  receive  from  their  parents 
and  benefactors  the  inestimable  recompense  of  their  achievements.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  audience  whose  benevolence  is  at  this  moment 
listening  to  the  speaker  of  the  day,  like  him,  were  at  that  period  too  little 
advanced  beyond  the  threshold  of  life  to  partake  of  the  di\'ine  enthu- 
siasm which  inspired  the  American  bosom,  which  prompted  her  voice 
to  proclaim  defiance  to  the  thunders  of  Britain,  which  consecrated 
the  banners  of  her  armies,  and,  finally,  erected  the  holy  temple  of 
American  Liberty  over  the  tomb  of  departed  tyranny.  It  is  from 
those  who  have  already  passed  the  meridian  of  life, —  it  is  from  you,  ye 
venerable  assertors  of  the  rights  of  mankind, — that  we  are  to  be  informed 
what  were  the  feelings  which  swayed  within  your  breasts,  and  impelled 
you  to  action,  when,  hke  the  stripling  of  Israel,  with  scarce  a  weapon 
to  attack,  and  without  a  shield  for  your  defence,  you  met,  and,  undis- 
mayed, engaged  with  the  gigantic  greatness  of  the  British  power. 
Untutored  in  the  disgraceful  science  of  human  butchery, —  destitute  of 
the  fatal  materials  which  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  combined  to  sharpen 
the  scythe  of  death,  —  unsupported  by  the  arm  of  any  friendly,  alliance, 
and  unfortified  against  the  powerful  assaults  of  an  unrelenting  enemy, 
—  you  did  not  hesitate  at  that  moment,  when  your  coasts  were  invaded 
by  a  numerous  and  veteran  army,  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of  eter- 
nal separation  from  Britain,  and  to  throw  the  gauntlet  at  a  power  the 
20* 


234  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

terror  of  ■wliose  recent  triumphs  ■svas  almost  coextensive  with  the  earth. 
The  interested  and  selfish  propensities,  -which  in  times  of  prosperous 
tranquillity  have  such  powerful  dominion  over  the  heart,  were  all 
expelled ;  and,  in  their  stead,  the  public  virtues,  the  spirit  of  personal 
devotion  to  the  common  cause,  a  contempt  of  every  danger  in  compar- 
ison with  the  subserviency  of  the  country,  had  an  unlimited  control 
The  passion  for  the  public  had  absorbed  all  the  rest,  as  the  glorious 
luminary  of  the  heaven  extinguishes,  in  a  flood  of  refulgence,  the 
twinkling  splendor  of  every  inferior  planet.  Those  of  you,  my  coun- 
trymen, who  were  actors  in  those  interesting  scenes,  will  best  know 
how  feeble  and  impotent  is  the  language  of  this  description  to  express 
the  impassioned  emotions  of  the  soul  with  which  you  were  then  agi- 
tated; yet  it  were  injustice  to  conclude  from  thence,  or  from  the 
greater  prevalence  of  private  and  personal  'motives  in  these  days  of 
calm  serenity,  that  your  sons  have  degenerated  from  the  virtues  of 
their  fathers.  Let  it  rather  be  a  subject  of  pleasing  reflection  to  you, 
that  the  generous  and  disinterested  energies  which  you  were  summoned 
to  display  are  permitted,  by  the  bountiful  indulgence  of  Heaven,  to 
remain  latent  in  the  bosoms  of  your  children.  From  the  present  pros- 
perous appearance  of  our  public  affairs,  we  may  admit  a  rational  hope 
that  our  country  will  have  no  occasion  to  require  of  us  those  extraor- 
dinary and  heroic  exertions  which  it  was  your  fortune  to  exhibit.  But, 
from  the  common  versatility  of  all  human  destiny,  should  the  prospect 
hereafter  darken,  and  the  clouds  of  public  misfortune  thicken  to  a  tem- 
pest,—  should  the  voice  of  our  country's  calamity  ever  call  us  to  her 
relief, —  we  swear,  by  the  precious  memory  of  the  sages  who  toiled  and 
of  the  heroes  who  bled  in  her  defence,  that  we  will  prove  ourselves  not 
unworthy  of  the  prize  wliich  they  so  dearly  purchased, —  that  we  will 
act  as  the  faithful  disciples  of  those  who  so  magnanimously  taught  us 
the  instructive  lesson  of  repubhcan  virtue." 

President  John  Adams,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article, — 
one  of  the  most  ardent  patriots  of  the  Revolution,  one  of  the  firmest 
advocates  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  first  ambassa- 
dor to  the  court  of  St.  James, —  was  characterized  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son as  our  Colossus  on  the  floor  of  Congress  ;  not  graceful,  not  elegant, 
not  always  fluent  in  his  public  addresses,  yet  he  came  out  with  a  power, 
both  of  thought  and  expression,  that  moved  us  from  our  seats.  On 
his  interview  with  King  George,  in  1785,  Mr.  Adams  displayed  a 
manly  dignity  that  would  have  honored  the  representative  of  the  most 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  235 

po-\yerful  monarch  of  any  nation.  King  George  said  to  him :  "I  was 
the  last  to  conform  to  the  separation ;  but,  the  separation  having  become 
inevitable,  I  have  always  said,  as  I  say  now,  that  I  would  be  the  first 
to  meet  the  friendship  of  the  United  States,  as  an  independent  power." 
In  reply  to  an  insinuation  from  the  king,  regarding  an  attachment  to 
France,  Adams  remarked,  "I  must  avow  to  your  majesty  I  have  no 
attachment  but  to  my  o^ti  country."  The  king  replied,  as  quick  as 
lightning,  "  An  honest  man  will  never  have  any  other." 

As  an  indication  of  the  malignant  prejudice  of  the  royalists  towards 
tliis  eminent  statesman,  we  will  cite  a  paragraph  written  by  a  Tory 
refugee,  pubhshed  in  the  London  Pohtical  Magazine  of  1781 :  "  This 
Adams  was  originally  bred  to  the  law,  and  is  a  native  of  the  province 
of  Massachusetts,  in  New  England;  he  was  born  at  Braintrce,  a 
village  ten  miles  south,  or  rather  south-east,  of  Boston.  In  person,  he 
is  a  clumsy,  middle-sized  man ;  and,  according  to  all  appearance,  by 
taking  to  the  law  and  politics,  has  spoiled  an  able  ploughman  or  porter, 
though  the  trade  of  a  butcher  would  have  better  suited  the  bent  of  his 
mind.  He  has  read  Tristram  Shandy,  and  affects,  awkwardly  enough, 
a  smartness  which  does  not  at  all  correspond  either  with  his  personal 
figure  or  with  his  natural  dulness.  What  has  tended  chiefly  to  distin- 
guish him  among  the  rebels  is,  the  eagerness  with  which  he  urged  the 
taking  up  arms,  and  his  continued  malignity  towards  all  the  friends  of 
peace  and  the  mother  country.  For  these  excellent  qualities,  he  was 
chosen  a  delegate  from  Massachusetts  to  the  first  Congress.  When  at 
Philadelphia,  several  of  his  letters  to  his  friends  in  New  England  were 
intercepted  in  the  mail,  as  the  post  courier  was  crossing  Narraganset 
Ferry.  In  one  of  them,  dated  July  24,  1775,  and  addressed  to  his 
wife,  Mrs.  Abigail  Adams,  he  tells  her,  by  way  of  secret,  that  no 
mortal  tale  could  equal  the  fidgets,  the  whims,  the  caprice,  the  vanity, 
the  superstition  and  the  irritability,  of  his  compatriots,  on  their  journey 
from  New  England  to  Philadelphia.  These  compatriots  were,  Thomas 
Gushing,  Samuel  Adams,  and  Robert  Treat  Paine.  The  first  of  these 
was  a  distiller,  and  the  last  a  lawyer ;  and  both  were  weak  and  insig- 
nificant men,  the  tools  of  Samuel  Adams,  the  grand  confederate  and 
correspondent  of  that  hoary  traitor,  Frankhn.  In  another  letter, 
dated  the  day  after,  addressed  to  Col.  Warner,  of  Plymouth,  then  at 
Watertown,  President  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  he 
displayed  the  barbarity  of  his  disposition,  by  asking  him,  '  Will  your 
new  legislative  and  executive  feel  bold  or  irresolute  ?    Will  your 


236  THE  HTJNDKED  BOSTON  OKATORS. 

judicial  Hang,  and  "w^hipj  and  fine,  and  imprison,  -witliout  scruple  ?  ' 
It  is  to  this  advice  that  he  alludes,  when  he  mentions  the  refugees,  in 
his  letter  from  Amsterdam.  He  was  for  stopping  their  career  by  hang- 
ing them  on  the  spot,  without  favor  or  affection.  If  this  man  should 
live  till  the  close  of  the  rebelhon,  and  be  found  in  America,  no  good 
subject  will  lament  if  he  should  meet  with  that  fate  which  he  so  strenu- 
ously prescribed  for  others.  The  pubhc  will  not  be  surprised  that,  with 
respect  to  the  refugees  from  America,  there  should  be  such  a  coinci- 
dence of  opinion  between  certain  speechifiers  and  a  rebel  ambassador. 
Neither  will  they  be  surprised  that  this  man  should  regret  his  rebel 
confederate  Laurens  ;  prognosticate  the  ruin  of  this  country ;  promise 
his  rebel  fi^iends  the  assistance  of  Russia,  and  money  from  the  Dutch ; 
abuse  the  British  ministry ;  talk  of  sumptuary  laws  to  restrain  super- 
fluities in  dress,  where  there  is  not  even  a  sufficiency  of  the  most  ordi- 
nary clothing ;  and  of  paying  the  whole  of  their  army  expenses  in  a 
manner  that  would  not  be  felt,  by  a  few  duties  and  excises,  in  a 
country  where  the  paper  money  has  gone  to  wreck,  and  where  sohd 
coin  is  not  to  be  seen." 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  born  in  a  house  still  standing,  in  the  near 
vicinity  of  that  in  which  his  father  had  been  bom,  within  what  is  nOw 
Quincy.  and  was  then  Braintree,  July  11,  1767  ;  and  was  baptized  in 
the  meeting-house  of  the  First  Church,  by  Rev.  Anthony  Wibird,  on 
the  day  after  his  birth.  Mr.  Adams  once  related,  in  regard  to  his  grand- 
father Quincy :  "  The  house  at  ]Mount  Wollaston  has  a  peculiar  inter- 
est to  me,  as  the  dwelhng  of  my  great-grandfather,  whose  name  I  bear. 
The  incident  which  gave  rise  to  this  circumstance  is  not  without  its  moral 
to  my  heart.  He  was  dying  when  I  was  baptized ;  and  his  daughter, 
my  grandmother,  present  at  my  birth,  requested  that  I  might  receive 
his  name.  The  fact,  recorded  by  my  father  at  the  time,  has  connected 
with  that  portion  of  my  name  a  charm  of  mingled  sensibihty  and 
devotion.  It  was  filial  tenderness  that  gave  the  name.  It  was  the 
name  of  one  passing  from  earth  to  immortahty.  These  have  been 
among  the  strongest  links  of  my  attachment  to  the  name  of  Quincy, 
and  have  been  to  me,  through  life,  a  perpetual  admonition  to  do  nothing 
unworthy  of  it."  Senator  Davis  said  of  him,  "the  cradle  hymns  of 
the  child  were  the  songs  of  liberty;"  it  being  the  period  when  our 
country  was  struggling  for  liberty.  To  the  plastic  influence  of  his 
mascuhne  mother,  John  Quincy  ascribed  whatever  he  had  been,  and 
hoped  to  be  in  futurity.     His  mother  writes  to  one,  "I  have  taken  a 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  237 

very  great  fondness  for  reading  RoUin's  Ancient  History,  since  you  left 
me.  I  am  determined  to  go  through  with  it,  if  possible,  in  these  days 
of  my  solitude.  I  find  great  pleasure  and  entertainment  from  it,  and 
have  persuaded  Johnny  to  read  a  page  or  two  every  day,  and  hope  he 
will,  from  his  desire  to  obhge  me,  entertain  a  fondness  for  it."  "  The 
child  of  seven  years  old,"  says  Everett,  "  who  reads  a  serious  book 
with  fondness,  from  his  desire  to  oblige  his  mother,  has  entered  the 
high  road  of  usefulness  and  honor." 

An  effective  reminiscence  of  Mr.  Adams  was  related  by  Robert  C. 
Winthrop,  at  the  Acton  celebration,  Oct.  29,  1851,  which,  remarked 
he,  is  "one  of  the  most  interesting  personal  incidents  that  I  can 
look  back  upon  in  the  course  of  a  ten-years'  service  in  Congress.  It 
was  an  interview  Avhich  I  had  with  our  late  venerated  fellow-citizen, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  about  five  or  six  years  ago.  It  was  on  the  floor 
of  the  Capitol,  not  far  from  the  spot  where  he  soon  afterwards  fell. 
The  house  had  adjourned  one  day  somewhat  suddenly,  and  at  an 
early  hour ;  and  it  happened  that  after  all  the  other  members  had  left 
the  hall,  Mr.  Adams  and  myself  were  left  alone  in  our  seats,  engaged 
in  our  private  correspondence.  Presently  the  messengers  came  in 
rather  unceremoniously  to  clean  up  the  hall,  and  began  to  wield  that 
inexorable  implement  which  is  so  often  the  plague  of  men,  both  under 
public  and  private  roofs.  Disturbed  by  the  noise  and  dust,  I  observed 
Mr.  Adams  approaching  me  with  an  unfolded  letter  in  his  hands. 
'  Do  you  know  John  J.  Gurney  7 '  said  he.  '  I  know  him  well,  sir, 
by  reputation ;  but  I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  per- 
sonally when  he  was  in  America.'  '  Well,  he  has  been  writing  me  a 
letter,  and  I  have  been  writing  him  an  answer.  He  has  been  calling 
me  to  account  for  my  course  on  the  Oregon  question,  and  taking 
me  to  task  for  Avhat  he  calls  my  belligerent  spirit  and  warlike  tone 
towards  England.' 

"And  then  the  'old  man  eloquent'  proceeded  to  read  tome,  so 
far  as  it  was  finished,  one  of  the  most  interesting  letters  I  ever  read 
or  heard  in  my  life.  It  was  a  letter  of  auto-biography,  in  which 
he  described  liis  parentage  and  early  life,  and  in  which  he  particu- 
larly alluded  to  the  sources  from  which  he  derived  his  jealousy  of 
Great  Britain,  and  his  readiness  to  resist  her,  even  unto  blood,  when- 
ever he  thought  that  she  was  encroaching  on  American  rights.  He 
said  that  he  was  old  enough  in  1775  to  understand  what  his  father  was 
about  in  those  days ;  and  he  described  the  lessons  which  his  mother 


288  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

taught  him  during  his  father's  absence  in  attending  the  Congress  of 
independence.  Every  day,  he  said,  after  saying  his  prayers  to  God, 
he  was  required  to  repeat  those  exquisite  stanzas  of  Colhns,  which  he 
had  carefully  transcribed  in  his  letter,  and  which  he  recited  to  me  with 
an  expression  and  an  energy  which  I  shall  never  forget  —  the  tears 
coursing  down  his  cheeks,  and  his  voice,  every  now  and  then,  choked 
with  emotion : 

•  How  sleep  the  brave,  'who  sink  to  rest, 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest ! 
When  spring,  with  de^vy  fingers  cold, 
Retui'ns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 
Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod.  ' 

'  By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung  ; 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung  ; 
There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray. 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay, 
And  Freedom  shall  a  wliile  repair, 
To  dwell,  a  weeping  hermit,  there.' 

"  And  there  was  another  ode,  by  the  same  author,  which,  he  said, 
he  was  also  obliged  to  repeat,  as  a  part  of  this  same  morning  exercise, — 
the  ode,  I  beheve,  on  the  death  of  Col.  Charles  Ross,  in  the  action  at 
Fontenoy,  one  verse  of  which,  with  a  slight  variation,  would  not  be 
inapplicable  to  your  own  Davis  : 

'  By  rapid  Scheld's  descending  wave, 
His  country's  vows  shall  bless  the  grave, 

Where'er  the  youth  is  laid  ; 
That  sacred  spot  the  village  hind 
With  every  sweetest  turf  shall  bind. 

And  Peace  protect  the  shade.' 

"  Such,  sir,  was  the  education  of  at  least  one  of  our  Massachusetts 
children  at  that  day.  And,  though  I  do  not  suppose  that  all  the 
mothers  of  1775  were  like  Mrs.  Adams,  yet  the  great  majority  of 
them,  we  all  know,  had  as  much  piety  and  patriotism,  if  not  as  much 
poetry,  and  their  children  were  brought  up  at  once  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord  and  of  hberty." 

In  February,  1778,  being  then  a  lad  in  the  eleventh  year  of  his  age, 
he  was  taken  to  France  by  his  father  (in  ship  Boston,  Capt.  Tucker), 
who  was  sent  by  Congress  as  joint  commissioner  with  Benjamin 


JOHN   QUINCY   ADAMS.  239 

Franklin  and  Arthur  Lee,  to  the  court  of  France.  During  the  pas- 
sage, they  were  exposed  to  extreme  danger  in  a  violent  storm,  and  his 
father  said  of  him,  "  I  confess  I  often  regretted  that  I  had  brought  my 
son.  I  was  not  so  clear  that  it  was  my  duty  to  expose  him  as  myself; 
but  I  had  been  led  to  it  by  the  child's  inclination,  and  by  the  advice 
of  all  my  friends.  Mr.  Johnny's  behavior  gave  me  a  satisfaction  that 
I  cannot  express;  fully  sensible  of  our  danger,  he  was  constantly 
endeavoring  to  bear  it  with  a  manly  patience,  very  attentive  to  me,  and 
his  thoughts  constantly  running  in  a  serious  strain.  My  little  son  is 
very  proud  of  his  knowledge  of  all  the  sails,  and  the  captain  put  him 
to  learn  the  mariner's  compass."  His  father  estabhshed  himself  at 
Passy,  the  residence  of  Franklin.  Here  he  was  sent  to  school,  and 
acquired  the  French  language.  His  dear  mother,  in  writing  to  him, 
says  :  "I  would  much  rather  you  should  have  found  your  grave  in  the 
ocean  you  have  crossed,  or  that  any  untimely  death  should  crop  you  in 
your  infant  years,  than  see  you  an  immoral,  profligate,  or  graceless 
child."  And  his  father,  in  writing  to  his  mother  under  date  of  1779, 
says,  young  John  "  is  respected  wherever  he  goes,  for  his  vigor  and 
vivacity  both  of  mind  and  body,  for  his  constant  good  humor,  and  for 
his  rapid  progress  in  French,  as  well  as  for  his  general  knowledge, 
which  at  his  age  is  uncommon."  The  treaty  of  alliance  being  consum- 
mated, John  Adams  returned  with  his  son,  and  arrived  at  Boston  Aug. 
2,  1779. 

In  1781,  when  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  became  private  secre- 
tary to  Hon.  Francis  Dana,  the  minister  to  Russia.  He  remained  at 
St.  Petersburg  until  October,  1782,  when  he  left  Mr.  Dana,  and 
journeyed  alone  to  Holland,  where  he  joined  his  father,  April,  1783. 
After  the  treaty  at  Paris,  signed  in  September  of  that  year,  he  went 
to  the  court  of  St.  James  with  his  father,  which  occurred  in  1785.  He 
was  a  remarkably  precocious  youth,  and  since  he  was  twelve  years  old 
had  talked  with  men.  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  minister  at  Paris,  in  writ- 
ing to  Mr.  Gerry,  says  :  ."  I  congratulate  your  country  on  their  pros- 
pect in  this  young  man." 

In  1786  he  was  admitted  at  Harvard  College  at  an  advanced  stand- 
ing, and  graduated  in  1787.  The  subject  of  his  oration  evinces  the 
maturity  of  liis  mind;  it  was  on  "  The  Importance  and  Necessity  of 
Public  Faith  to  the  Well-being  of  a  Community."  He  entered  on 
the  study  of  law  under  the  instruction  of  the  celebrated  Theophilus 
Parsons,  at  Newburyport ;  and  in  1790  he  commenced  legal  practice, 


240  THE  HUNDKED   BOSTON   OKATORS. 

which  he  continued  until  1794,  during  which  period  he  pronounced  the 
oration  at  the  head  of  this  article,  and  became  a  hberal  contributor  of 
pohtical  essays  in  Russell's  Centinel,  over  the  signatures  of  Pubhcola 
and  Marcellus,  which  developed  the  true  pohcj  of  union  at  home,  and 
independence  of  all  foreign  combinations  abroad.  Over  "  Colum- 
bus "  he  also  advocated  a  national  neutral  policy  toward  foreign 
nations. 

Washington,  in  1794,  appointed  Mr.  Adams  minister  to  the  Hague, 
who  remained  in  Europe  on  public  business  un*;il  his  recall  by  his 
father,  the  successor  of  Washington.  In  1797,  our  first  president 
declared  that  he  was  "the  most  valuable  pubHc  character  we  have 
abroad,  and  the  ablest  of  all  our  diplomatic  corps."  On  the  26th 
of  July.  1797,  Mr.  Adams  was  married  to  Louisa,  the  daughter  of 
Joshua  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  then  acting  as  consular  agent  of  the 
United  States  at  London,  who  for  more  than  fifty  years  was  the 
partner  of  his  afiections  and  fortunes. 

Jn  1801  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  his  native  State,  and  in 
1803  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  This  station 
in  the  national  councils  he  filled  until  he  became  obnoxious  to  the 
Legislature  of  his  native  State,  from  the  support  which  he  gave  to 
parts  of  Jefferson's  administration ;  and,  in  consequence,  he  resigned 
his  seat,  in  March,  1808.  He  was  the  first  Boylston  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  and  Oratory  in  Harvard  College,  from  1806  to  1809.  In 
1810  he  published  his  lectures  on  rhetoric  and  oratory,  in  two 
volumes,  8vo.  At  this  period  he  was  confirmed  as  minister  to  Russia, 
on  the  nomination  of  Madison,  and  was  abroad  eight  years.  In 
1814  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  negotiated,  at  Ghent,  the 
treaty  of  peace  which  closed  the  second  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States.  In  1815  Mr  Adams  was  appointed  minister 
to  the  court  of  St.  James,  under  Madison.  In  1817  he  returned  to 
America,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State  during  the 
whole  administration  of  President  Monroe.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  Andrew  Jackson  said,  at  this  period,  of  Mr.  Adams,  that  he  was 
"  the  fittest  person  for  the  office ;  a  man  who  would  stand  by  the 
country  in  the  hour  of  danger." 

In  1825  Mr.  Adams  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States  by  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  first  ballot. 
His  administration,  in  its  principles  and  policy,  was  similar  to  that  of 
his  very  popular  predecessor.     Not  long  after  Mr.  Adams  was  sue- 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  241 

ceeded  by  Andrew  Jackson,  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  saying,  "  One  of  the 
most  pathetic  and  terrible  passages  in  that  masterpiece  of  Shakspeare 
and  of  the  drama  is  that  exclamation  of  the  dying  Hamlet : 

'  0  God  !  Horatio,  what  a  wounded  name 
Things  standing  thus  unknown  shall  live  behind  me  ! ' 

I  cannot  describe  to  you  the  thrill  with  which  I  first  read  these  lines, 
generalizing  the  thought  as  one  of  the  melancholy  conditions  of  human 
hfe  and  death ;  nor  say  to  you  how  often,  in  the  course  of  my  long 
career,  I  have  applied  these  hnes  to  myself  My  name,  conduct  and 
character,  have  been  many  years  open  to  the  constant  inspection  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  civilized  world.  Of  that  portion  whose  notice 
they  have  attracted,  I  am  deeply  conscious  that  the  estimate  they  have 
formed  of  me  has  been  and  is  neither  just  nor  kind."  But  it  is  equally 
certain,  says  Lunt,  that,  between  the  time  when  the  words  just  quoted 
were  penned  and  his  death,  he  lived  long  enough  to  have  his  name 
vindicated.  He  continued  on  the  stage  of  action  till  he  could  put  his 
ear  to  the  confessional  of  posterity,  and  hear  much  that  must  have 
gratified  a  mind  conscious  of  high  aims  and  patriotic  endeavors. 

Mr.  Adams  pronounced  eulogies  on  his  two  immediate  predecessors, 
at  the  request  of  the  city  authorities  of  Boston.  "  Too  happy  should 
I  be,"  said  Mr.  Adams,  "  if,  with  a  voice  speaking  from  the  last  to  the 
coming  generation  of  my  country,  I  could  efiectively  urge  them  to  seek, 
in  the  temper  and  moderation  of  James  Madison,  that  healing  balm 
which  assuages  the  mnlignity  of  the  deepest-seated  political  disease, 
redeems  to  life  the  rational  mind,  and  restores  to  health  the  incorpo- 
rated union  of  our  country,  even  from  the  brain  fever  of  party  strife." 
And  of  James  Monroe  he  emphasized,  that  he  was  of  a  mind  anxious 
and  unwearied  in  the  pursuit  of  truth  and  right,  patient  of  inquiry, 
patient  of  contradiction,  courteous  even  in  the  collision  of  sentiment, 
sound  in  ultimate  judgments,  and  firm  in  its  final  conclusions.  In  his 
administration  strengthening  and  consolidating  the  federative  edifice  of 
his  country's  union,  till  he  was  entitled  to  say,  hke  Augustus  Caesar 
of  his  imperial  city,  that  he  had  found  her  built  of  brick,  and  left  her 
constructed  of  marble. 

Mr.  Adams,  ever  ready  for  political  life,  once  more  put  on  the  har- 
ness, and  served  ten  successive  years  as  Representative  in  Congress 
from  the  twelfth  district  of  Massachusetts,  until,  in  1842,  upon  a  new 
21 


242  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

distribution  of  political  power,  lie  was  elected  to  represent  the  eighth 
district  of  his  native  State,  where  he  was  succeeded  by  Horace  Mann. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1833,  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
unanimously  nominated,  at  a  large  convention  of  the  Anti-masonic 
party,  as  their  candidate  for  the  office  of  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 
The  result  was  a  tiiangular  contest,  at  the  election,  between  the  three 
political  parties  into  which  the  State  was  di\aded,  and  the  failure  of  a 
choice.  The  election  devolved  on  the  State  Legislature,  on  which  Mr. 
Adams  withdrew  from  the  contest.  During  the  periods  of  1831  and 
1833,  Mr.  Adams  published,  in  papers  of  the  day,  a  series  of  letters 
to  eminent  persons  on  the  nature  and  tendency  of  Freemasonry.  We 
select  a  striking  passage  from  his  letter  to  Hon.  Edward  Livingston, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  U.  S.  Royal  Ai'ch 
Chapter  of  Masonry. 

"  When  John  Milton,"  says  Mr.  Adams,  "pubhshed  his  Paradise 

Lost,  Andrew  Marvell  declared  that  he  for  some  time  misdoubted  his 

intent, — 

'  That  he  Avould  ruin 
The  sacred  truths  to  fable  and  old  song.' 

And  he  adds, — 

'  Or,  if  a  work  so  infinite  be  spanned, 
Jealous  I  was  that  some  less  skilful  hand 
flight  hence  presume  the  whole  creation's  day 
To  change  in  scenes,  and  show  it  in  a  play.' 

"  That  which  the  penetrating  sagacity  and  sincere  piety  of  Andrew 
Marvell  apprehended  as  an  evil  which  might  result  even  from  the  sub- 
lime strains  of  the  Paradise  Lost,  is  precisely  what  the  contrit^ers  of  the 
Masonic  mysteries  have  effected.  They  have  travestied  the  awful  and 
miraculous  supernatural  communications  of  the  ineffable  Jehovah  to 
his  favored  people  into  stage-plays.  That  Word,  which  in  the  begin- 
ning was  with  God,  and  was  God ;  that  abstract,  incorporeal,  essential, 
and  ever-Uving  existence ;  that  eternal  presence,  without  past,  without 
future  time ;  that  Being,  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of  years, 
declared  to  INIoses  under  the  name  of  I  Am  that  I  Am, —  the  moun- 
tebank juggleries  of  Masonry  turn  into  a  farce.  A  companion  of  the 
Royal  Arch  personates  Almighty  God,  and  declares  himself  the  Being 
of  all  eternity, —  I  Am  that  I  Am.  Your  intention,  in  the  perform- 
ance of  this  ceremony,  is  to  strike  the  imagination  of  the  candidate 
with  terror  and  amazement.     I  acquit  the  fraternity,  therefore,  of 


JOHN   QUINCY   ADAMS.  248 

blasphemy;  but  I  cannot  acquit  them  of  extreme  indiscretion,  and 
inexcusable  abuse  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  sealed  obligation,  the 
drinking  of  wine  from  a  human  skull,  is  a  ceremony  not  less  objection- 
able. This  you  know,  sir,  is  the  scene  in  which  the  candidate  takes 
the  skull  in  his  hand  and  says,  '  As  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  were 
laid  upon  the  head  of  our  Saviour,  so  may  the  sins  of  the  person  whose 
skull  this  once  was  be  heaped  upon  my  head  in  addition  to  my  own. 
and  may  they  appear  in  judgment  against  me  both  here  and  hereafter, 
should  I  violate  any  obligation  in  Masonry,  or  the  orders  of  knight- 
hood, which  I  have  heretofore  taken,  take  at  this  time,  or  may  be  here- 
after instructed  in, —  so  help  me  God  ! '  and  he  drinks  the  wine  from 
the  skull.  And  is  not  this  enough  ?  No ;  the  Knight  Templar  takes 
an  oath,  containing  many  promises,  binding  himself  under  no  less  pen- 
alty than  to  have  his  head  struck  off  and  placed  on  the  highest  spire  in 
Christendom,  should  he  knowingly  or  willingly  violate  any  part  of  his 
solemn  obligation  of  a  Knight  Templar." 

The  fearless  stand  which  Mr.  Adams  maintained  through  all  the 
storm  and  tempest  of  opposition  on  the  right  of  petition,  says  "Water- 
ston,  alone  were  enough  to  give  him  immortality.  He  looked  upon 
slavery  as  the  unmitigated  curse  of  his  country.  He  loathed  it  with 
an  utter  detestation ;  and  when  the  slave-power  refused  to  hear  the  cry 
that  was  coming  more  and  more  loudly  from  distant  sections  of  the 
land,  and  trampled  beneath  its  feet  the  holiest  privileges  of  the  consti- 
'tution,  the  fire  in  his  soul  kindled.  His  efforts  and  his  triumphs  at 
that  time  will  never  be  forgotten. 

We  have  an  important  political  reminiscence  of  this  period,  related 
by  President  Millard  Fillmore,  in  an  address  to  the  people  of  Freder- 
icksburgh,  Va.,  June,  1851,  on  his  arrival  in  that  city.  Mr.  Fillmore 
was  a  colleague  of  Mr.  Adams  in  Congress  :  "I  had  an  old  and  val- 
ued friend, —  one  whom  I  esteemed,  yet  who  possessed  some  eccentric- 
ities and  peculiar  notions  of  political  duty  which  I  did  not  approve.  I 
need  not  say  that  I  allude  to  the  venerable  Mr.  Adams.  You  are  all 
well  aware  that  he  was  early  imbued  with  the  principle,  upon  which  he 
universally  practised,  that  every  citizen  had  the  right  to  be  heard  in  Con- 
gress by  his  petition ;  and  that  he  was  often  made  the  medium  of  pre- 
senting to  the  house  matters  of  which  he  entirely  disapproved.  His 
maxim  was,  that  every  citizen  had  the  right  to  petition,  and  that  it  was 
the  duty  of  Congress  to  consider  such  petition.  Acting  upon  this 
known  principle,  he  was  often  played  upon,  doubtless,  by  those  who  were 


24:4  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

influenced  by  mischievous  purposes.  I  well  recollect,  on  one  occasion, 
that  he  rose  and  stated  to  the  house  that  he  had  received  a  petition  of 
a  very  peculiar  character,  the  sentiments  of  which  he  did  not  approve ; 
but,  on  the  principle  upon  which  he  universally  acted,  he  felt  it  to  be 
his  duty  to  present  it  to  the  house.  He  stated  that  it  was  a  petition 
from  certain  citizens  whose  names  were  signed  to  it,  praying  for  a  dis- 
solution of  the  Union ;  but,  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  himself  from 
the  imputation  of  favoring  such  a  sentiment,  he,  at  the  same  time  that 
he  discharged  his  duty  in  the  presentation  of  the  petition,  felt  it  also 
to  be  his  duty  to  accompany  it  with  a  resolution  that  it  be  referred  to  a 
select  committee,  with  positive  instructions  to  report  against  the  prayer 
of  the  petitioners.  A\Tiat  were  the  proceedings  upon  that  occasion? 
This  annunciation  was  no  sooner  made  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
than  the  whole  house  seemed  to  be  in  a  ferment ;  and  in  a  very  few 
moments  a  resolution  was  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  expelling  Mr. 
Adams  from  the  house,  for  having  dared  to  introduce  a  petition  there 
for  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  although  accompanied  at  the  same 
time  with  a  positive  declaration  on  his  part  that  he  was  opposed  to  it, 
and  an  appeal  to  the  house  to  sanction  his  sentiments  on  the  subject. 
But  what  do  we  see  now  ?  Ten  years  have  not  elapsed  since  that  scene 
took  place,  and  since  that  man  who  for  four  years  had  discharged  the 
duties  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  Union  stood  at  the  bar  of  that 
house,  and  morning  after  morning  came  to  me  and  asked  of  me  not  to 
move  the  public  business,  so  as  to  force  a  vote  on  the  resolution  expel- 
lino;  him  from  the  house,  until  he  had  a  chance  to  be  heard.  He 
feared  that  he  might  be  expelled  from  that  body,  for  doing  what  he 
deemed  to  be  his  imperative  duty,  in  preservation  of  the  right  of  peti- 
tion, although  he  was  imbued  with  the  strongest  sentiments  in  favor  of 
the  Union  of  these  States.  I  was  forced,  from  a  feeling  of  sympathy 
and  regard  for  him,  to  suffer  the  public  business  to  be  delayed,  from 
day  to  day,  for  one  or  two  weeks,  in  order  that  he  might  present  his 
sentiments  to  the  house  on  the  subject,  to  convince  them  that,  although 
he  presented  a  petition  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  he  did  not 
approve  of  those  sentiments.  I  doubt  whether  anything  short  of  that 
could  have  saved  this  distinguished  man  from  expulsion  from  that 
body." 

"  The  patriotism  of  Mr.  Adams,''  says  Horace  Mann,  his  successor  in 
Congress,  ' '  was  coextensive  with  his  country ;  it  could  not  be  crushed 
and  squeezed  in  between  party  lines.     Though  hable  to  err, —  and 


JOHN    QUINCY   ADAMS.  245 

what  human  being  is  not  1  —  yet  his  principles  were  believed  by  him 
to  be  in  accordance  -with  the  great  moral  laws  of  the  universe.  They 
were  thought  out  from  duty  and  religion,  and  not  carved  out  from  expe- 
diency. When  invested  with  patronage,  he  never  dismissed  a  man  from 
office  because  he  was  a  political  opponent,  and  never  appointed  one  to 
office  merely  because  he  was  a  political  friend.  Hence  he  drew  from 
Mr.  Holmes,  of  South  Carolina,  this  noble  eulogium, —  a  eulogium, 
considering  the  part  of  the  country  from  which  it  came,  as  honorable 
to  its  author  as  to  its  object, —  that  '  he  crushed  no  heart  beneath  the 
rude  grasp  of  proscription ;  he  left  no  heritage  of  widows'  cries  or 
orphans'  tears.'  Could  all  the  honors  which  Mr.  Adams  ever  won 
from  offices  held  under  the  first  five  presidents  of  the  United  States, 
and  from  a  public  service  which,  commencing  more  than  fifty  years 
ago,  continued  to  the  day  of  his  death,  be  concentrated  in  one  effulgent 
blaze,  they  would  be  far  less  shining  and  inextinguishable  than  the 
honor  of  sacrificing  his  election  for  a  second  presidential  term,  because 
he  would  not,  in  order  to  obtain  it,  prostitute  the  patronage  and  power 
which  the  constitution  had  placed  in  his  hands.  I  regard  this  as  the 
sublimest  spectacle  in  his  long  and  varied  career.  He  stood  within 
reach  of  an  object  of  ambition  doubtless  dearer  to  him  than  life.  He 
could  have  laid  his  hands  upon  it.  The  still  small  voice  said,  No ! 
Without  a  murmur,  he  saw  it  taken  and  borne  away  in  triumph  by 
another.  Compared  with  this,  the  block  of  many  a  martyr  has  been 
an  easy  resting-place." 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  his  mind  was  the 
universality  of  its  acquirements.  There  was  hardly  a  subject  upon 
which  he  had  not  thought,  and  few  upon  which  he  was  not  wise.  The 
amount  of  his  information  was  immense.  He  was  well  versed  in  polit- 
ical economy,  and  all  matters  pertaining  to  civil  government.  As  a 
philologist,  he  passed  much  time  in  critical  research.  He  was  skilled 
in  science  and  art.  Philosophy  had  not  been  neglected,  and  religion 
was  a  subject  of  laborious  study.  He  was  thoroughly  versed  in  gen- 
eral literature  ;  was  passionately  fond  of  poetry,  and  the  words  of  our 
great  dramatic  and  epic  poets  were  familiar  to  him  as  household  words. 
The  wide  sweep  of  history  seemed  to  lay  clearly  open  to  his  mind ; 
while  he  was  intimate,  also,  with  its  minutest  details,  and  could  repeat 
names  and  dates  as  if  they  had  been  the  sole  subject  of  his  thoughts. 
By  the  wonderful  power  of  his  memory,  he  seemed  able  to  recall  what- 
ever he  read,  or  saw,  or  heard.  He  repeated,  without  limit,  passages  from 
21* 


246  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    OEATOKS. 

books  in  various  languages.  To  liim,  the  events  and  characters  of  past 
history  were  like  the  occurrences  of  to-clay.  And  the  circumstances  of 
his  own  Hfe,  back  to  his  early  childhood,  seemed  clothed  in  transparent 
light.  Conversations  he  had  enjoyed  with  persons  more  than  a  half- 
century  back,  he  could  recall  at  pleasure ;  and  the  varied  scenes  he  had 
witnessed  stood  out  like  pictures  before  his  view.  Quick  in  feeling, 
indignant  at  injustice  and  wrong,  there  was  at  times  impetuosity;  and, 
when  occasion  called  for  it.  his  words  were  like  consuming;  lightnino;, 
and  shattered  what  they  struck.  No  man  could  be  more  witheringly 
severe, —  withering  with  terrific  truth.  But  then  he  was  also  simple 
as  a  child,  and  naturally  overflowing  with  genial  affection.  Of  few 
could  it  be  more  aptly  said : 

"  He  was  a  scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one  ; 
Exceeding  wise,  fair-spoken,  and  persuading  : 
Lofty  and  sour  to  them  that  loved  him  not  ; 
But  to  those  men  that  sought  him,  sweet  as  summer." 

A  few  years  before  his  decease,  Mr.  Adams  was  invited,  by  the 
school-committee  of  the  town  of  Quincy,  to  accompany  them  in  their 
round  of  visits  to  the  several  district  schools  in  the  town.  He  com- 
plied very  readily ;  gave  his  attention,  during  a  session  of  three  hours 
in  the  Forenoon  and  three  in  the  afternoon  of  each  day,  to  the  lessons 
of  the  pupils  ;  and  entered  into  the  humble  work  before  him  with  as 
much  animation  of  manner  as  he  would  have  evinced  in  pohtical  dis- 
cussions, or  in  managing  the  affairs  of  a  nation.  Lord  Bacon  has  said 
that  "  he  Avho  cannot  contract  the  sight  of  his  mind,  as  well  as  disperse 
and  dilate  it,  wanteth  a  great  quality."  This  mark  of  true  greatness 
was  not  wanting  in  President  Adams. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  indisposition  of  Mr.  Adams,  he  gave  his  sig- 
nature to  the  effusion  herewith,  laid  aside  in  his  desk  in  the  hall  of 
Congress,  addressed  to  the  Muse  of  History,  perched  on  her  rook- 
wheeled  and  winged  car  over  the  front  door  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives at  Washington : 

"  Muse  !  quit  thy  car,  come  down  upon  the  floor, 
And  with  thee  bring  that  volume  in  thy  hand  ; 

Rap  with  thy  marble  knuckles  at  the  door, 
x\nd  take  at  a  reporter's  desk  thy  stand. 

Send  round  thy  album,  and  collect  a  store 
Of  autographs  from  rulers  of  the  land  ; 

Invite  each  Solon  to  inscribe  his  name, 

A  self-recorded  candidate  for  fame." 


JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS.  247 

Mr.  Adams,  on  the  21st  of  February,  1848,  entered  the  hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  apparently  in  his  usual  health  and  spirits. 
"When  the  house  had  been  in  session  about  an  hour,  the  yeas  and  nays 
being  ordered  on  the  question  of  a  vote  of  the  thanks  of  Congress, 
and  awarding  gold  medals,  to  Generals  Twiggs,  Worth,  Pillow,  Shields, 
Quitman,  and  others,  for  their  services  in  the  Mexican  war,  Mr.  Adams 
responded  in  the  negative  in  a  voice  unusually  clear,  and  with  more  than 
ordinary  emphasis.  After  the  speaker  had  risen  to  put  another  ques- 
tion to  the  house,  a  sudden  cry  was  heard  on  the  left  of  the  chair, 
"  Mr.  Adams  is  dying !  "  Turning  their  eyes  to  the  spot,  the  mem- 
bers beheld  the  venerable  man  in  the  act  of  falling  over  the  left 
arm  of  his  chair,  while  his  right  arm  was  extended,  grasping  his  desk 
for  support.  He  would  have  dropped  upon  the  floor,  had  he  not  been 
caught  in  the  arms  of  the  member  sitting  next  to  him.  A  great  sensa- 
tion was  created  in  the  house ;  members  from  all  quarters  rushing 
from  their  seats,  and  gathering  round  the  fallen  statesman,  who  was 
immediately  lifted  into  the  area  in  front  of  the  clerk's  table.  The 
speaker  instantly  suggested  that  some  gentleman  move  an  adjourn- 
ment, which  being  promptly  done,  the  house  adjourned.  A  sofa 
was  brought,  and  Mr.  Adams,  in  a  state  of  perfect  helplessness, 
though  not  of  entire  insensibility,  was  gently  laid  upon  it.  The  sofa 
was  then  taken  up  and  borne  out  of  the  hall  into  the  rotunda,  where  it 
was  set  doAvn ;  and  the  members  of  both  houses,  and  strangers  who 
were  fast  crowding  around,  were  with  some  difiiculty  repressed,  and  an 
open  space  cleared  in  its  immediate  vicinity ;  but  a  medical  gentleman, 
a  member  of  the  house,  advised  that  he  be  removed  to  the  door  of  the 
rotunda,  opening  on  the  east  portico,  where  a  fresh  wind  was  blowing. 
This  was  done ;  but,  the  air  being  chilly  and  loaded  with  vapor,  the 
sofa  was,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  once  more  taken  up  and 
removed  to  the  speaker's  apartment,  the  doors  of  which  were  forthwith 
closed  to  all  but  professional  gentlemen  and  particular  friends.  While 
lying  in  this  apartment,  Mr.  Adams  partially  recovered  the  use  of  his 
speech,  and  observed,  in  faltering  accents,  "  This  is  the  end  of  earth;" 
but  quickly  added,  "  I  am  composed."  Members  had  by  this  time 
reached  Mr.  Adams'  abode  with  the  melancholy  intelligence,  and  soon 
after,  Mrs.  Adams  and  his  nephew  and  niece  arrived,  and  made  their 
way  to  the  appalling  scene.  Mrs.  Adams  was  deeply  aflFected,  and  for 
some  moments  quite  prostrated,  by  the  sight  of  her  husband,  now 
insensible,  the  pallor  of  death  upon  his  countenance,  and  those  sad  pre- 


248  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

monitories  fast  making  tlieir  appearance  •wliich  fall  with  such  a  chill 
upon  the  heart. 

Mv.  Adams,  after  having  been  removed  to  the  apartment  of  Speaker 
Wintbrop,  sank  into  a  state  of  apparent  insensibility,  and  expired  at  a 
quarter  past  seven  o'clock,  on  the  evening  of  Feb.  23,  1848. 


JOHN  PHILLIPS. 

JULY  4,  1794.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

This  production  bears  the  finest  marks  of  intellectual  vigor  and  cor- 
rect principles ;  and  so  well  Avas  it  received,  that  extracts  from  it  were 
for  a  long  time  going  the  rounds  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  and 
some  of  these  passages  have  a  permanent  place  in  our  school-books,  as 
models  for  our  youth.  We  will  glean  a  passage  :  "  The  effects  of 
the  event  we  this  day  commemorate  were  not  confined  to  our  own 
country,  but  soon  extended  across  the  Atlantic.  The  prospect  of 
humbling  a  powerful  rival  induced  an  arbitrary  prince  to  aid  the 
American  cause  with  numerous  armies  and  powerful  fleets,  exhibiting 
the  paradoxical  appearance  of  slavery  fighting  the  battles  of  freedom. 
The  subjects  of  despotism  soon  imbibed  the  principles  they  were 
employed  to  defend,  and  caught  the  ardor  which  flamed  in  the  Amer- 
ican bosom.  Surrounding  circumstances  led  to  reflections  highly  unfa- 
vorable to  their  own  situation.  They  perceived  the  tree  of  liberty 
profusely  watered  with  their  blood ;  its  foliage  spreading,  yet  yielding 
them  no  shelter ;  its  fruit  blooming  and  mellowing  in  luxuriance,  yet 
denied  the  delicious  taste,  it  excited  no  passion  but  despair.  When 
the  mandate  of  their  sovereign  summoned  them  to  their  native  shores, 
a  deeper  horror  seemed  to  shade  the  darkness  of  despotism.  They 
beheld,  with  mingled  grief  and  indignation,  a  people  in  the  most  fertile 
country  of  Europe,  amid  the  profusion  of  the  bounties  of  nature, 
obliged  to  live  on  the  gleanings  of  their  own  industry.  The  scanty  pit- 
tance, saved  from  the  exactions  of  arbitrary  power,  yielded  by  igno- 
rance and  superstition,  to  satisfy  the  boundless  demands  of  a  rapacious 
clergy.  A  kingdom  converted  to  a  Bastile,  in  which  the  mind  was 
imprisoned  by  a  triple  impenetrable  wall  of  ignorance,  superstition, 
and  despotism.     The  fervid  spirit  which  glowed  within  them  soon  per- 


JOHN  PHILLIPS.  249 

vaded  their  country,  and  threatened  destruction  to  their  government. 
On  the  first  favoraWe  contingency,  the  enthusiastic  energies  of  reviving 
Freedom  burst  the  cerements  which  had  confined  it  for  two  thousand 
years,  and  the  Gothic  fabric  of  feudal  absurdity,  with  all  its  pompous 
pageants,  colossal  pillars  and  proscriptive  bulwarks,  the  wonder  and 
veneration  of  ages,  was  instantly  levelled  with  the  dust. 

"An  astonished  world  viewed  with  awful  admiration  the  stupendous 
wreck.  They  beheld,  with  pleasing  exultation,  the  fair  fabric  of 
Freedom  rising  in  simple  proportion  and  majestic  grace  upon  the  mighty 
ruin,  ihe  gloomy  horrors  of  despotism  fled  before  the  splendid  efful- 
gence of  the  sun  of  liberty.  The  potent  rays  of  science  pierced  the 
mist  of  ignorance  and  error,  '  republican  visions  were  realized,  and  the 
reign  of  reason  appeared  to  commence  its  splendid  progress.'  But  the 
whirlwind  of  discord  threatened  to  raze  the  fabric  from  its  foundation. 
The  lowering  clouds  of  contention  hung  around,  and  darkened  the 
horizon.  Fayette,  the  apostle  of  liberty,  was  abandoned  by  the  people 
whom  he  saved,  and  became  a  victim  to  despotic  cruelty  and  coward- 
ice. The  damp,  poisonous  exhalations  of  a  gloomy  dungeon  now 
encircle  and  chill  that  bosom,  whose  philanthropy  was  coextensive  with 
the  universe,  whose  patriotism  no  power  could  extinguish,  no  dan- 
gers appal.  But,  illuminated  by  the  rectitude  of  thy  heart  and  the 
magnanimity  of  thy  virtue,  the  trickling  dews  of  thy  prison-walls  shall 
sparkle  with  more  enviable  lustre  than  the  most  luminous  diadem  that 
glitters  on  the  brow  of  the  haughtiest  emperor."  The  apostrophe  to 
Lafayette  was  uttered  at  the  precise  time  when  the  patriot  was  lan- 
guishing in  the  dungeon  of  Olmutz. 

John  Phillips,  a  son  of  William  Phillips  and  Margaret,  a  daughter 
of  Jacob  Wendell,  was  born  in  Boston,  Nov.  26,  1770.  His  mother 
was  a  lady  of  fervent  piety ;  and  Rev.  Dr.  Palfrey  relates  that  her  son 
informed  him  that  his  mother,  at  the  last  interview  when  she  was  able 
to  sustain  a  connected  conversation,  on  the  occasion  of  an  assurance  from 
him  that  her  directions  should  be  strictly  fulfilled  after  her  death, 
raised  herself,  and,  addressing  him  in  a  manner  of  the  most  emphatic 
solemnity,  she  charged  him  to  remember  then  the  many  official  oaths 
he  had  taken.  His  birthplace  was  on  the  ancient  Phillips  estate,  now 
known  as  No.  39  Washington-street,  where  his  widowed  mother  kept 
a  dry-goods  shop  for  many  years. 

When  seven  years  of  age,  he  entered  Phillips'  Academy,  at  Ando- 
ver,  founded  by  his  relatives,  where  he  received  instruction,  residing 


250  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

in  the  fomily  of  Lieut.  Gov.  Samuel  Phillips,  until  he  entered  Harvard 
College  in  1784.  After  his  graduation,  Avhen  he  gave  the  salutatory 
oration,  he  read  law  with  Judge  Dawes,  the  successor  of  Oliver  Wen- 
dell, in  Suffolk  Probate.  On  being  of  age,  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  Suffolk  bar,  and  in  1794  married  Sally,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Wallev,  a  merchant  and  selectman  of  Boston. 

In  the  year  1800,  says  Knapp,  the  population  of  Boston  had  so 
much  increased  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  petition  the  Legisla- 
ture to  estabhsh  a  INIunicipal  Court  of  criminal  jurisdiction  for  the 
county  of  Suffolk.  The  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  and  the  Common 
Pleas,  tfad  become  burdened  by  the  numerous  entries  on  the  criminal 
side  of  the  docket;  and  parties  in  civil  actions  suffered  tedious 
delays,  while  the  courts  were  engaged  in  jail  delivery.  The  Muni- 
cipal Court  was  estabhshed  in  1800,  and  George  Eichards  Minot 
became  its  first  judge,  and  John  Phillips  was  selected  as  a  public  pros- 
ecutor, to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  the  laws.  He  was  annually  elected 
town  advocate  for  this  purpose,  until  he  was  succeeded  by  Peter  0. 
Thacher.  In  1803  he  was  elected  a  representative,  and  in  1804  he 
was  sent  to  the  Senate,  which  station  he  occupied  for  twenty  years,  and 
was  president  of  this  body  for  ten  years.  In  1809  he  became  a  judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  until  that  court  was  abolished  for 
another  on  a  new  model.  In  1820  Mr.  Phillips  was  elected  to  the 
convention  for  revising  the  constitution  of  the  State,  where  he  dis- 
played great  wisdom  and  playful  humor.  In  remarks  on  the  third 
article  of  the  bill  of  rights,  on  which  there  was  great  diversity  of  opin- 
ion, he  urged  its  indefinite  postponement,  saying  it  was  well  to  remem- 
ber the  adage.  When  you  know  not  what  to  do,  take  care  not  to  do  you 
know  not  what.  He  hoped  they  should  not  resemble  the  man  who  had 
the  epitaph  on  his  tombstone,  "I  was  well:  I  would  be  better,  and 
here  I  am." 

In  1812  Mr.  Phillips  was  elected  a  member  of  the  corporation  of 
Harvard  College,  which  station  he  filled  until  his  decease,  and  was 
frequently  moderator  of  the  town-meetings  of  the  old  town  of 
Boston. 

Mr.  Phillips  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  twelve  who  reported 
a  city  charter,  which  was  adopted  by  the  to^vn  on  January  1,  1822. 
One  attempt  having  been  made  to  elect  a  mayor,  without  success,  Mr. 
Phillips  was  solicited  to  stand  as  candidate,  in  order  to  effect  a  union ; 
and  he  received  nearly  a  unanimous  vote.      He   was  inaugurated, 


JOHN  PHILLIPS,  251 

May  1,  1822.  A  powerful  minority  of  the  citizens  decidedly  preferred 
the  patriarchal  system  of  the  selectmen.  Others  decidedly  advocated 
reform  and  energetic  measures.  In  acting  out  the  principles  of  the 
charter,  Mayor  Phillips  was  kind,  conciliatory,  and  conservative. 
Such  was  the  general  confidence  at  the  time  in  his  taste  and  judgment, 
that  he  could  have  taken  what  direction  he  preferred  in  regard  to  the 
mode  in  which  the  mayor  should  in  future  bear  the  forms  of  office. 
Some  were  for  display  and  pomp.  Mr.  Phillips  preferred  republican 
simplicity,  and  probably,  by  his  example,  we  are  saved  the  trappings 
of  a  lord  mayor's  day,  or  any  profuseness  at  an  annual  organization  of 
the  city  authorities.  Mayor  Quincy,  his  successor,  said,  "  The  first 
administration  have  laid  the  foundation  of  the  prosperity  of  our  city 
deep,  and  on  right  principles ;  and  whatever  success  may  attend  those 
who  come  after  them,  they  will  be  largely  indebted  for  it  to  the  wisdom 
and  fidelity  of  their  predecessors."  The  course  of  his  control  over  the 
city  government  was  unruffled  as  Lake  Ontario  on  a  calm,  sunny  day, 
and  a  striking  contrast  to  the  measures  of  his  successor,  whose  opera- 
tions, like  the  rushings  of  the  resistless  Niagara,  in  its  vicinity,  washed 
away  the  old  landmarks,  when  Boston  lost  its  identity  as  a  town. 

As  a  speaker,  ]Mr.  Phillips  was  clear,  forcible,  conciliatory  and 
judicious.  His  voice  was  strong,  without  harshness,  and  his  words 
flowed  without  any  great  efibrt.  If  he  never  gave  any  striking  speci- 
men of  eloquence,  he  certainly  never  mortified  his  firiends  by  a  failure 
in  deljate,  so  often  the  misfortune  amongst  those  who  sometimes  reach 
the  sublime.  He  was  not  unfrequently,  in  the  course  of  a  week,  called 
to  make  speeches  before  several  different  bodies  of  men,  on  various 
subjects, —  political,  educational,  commercial,  financial  or  philanthropic, 
—  and  at  all  times  he  was  listened  to  with  profound  attention  and 
pleasure ;  and  probably  no  cotemporary  of  any  standing,  in  a  moment 
of  rivalry,  could  say  to  him,  "  Mj  advice  is  as  often  followed  as  yours, 
and  the  influence  you  have  I  have  also." 

Mayor  Phillips  was  of  the  common  height  in  stature.  His  face  was 
oval,  with  expressive  eyes,  and  his  cheeks  were  of  a  very  ruddy  hue ; 
with  partially  gray  hair,  like  a  half-powdered  dressing,  and  very  neat 
attire.  His  appearance  as  president  of  the  Senate,  or  at  the  meetings  of 
the  municipal  authorities,  was  manly  and  dignified.  In  his  countenance 
there  was  a  peculiar  calmness,  indicative  of  that  purity  of  heart  for 
which  he  was  greatly  distinguished.  Indeed,  from  the  decease  of  his 
excellent  mother,  there  was  more  than  a  commonly  serious  train  of 


252  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

thought  in  his  letters  and  conversation ;  and  it  is  not  singular  that  the 
last  impressions  of  a  man  should  be  religious,  who  learned  to  pray  as 
he  learned  his  alphabet,  in  his  mother's  arms,  and,  at  school,  Tvas  as 
careful  to  commit  his  bibhcal  lesson  as  to  retain  his  classical  studies. 
He  presided  in  the  Senate  on  the  day  pre'v^ous.to  his  death,  and  was  a 
spectator  at  the  dehvery  of  the  election  sermon  at  the  Old  South 
Church.  In  the  course  of  the  succeeding  night  he  became  so  unwell 
as  to  require  the  attendance  of  a  physician,  and  in  the  morning  he  for 
a  short  time  appeared  reheved,  but,  on  a  relapse  of  spasms,  occasioned 
by  an  ossification  of  the  heart,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  he 
expired.  May  29,  1823.  The  clamorous  notes  of  fame,  breathed  over 
the  conqueror's  bier,  have  no  music  in  them,  without  the  conception  of 
indestructible  virtue  in  his  mind,  as  it  shone  in  Phillips. 

The  ancestor  of  the  Phillips  family  of  New  England  was  Rev. 
George  Philhps,  of  Raymond,  Norfolk  county,  Old  England,  who  came 
to  America  in  1630,  and  was  the  first  minister  of  Watertown.  The 
children  of  Mayor  Phillips  were  Thomas  Walley,  H.  C.  1814 ;  George 
W.,  H.  C.  1829;  Wendell,  H.  C.  1831,  ever  active  in  the  cause  of 
humanity,  a  graceful  speaker  and  fine  classical  scholar ;  Grenville 
Tudor,  H.  C.  1836;  John  C,  H.  C.  1826,  in  the  ministry;  Sarah 
H.,  married  Alonzo  Gray,  of  Brookhne ;  Margaret  W.,  married  Dr. 
Edward  Reynolds,  of  Boston ;  Miriam,  married  Rev.  Dr.  Elagden,  of 
the  Old  South  Church.  The  eldest  son  was  for  many  years  clerk  of 
S-ufiblk  IMunicipal  Court.  It  were  glory  enough  to  have  had  such  a 
family,  and  Hved  in  the  shades  of  retirement,  without  being  in  elevated 
public  stations.  Blessings  on  the  memory  of  the  first  mayor  of  Boston ! 
Mr.  Otis,  a  successor,  said  of  him,  that  '•'  his  aim  was  to  allure,  and 
not  to  repel ;  to  reconcile  by  gentle  reform,  not  to  revolt  by  startling 
innovation, —  so  that,  while  he  led  us  into  a  new  and  fairer  creation, 
we  felt  ourselves  surrounded  by  the  scenes  and  comforts  of  home." 

"  His  hand  and  heart  both  open  and  both  free, 
For  what  he  has  he  gives,  —  what  thinks,  he  shows  ; 
Yet  gives  he  not  till  judgment  guides  his  bounty 
Nor  dignifies  an  impure  thought  with  breath." 


GEORGE   BLAKE.  253 

GEORGE   BLAKE. 

JULY  4,  1795,    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

The  impassioned  and  declamatory  oration  of  Mr.  Blake  is  strongly 
evincive  of  tlie  zeal  of  a  youthful  politician :  "  The  whole  continent  of 
America,  according  to  ministerial  calculations,  was  destined  to  become 
a  mere  appendage  to  the  patrimonial  inheritance  of  George  the  Third  ; 
and  the  people  of  America,  like  the  dragon  of  Hesperides,  would  have 
been  allowed  the  honor  to  cherish  and  protect  the  fruit  of  which  they 
were  refused  the  power  to  participate.  A  project  so  infernal  in  its 
design,  at  the  same  time  so  unce^iain  in  its  event,  could  have  been 
generated  but  by  a  ministry  in  the  very  dotage  of  wickedness,  approved 
but  by  a  monarch  in  leading-strings,  and  seconded  only  by  the 
unthinking  automatons  who  never  move  or  act  but  from  the  impulse  of 
their  sovereign.  In  justice,  however,  to  the  more  rational  part  of  that 
deluded  people,  we  shall  not  forget  the  feeling  remonstrances  which 
were  poured  forth  by  the  purer  spirits  of  the  kingdom.  But  in  vain ! 
In  vain  did  a  Chatham,  and  a  Camden,  like  the  oracles  of  old,  foresee 
and  pronounce  the  fatal  issue  that  awaited  the  measures  of  their  gov- 
ernment." Again  Mr.  Blake  says,  "Parliament,  by  their  usual  sanc- 
tity of  pretension,  could  no  longer  conceal  the  malignity  of  their 
designs.  That  secret  cabinet  of  inic^uity  was  now  thrown  open,  and, 
behold !  like  the  den  of  the  Cyclops,  it  exhibited  a  group  of  demons 
busied  in  forging  engines  of  destruction,  —  in  fabricating  chains,  dag- 
gers, and  fetters,  to  enslave  or  destroy  her  devoted  colonies." 

George  Blake  was  a  descendant  of  "William  Blake,  the  common 
ancestor,  who  died  at  Dorchester,  Oct.  25,  1663,  and  bequeathed  by 
his  Avill  funds  for  keeping  a  fence  or  wall  around  the  burying-ground 
in  Dorchester,  "so  y'  swine  &  other  vermine  may  not  Anoy  y' 
grauesofy"  saints."  George,  the  subject  of  this  outline,  was  born  at 
Hardwick,  Mass.,  1769,  and  graduated  ot  Harvard  College  in  1789, 
when  he  took  part  in  a  conference  with  Samuel  Haven  —  ' '  Whether 
unlimited  toleration  be  prejudicial  to  the  cause  of  religion."  He  was  a 
student  at  law  under  Governor  Sullivan,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1794.  He  settled  in  the  practice  of  law  in  Boston,  when  he  delivered 
the  oration  at  the  request  of  the  town.  On  the  same  day,  Gov. 
22 


254  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   OEATOES. 

Samuel  Adams  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  State-house  in  Boston, 
"who  said,  "May  the  principles  of  our  excellent  constitution,  founded 
in  nature  and  in  the  rights  of  man,  be  ablj  defended  here;"  and  in 
the  year  pre^^ous,  Gov.  Adams  said,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  at  the  celebration 
of  the  destruction  of  the  Bastile  in  Paris,  '•'  May  the  laurel  of  victory 
never  wither  on  the  brow  of  repubhcanism."  Mr.  Blake  married 
Rachel  Baty,  who  died  in  early  life,  and  he  married  a  second  time 
Sarah  Murdock.  On  the  fourth  of  February,  1800,  Mr.  Blake  deliv- 
ered a  eulogy  on  "Washington,  for  St.  John's  Lodge.  In  1801  he  was 
appointed  the  United  States  District  Attorney  for  Massachusetts,  at 
which  time  he  was  a  representative  in  the  State  Legislature.  Mr. 
Blake  was  a  delegate  to  the  jNIassachusetts  State  convention  for  the 
revision  of  the  State  constitution,  in  1820.  His  speeches  on  important 
topics  were  frequent,  and  no  man  displayed  a  keener  jealousy  for  the 
democracy,  or  readier  adroitness  of  conception.  Jja  liis  speech  on  sen- 
atorial apportionment,  he  remarked  that  he  considered  the  constitution 
of  this  commonwealth  the  purest  and  most  perfect  model  of  repubhcan 
government  that  ever  existed  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  There  cannot 
be  found  in  any  State,  or  in  the  world,  a  constitution  so  free  and  so 
liberal  as  that  of  Massachusetts,  which  we  now  have,  independent  of 
any  amendments  which  may  be  proposed.  He  had  been  a  republican 
in  the  most  gloomy  times, —  it  was  fashionable  to  be  republican  now, — 
and  he  should  not  be  disposed  to  desert  republicanism  at  such  a  time. 
He  said  that  he  had  used  the  other  day  a  very  improper  figure,  when 
he  called  the  Senate  the  rich  man's  citadel.  It  was  no  more  the 
citadel  of  the  rich  than  of  the  poor  man.  It  was  the  only  branch  of 
the  government  which  was  particularly  designed  for  the  protection  of 
property,  and  the  protection  was  as  important  for  those  who  have  little 
as  for  those  who  have  much.  Mr.  Blake  opposed  the  investiture  of 
Boston  into  a  city  corporation,  and  also  opposed  the  city  charter,  as 
subversive  of  democracy.  He  was  the  first  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  mayoralty.  In  1829  Mr.  Blake  resigned  his  ofiice  of  District 
Attorney,  and  was  again  elected  to  the  House,  until  his  advance  to  the 
Senate,  in  1833.  He  was  profound  in  legal  acquirement,  and  his 
forensic  powers  were  of  a  high  order.  His  control  over  the  jury  was 
often  irresistible.  The  propriety  and  elegance  of  his  diction,  and  his 
fervor  in  debate,  excited  admiration.  He  was  an  active  leader  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  "Worcester 
National  .3]gis,  edited  by  his  brother,  Francis  Blake,  and  a  decided 


JOHN   LATHROP,  JR.  255 

advocate  of  the  measures  of  Jefferson.  His  speeches  in  General  Court, 
and  learned  arguments  at  the  bar,  were  often  pubhshed.  All  that 
Mr.  Blake  said  was  delivered 

"  in  such  apt  and  gracious  words 

That  younger  ears  played  truant  at  his  tale, 
And  older  hearings  Trere  quite  ravished, 
So  voluble  and  sweet  was  his  discourse." 

He  died  October  6,  1841. 


JOHN   LATHROP,  JR. 

JULY  i,  1796.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  nervous  and  patriotic  performance  of  our  orator,  we  have 
this  happy  exordium  :  "  It  is  now  acknowledged  as  a  fact  in  political 
biography,  that  Liberty  descended  from  heaven  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1776.  We  are  assembled  on  this  day,  the  twentieth  anniversary  of 
her  advent,  to  sympathize  in  those  pleasures  which  none  but  freemen 
can  enjoy,  to  exchange  those  mutual  congratulations  which  none  but 
freemen  can  express. 

"  The  first  promulgation  of  the  gospel  of  liberty  was  the  declaration 
of  American  independence.  Her  apostles,  the  venerable  Congress, 
whose  mode  of  evangelizing  made  many  a  Felix  tremble,  sealed  the 
doom  and  issued  the  death-warrant  of  despotism.  The  measure  of 
her  iniquity  was  filled  up.  The  decree  was  gone  forth,  and  Amer- 
icans were  elected  by  God  to  redeem  from  bondage  the  miserable 
victims  of  arbitrary  power.  But  it  would  have  been  of  no  avail  for 
them  to  publish  to  the  enslaved  the  beauties  of  freedom,  describe  her 
charms,  and  urge  the  duty  of  possessing  her,  while  they  themselves 
were  declared,  by  an  act  of  the  British  legislature,  liable  to  be  bounden 
by  the  will  and  laws  of  that  overbearing  kingdom,  '  in  all  cases  what- 
soever.' They  disdained  an  inconsistency  of  character, —  they  pre- 
sented the  world  with  a  glorious  example,  by  effecting  their  own 
emancipation.  Yes,  my  fellow-countrymen  !  you  indignantly  refused 
a  base  submission  to  the  usurpation  of  Great  Britain  —  to  the  imposi- 
tions of  her  Parhament,  and  the  insolence  of  her  ministry.  After 
opposing  reasoning  and  argument  to  her  absurd  pretensions,  and  digni- 


256  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

fied  remonstrance  to  her  unjustifiable  encroacliments,  the  solemn  appeal 
was  made  to  Heaven, —  the  sword  was  drawn,  and  the  once  inseparable 
tie  of  connection  between  the  two  countries  severed  in  twain.  The 
niightj  blow  resounded  through  the  universe.  The  nations  of  the 
earth  were  astonished,  dumb  with  surprise,  or  trembhng  with  appre- 
hension. The  deep-rooted  thrones  of  aged  monarchies  were  shaken  to 
their  centres.  The  Bastiles  of  tyranny,  riven  by  the  shock,  reluctantly 
admitted  the  rays  of  hope  to  gladden  the  desponding  hearts  of  their 
■OTetched  tenants,  and  opened  to  their  view  a  distant  prospect  of 
scenes  illumined  with  Liberty's  full  and  perfect  day." 

John  Lathrop  was  bom  in  Boston,  January,  1772.  His  father  was 
pastor  of  the  New  Brick  Church,  of  which  Pemberton  had  been 
the  minister.  Owing  to  differences  in  the  church,  which  originated 
the  New  North  Church,  when  Bev.  Peter  Thacher  was  its  first 
pastor,  the  New  Brick  Society  elevated  the  figure  of  a  cock,  as  a  vane, 
upon  the  steeple,  out  of  derision  to  Mr.  Thacher,  whose  Christian 
name  was  Peter,  says  Eliot,  and,  taking  advantage  of  a  north  wind, 
which  turned  the  head  of  the  cock  towards  the  New  North  Church, 
when  it  was  placed  upon  the  spindle,  a  merry  fellow  sat  astride  over 
it,  and  crowed  three  times,  to  complete  the  ceremony.  Bev.  Dr. 
Lathrop  was  a  fervent  patriot ;  and,  on  the  Sunday  after  the  massacre 
in  King-street,  delivered  a  sermon,  which  was  printed,  entitled  "  Lmo- 
cent  Blood  Crying  to  God  from  the  Streets  of  Boston."  The  subject 
of  this  outline  pursued  the  study  of  law  under  Christopher  Gore,  but 
he  was  soon  known  more  as  a  poet  than  a  lawyer,  as  his  poetry 
appeared  in  the  journals.  In  1797,  after  the  delivery  of  the  oration 
at  the  head  of  this  article,  he  removed  to  Dedham,  and  became  clerk 
of  Norfolk  courts,  but  soon  returned  to  Boston,  where  he  became  an 
intimate  with  Paine  and  Prentiss,  the  poets. 

In  1799  he,  made  a  voyage  to  Calcutta,  where  he  hoped  the  patron- 
age of  the  INIarcjuis  of  Wellesley.  In  the  ardor  of  his  zeal  for 
instructing  the  rising  generation  of  Calcutta,  jNIr.  Lathrop  presented  to 
the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  then  governor-general,  a  plan  of  an  insti- 
tution at  which  the  youths  of  India  might  receive  an  education,  pati'on- 
ized  by  government,  without  going  to  England  for  that  purpose.  In 
an  interview  with  his  lordship,  Mr.  Lathrop  urged  with  gi-eat  eloquence 
the  advantages  of  such  a  plan ;  but  his  lordship  decidedly  opposed 
him,  remarking,  with  vehemence,  "No,  no,  sir;  India  is,  and  ever 
ought  to  be,  a  colony  of  Great  Britain ;  the  seeds  of  independence 


JOHN  CALLENDER.  257 

must  not  be  sown  here.  Establishing  a  seminary  in  New  England  at 
so  early  a  period  of  time  hastened  your  revolution  half  a  century." 
He  established  a  school  for  the  instruction  of  youth,  and  became  a 
writer  for  the  Calcutta  Post ;  and,  after  a  ten  years'  residence,  returned 
to  his  country.  His  first  wife  was  daughter  of  Joseph  Peirce,  Esq., 
whom  he  married  in  1793 ;  and  he  married  a  second  time, —  Miss 
Bell,  of  Calcutta.  His  work  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  India 
was  never  pubhshed.  On  his  return  to  Boston,  he  taught  a  school, 
dehvered  lectures  on  natural  philosophy,  published  songs  and  orations, 
and  contributed  to  the  public  journals.  He  published  a  school-book 
on  the  use  of  globes.  He  soon  removed  to  Washington,  where,  and  at 
Georgetown  in  the  vicinity,  he  practised  as  an  instructor,  lecturer,  and 
writer  in  the  newspapers.  He  obtained  a  situation  in  the  post-office, 
and  died  Jan.  30,  1820,  a  victim  of  sensibility,  and  a  son  of  frailties 
and  misfortune. 

Lathrop's  best  poem  was  the  "  Speech  of  Canonicus."  In  1813  he 
delivered  the  first  anniversary  discourse  for  the  Associate  Instructors 
of  Youth  in  Boston ;  in  1798,  an  oration  for  4th  of  July,  at  Dedham  ; 
a  Masonic  address  at  Charlestown,  in  1811,  and  a  Monody  on  John  L. 
Abbot,  in  1815.  When  he  graduated  at  college,  in  1789,  he  delivered 
a  poem  on  the  Influence  of  Civil  Institutions  on  the  Social  and  Moral 
J'aculties.     Lathrop  once  closed  an  ode  as  follows  : 

"  Ye  sainted  spirits  of  the  just, 

Departed  friends,  we  raise  our  eyes 
From  humbler  scenes  of  mouldering  dust, 

To  brighter  mansions  in  the  skies,  — 
Where  Faith  and  Hope,  their  trials  past. 

Shall  smile  in  endless  joy  secure. 
And  Charity's  blest  reign  shall  last 

While  heaven's  eternal  courts  endure." 


JOHN  CALLENDKH. 

JULY  4,  1797.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

John  Callender  was  born  at  Boston,  Feb.  4,  1772,  and  son  of 
Capt.  Eleazar  Callender,  who  married  Elizabeth,  sister  of  Gov.  Gore, 

22* 


258  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Nov.  23,  1768.  He  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1779,  and  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1790.  His  topic  at  commencement  -was  an  ora- 
tion, in  French,  on  the  revolution  in  France.  He  was  an  attorney- 
at-law,  and  married  Catharine  Templeman,  of  Georgetown,  Md., 
Nov.  23,  179-4 ;  was  lieutenant  of  the  Boston  Light  Infantry,  on  its 
institution,  in  1798 ;  was  a  representative  in  the  State  Legislature, 
secretary  of  Massachusetts  Society  of  Cincinnati,  and  clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court.     He  died  in  Boston,  Nov.  21,  1833. 

Li  the  oration  of  Mr.  Callender  it  is  remarked  ' '  that  our  Revolution 
was  so  little  disgraced  by  cruelty  and  injustice,  much  is  due  to  the  exer- 
tions of  our  clergy;  and  it  is  with  pride  I  here  offer  my  humble  tribute 
of  applause  to  that  devout  and  learned  profession.  The  holy  precepts 
of  our  religion  which  they  inculcated,  and  the  bright  examples  of  virtue 
which  they  exhibited,  gave  them  a  great  and  merited  influence  with 
the  people.  To  their  eternal  honor  be  it  recorded,  that  influence, 
exerted  on  the  side  of  liberty  and  humanity,  in  a  great  measure 
restrained  those  wild  excesses  which  have  too  frecjuently  blasted  in  the 
execution  a  cause  designed  by  the  noblest  motives  of  the  human  mind." 


JOSIAH   QUINCY. 

JULY  4,  1798.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORiriES. 

Our  orator  remarks,  with  nervous  vigor :  "  The  factious  spirits 
whose  intrigues  have  produced  such  losses  and  distress  to  the  United 
States,  and  forced  our  federated  stars  from  the  pathway  of  peace  and 
heaven,  are  servile  copyists  of  those  ancient  enemies  of  colonial  inde- 
pendence. They  have  neither  the  claim  of  originals,  the  merit  of 
ingenuity,  or  the  charm  of  novelty.  It  is  not  a  mere  general  resem- 
blance ;  it  is  the  old  piece  in  a  new  position, —  the  same  in  character 
and  attitude,  in  expression  and  passion,  in  drapery  and  design.  The 
tories  and  royahsts  of  old  time,  compared  with  the  true  friends  of  Amer- 
ica, were  a  small  and  weak  party,  unable  to  acquire  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  Ambition  which  cannot  be  gratified  by  honorable  means 
has  a  sure  -resource  in  intrigue.  Their  imitations  stimulated  and 
encouraged  aggression.     They  marked  out  the  plan  for  our  enemies. 


JOSIAH   QUINCY.  259 

Divide  and  conquer.  Insert  your  influence  amid  the  parties  of  the 
State.  Corrupt  the  avaricious,  frighten  the  weak,  vihfy  virtue,  turn 
talents  to  ridicule,  weaken  the  obligations  of  morality,  destroy  the 
influence  of  religion,  make  men  worthy  to  be  slaves,  and  they  will  sue 
for  fetters.  How  minutely  the  opponents  of  the  will  of  the  people 
have  adhered  to  these  principles  in  our  day,  is  too  obvious  to  remark. 
We  shall  find  the  likeness  not  less  striking,  if,  keeping  our  own  times 
in  view,  we  call  to  recollection  the  arts  by  which  the  tories  and  royal- 
ists formerly  played  this  eternal  game  of  tyranny.  To  encourage  and 
unite  the  inhabitants  of  the  Old  World,  they  everywhere  proclaimed  us 
a  divided  people :  that,  embarked  in  a  common  cause,  we  refused  to 
bear  our  share  of  expense ;  that,  reared  under  their  wing,  in  our  strength, 
we  were  unmindful  of  our  patrons.  In  America  diflferent  changes  were 
rung.  They  attempted  to  set  at  variance  the  southern  and  northern 
colonies ;  to  make  the  orders  of  State  contend  ;  to  render  the  poor  sus- 
picious of  the  rich, —  the  rich  fearful  of  the  poor.  They  told  the  people 
of  fleets  and  armies  ;  of  the  power  of  the  adversary,  and  their  weak- 
ness. The  arms  and  victories  of  a  nation,  then  styled  terrible  to  her 
enemies  and  generous  to  her  friends,  were  painted  in  colors  best  suited 
to  alarm.  The  sin,  the  crying  sin,  of  ingratitude  to  a  nation  who  had 
fought  our  battles,  the  bones  of  whose  warriors  were  mingled  in  the 
same  plains  with  ours,  was  blazoned  in  terms  designed  to  make  us 
odious  and  contemptible  at  home  and  abroad.  Every  man  of  talent 
and  virtue  was  designated  as  an  object  of  tlie  most  atrocious  slander. 
Our  clergy, —  God  ever  preserve  to  them  the  glorious  prerogative  !  — 
calumniated  by  the  enemies  of  their  country.  Our  patriots,  loaded  with 
every  insult  which  abandoned  minds  could  invent :  —  Otis,  the  spirited 
and  elegant  statesman ;  Mayhew,  the  man  of  wit,  learning,  and  piety ; 
Adams,  the  equal  pride  of  past  and  present  times." 

Josiah  Quincy  was  the  son  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  and  Abigail  Phil- 
lips, who  were  married  October,  1769.  The  memory  of  his  father 
will  be  ever  dear  in  the  records  of  patriotism,  for  his  dignified  defence 
of  the  British  soldiers,  and  his  manly  arguments  on  the  Boston  Port 
Bill.  Previous  to  his  death,  which  occurred  April  26,  1775.  just  as 
he  reached  within  sight  of  Cape  Ann,  in  his  beloved  country,  when  on 
his  retui-n  from  a  visit  to  London  for  his  health,  Mr.  Quincy  says,  in 
his  will,  "  I  give  to  my  son,  when  he  shall  arrive  to  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  Algernon  Sidney's  works,  John  Locke's  works.  Lord  Bacon's 
works,  Gordon's  Tacitus,  and  Gate's  Letters.     May  the  spirit  of  liberty 


260  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

rest  upon  him  !  "  This  only  son,  Josiah,  was  born  at  Boston,  Feb.  4, 
1772,  on  the  Callender  estate,  now  166  Washington-street,  then  Marl- 
boro'-street  ;  and,  by  the  Old  South  records,  he  was  baptized  Feb.  16, 
1772.  It  is  said  that  his  father  was  the  first  Boston  lawyer  who  put 
up  a  sign-board  over  his  oflBce-door.  INIany  of  his  nearest  connec- 
tions were  dispersed  by  the  siege  of  Boston.  His  mother  had  been 
detained  in  the  to^vn  by  the  dangerous  illness  of  both  their  children. 
His  only  sister  died  April  13, 1775.  After  this  event,  his  mother,  with 
her  only  surviving  child,  sought  the  protection  of  her  parents,  at  their 
place  of  refuge  at  Norwich,  in  Connecticut.  Young  Josiah  was  prepared 
for  college  at  Phillips'  Academy,  in  Andover,  an  institution  estabhshed 
by  a  relative  in  1778.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1790, 
when  he  gave  an  English  oration  on  the  Ideal  Superiority  of  the  Present 
Age  in  Literature  and  Politics  ;  engaged  in  legal  studies  under  Hon. 
Judge  Tudor ;  was  early  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  married  Eliza  Susan, 
daughter  of  John  Morton,  Esq.,  merchant  and  banker,  of  New  York,  June, 
1 797.  He  delivered  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration  at  Cambridge,  in  1794. 
In  1796  Mr.  Quincy  became  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  and  was  its  treasurer  from  1803  to  1820.  He  was  president 
of  the  Boston  Athen^um  from  1820  to  1830,  and  author  of  its  History 
and  Biography  of  its  Founders,  pubhshed  in  1851.  Mr.  Quincy  was 
in  1804  elected  to  the  State  Senate ;  a  representative  in  Congress 
from  the  year  1805  to  1813,  and  consequently  present  at  the  creation 
of  commercial  restrictions,  embargo,  and  war.  Naturally  impetuous 
from  his  earliest  youth,  indiscretion  often  marked  his  career;  but  his 
ingenuous  heart  always  guided  him'  to  retract  his  rashness.  He  was 
ever  fearless,  and  of  fervent  eloquence.  His  speeches  are  among  the 
best  specimens  of  the  spirit  of  the  times.  His  admirable  minority 
address  in  Congress  is  imperishable.  As  an  indication  of  the  playful 
wit  of  Mr.  Quincy,  we  find  in  the  diary  of  his  pastor.  Rev.  Joseph  S. 
Buckminster,  this  record  under  date  September,  1805:  '"'President 
Nott  preached  in  Brattle-street  Church ;  the  fullest  audience  ever 
known  there,  except  on  ordination-day.  Epigram  made  on  by  Josiah 
Quincy. 

'  Delight  and  instruction  have  people,  I  wot, 
"Who  in  seeing  not  see,  and  in  hearing  hear  not.'  " 

Mr.  Quincy  was  major  of  the  Boston  Hussars,  on  its  institution,  in 
1810,  and  continued  its  commander  until  1816.  It  was  the  most 
superb  troop  of  horse  ever  known  in  the  town. 


JOSIAH   QUINCY.  261 

During  the  discussion  in  Congress  on  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  Mr. 
Quincy  suffered  himself  at  times  to  be  so  passionately  inflamed  with 
opposition  to  the  Democratic  members,  as  to  jbrget,  in  the  warm  excite- 
ment, the  pure  feeling  of  decorum  and  dignified  respect  so  important 
to  their  elevated  station ;  and  the  poignancy  of  his  grief,  after  impetu- 
ously pouring  out  such  figures  as  follow,  far  overbalanced  the  moment- 
ary pleasure  of  hurling  around  bitter  invectives.  He  described  them, 
it  is  said,  as  "  young  politicians,  with  the  pin-feathers  yet  unshed,  and 
the  shell  sticking  upon  them, —  perfectly  unfledged, —  though  they 
fluttered  and  cackled  upon  the  floor  of  Congress ;  bloodhound  mongrels, 
who  Avere  kept  in  pay  to  hunt  down  all  that  opposed  the  court ;  a  pack 
of  mangy  dogs  of  recent  importation,  their  backs  still  sore  with  the 
stripes  of  European  castigation,  and  their  necks  marked  with  the 
check-collar."  At  another  time  he  described  them  as  "  fawning  syc- 
ophants, reptiles  who  crawled  at  the  feet  of  the  president,  and  left 
their  filthy  slime  upon  the  carpet  of  the  palace." 

Henry  Clay,  then  the  champion  of  the  Democratic  party,  repelled 
the  rude  severity  of  Josiah  Quincy  with  great  effect,  remarking  of  Jef- 
ferson, that  "he  is  not  more  elevated  by  his  lofty  residence  upon  the 
summit  of  his  own  favorite  mountain,  than  he  is  lifted  by  the  serenity 
of  his  mind,  and  the  consciousness  of  a  well-spent  life,  above  the 
malignant  passions  and  bitter  feelings  of  the  day.  No !  his  own 
beloved  Monticello  is  not  less  moved  by  the  storms  that  beat  against 
its  sides,  than  is  this  illnstrious  man  by  the  whole  British  pack,  set 
loose  from  the  Essex  kennel !  When  the  gentleman  to  whom  I  have 
been  compelled  to  allude  shall  have  mingled  his  dust  with  that  of  his 
abused  ancestors, —  when  he  shall  have  been  consigned  to  oblivion,  or, 
if  he  lives  at  all,  shall  live  only  in  the  treasonable  annals  of  a  certain 
junto, —  the  name  of  Jefferson  will  be  hailed  with  gratitude,  his  mem- 
ory honored  and  cherished  as  the  second  founder  of  the  liberties  of 
the  people,  and  the  period  of*  his  administration  will  be  looked  back  to 
as  one  of  the  happiest  and  brightest  epochs  of  American  history  —  an 
oasis  in  the  midst  of  a  sandy  desert.  But  I  beg  the  gentleman's 
pardon  ;  he  has,  indeed,  secured  to  himself  a  more  imperishable  fame 
than  I  had  supposed.  I  think  it  was  about  four  years  ago  that  he 
submitted  to  the  House  of  Representatives  an  instructive  proposition 
for  an  impeachment  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  The  house  condescended  to 
consider  it.  The  gentleman  debated  it  with  his  usual  temper,  moder- 
ation, and  urbanity.     The  house  decided  upon  it  in  the  most  solenm 


262  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

manner,  and,  altliougli  the  gentleman  had  somewhere  obtained  a 
second,  the  final  vote  stood,  one  for,  and  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
against,  the  proposition !  ^The  same  historic  page  that  transmitted  to 
posterity  the  virtue  and  the  glory  of  Henry  the  Great,  of  France,  for 
their  admiration  and  example,  has  preserved  the  infamous  name  of  the 
frantic  assassin  of  that  excellent  monarch  !  " 

In  the  speech  of  ]Mr.  Quincy  on  the  proposal  to  revive  and  enforce 
the  non-intercourse  law  against  Great  Britain,  wherein  he  argues  that 
it  is  not  fiscal,  nor  protective  of  manufactures,  nor  competent  to  coerce, 
nor  the  product  of  any  prospective  intelligence,  but  the  result  of 
chaotic  opinions,  he  remarked  that  ''  they  who  introduced  it  abjured 
it.  They  who  advocated  it  did  not  wish,  and  scarcely  knew,  its  use. 
And  now  that  it  is  said  to  be  extended  over  us,  no  man  in  this  nation, 
who  values  his  reputation,  will  take  his  Bible  oath  that  it  is  in  effectual 
and  legal  operation.  There  is  an  old  riddle,  on  a  coffin,"  said  Mr. 
Quincy,  "  which  I  presume  we  all  learnt  when  we  were  boys,  that  is 
as  perfect  a  representation  of  the  origin,  progress,  and  present  state  of 
this  thing  called  non-intercourse,  as  is  possible  to  be  conceived  : 

'  There  was  a  man  bespoke  a  thing, 
Which,  when  the  maker  home  did  bring, 
That  same  maker  did  refuse  it, — 
The  man  that  spoke  for  it  did  not  use  it, — 
And  he  who  had  it  did  not  know 
Whether  he  had  it,  yea  or  no.' 

True  it  is,  that  if  this  non-intercourse  shall  ever  be,  in  reality,  sub- 
tended over  us,  the  similitude  will  fail,  in  a  material  point.  The  poor 
tenant  of  the  colEn  is  ignorant  of  his  state.  But  the  poor  people  of 
the  United  States  will  be  literally  buried  alive  in  non-intercourse,  and 
realize  the  grave  closing  on  themselves  and  their  hopes,  with  a  full 
and  cruel  consciousness  of  all  the  horrors  of  their  condition." 
Our  rustic  bard,  Dinsmore,  says  : 

"  Non-intercourse  !  the  thing  is  hollow, — 
A  measure  causeless,  vague,  and  shallow  ! 
The  heads  who  formed  it  sure  were  mellow  !  " 

We  find  the  following  bold  figure  in  Mr.  Quincy' s  speech  on  the 
necessity  of  repealing  the  embargo  law:  "An  embargo  liberty  was 
never  cradled  in  INIassachusetts.     Our  liberty  was  not  so  much  a 


JOSIAH   QUINCT.  263 

mountain,  as  a  sea-nymph.  She  -was  free  as  air.  She  could  smm, 
or  she  could  run.  The  ocean  was  her  cradle.  Our  fathers  met  her 
as  she  came,  like  the  goddess  of  beauty,  from  the  Avaves.  They 
caught  her  as  she  was  sporting  on  the  beach.  They  courted  her 
whilst  she  AYas  spreading  her  nets  upon  the  rocks.  But  an  embargo 
liberty,  a  handcuflfed  liberty,  a  liberty  in  fetters,  a  liberty  traversing 
between  the  four  sides  of  a  prison,  and  beating  her  head  against  the 
walls,  is  none  of  our  offspring.  We  abjure  the  monster.  Its  parent- 
age is  all  inland." 

When  the  exciting  question  of  the  admission  of  Louisiana  into  the 
Union  was  agitated,  Mr.  Quincy  used  strong  language  against  it, 
remarking,  "  I  am  compelled  to  declare  it  as  my  deliberate  opinion, 
that,  if  this  bill  passes,  the  bonds  of  this  Union  are  virtually  dissolved ; 
that  the  States  which  compose  it  are  free  from  their  moral  obligations, 
and  that,  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so  it  will  be  the  duty  of  some, 
to  prepare  definitely  for  a  separation,  —  amicably  if  they  can,  violently 
if  they  must."  Language  like  this  excited  the  severe  rebuke  of  Mr. 
Poindexter,  of  Mississippi,  who  said :  "  Influenced  by  a  desire  to  stamp 
on  these  expressions  their  merited  disgrace,  and  to  preserve  dignity  and 
decorum  in  our  deliberations,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  call  the  gentleman 
to  order.  These  sacred  walls  ought  not  to  be  polluted  by  direct  invi- 
tations to  rcbelhon."  In  allusion  to  Aaron  Burr,  Mr.  Poindexter 
said,  that,  had  he  used  such  expressions,  "  instead  of  exile,  he  would 
have  been  consigned  to  a  gibbet ;  and  his  fate  ought  to  be  a  warning 
against  treasonable  machinations."  Mr.  Quincy  promptly  replied  to 
Mr.  Poindexter,  that,  on  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  it  was  agreed, 
in  the  treaty-making  power,  that  old  States  within  the  ancient  limits 
could  not  be  sold  from  us  ;  "  and  I  maintain,"  said  he,  "that  by  it 
new  States,  without  the  ancient  hmits,  cannot  be  saddled  upon  us.  It 
was  agreed  at  that  time  that  the  treaty-making  power  could  not  cut  off 
a  limb.  And  I  maintain  that  neither  has  it  the  competency  to  clap  a 
hump  upon  our  shoulders."  In  relation  to  the  moral  and  political  con- 
sequences of  usurping  this  power,  said  Mr.  Quincy,  "  I  have  said  that 
it  AYOuld  be  a  virtual  dissolution  of  the  Union ;  and  gentlemen  express 
great  sensibility  at  the  expression.  But  the  true  source  of  terror  is 
not  the  declaration  I  have  made,  but  the  deed  you  propose.  With 
respect  to  this  love  of  our  Union,  I  have  no  fear  about  analyzing  its 
nature.  There  is  in  it  nothing  of  mystery.  It  depends  upon  the 
qualities  of  that  Union,  and  it  results  from  its  effects  upon  our  and  our 


264  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

country's  happiness.  It  is  valuable  for  'that  sober  certainty  of 
•waking  bliss '  -which  it  enables  us  to  realize.  It  grows  out  of  the 
affections,  and  has  not,  and  cannot  be  made  to  have,  anything  universal 
in  its  nature.  Sir,  I  confess  it,  the  first  public  love  of  my  heart  is 
the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  There  is  my  fii-eside,  there  are 
the  tombs  of  my  ancestors  : 

'  Low  lies  that  land,  yet  blest  with  fruitful  stores  ; 
Strong  are  her  sons,  though  rocky  are  her  shores  ; 
And  none,  ah  !  none  so  lovely  to  my  sight. 
Of  all  the  lands  which  heaven  o'erspreads  with  light.' 

The  love  of  the  Union  grows  out  of  this  attachment  to  my  native  soil, 
and  is  rooted  in  it.  I  cherish  it  because  it  affords  the  best  external 
hope  of  her  peace.  I  oppose  this  bill  from  no  animosity  to  the  people 
of  New  Orleans,  but  from  the  deep  conviction  that  it  contains  a  prin- 
ciple incompatible  with  the  liberties  and  safety  of  my  country.  I  have 
no  concealment  of  my  opinion.  The  bill,  if  it  passes,  is  a  death-blow 
to  the  constitution.  It  may  afterwards  linger,  but,  lingering,  its  fate 
will  at  no  very  distant  period  be  consummated." 

The  speech  of  Josiah  Quincy  in  Congress,  January  1,  1811,  on  the 
influence  of  place  and  patronage,  was  one  of  his  most  successful  efforts ; 
and  John  Quincy  Adams  exclaimed,  after  its  delivery,  "  It  ought  to  be 
hung  up  in  every  office  of  every  office-holder  in  the  Union."  We  will 
cite  two  passages  from  this  effective,  patriotic  speech : 

"Is  there  on  this  earth  any  collection  of  men,  in  which  exists  a 
more  intrinsic,  hearty,  and  desperate  love  of  office  or  place,  particularly 
of  fat  places  ?  Is  there  any  country  diore  infested  than  this  with  the 
vermin  that  breed  in  the  corruptions  of  power  ?  Is  there  any  in  which 
place  and  official  emolument  more  certainly  follo^^  distinguished  ser- 
vility at  elections,  or  base  scurrility  in  the  press,?  And  as  to  eager- 
ness for  the  reward,  Avhat  is  the  fact  ?  Let,  now,  one  of  your  great 
office-holders  —  a  collector  of  the  customs,  a  marshal,  a  commissioner 
of  loans,  a  post-master  in  one  of  your  cities,  or  any  officer,  agent,  or 
factor,  for  your  territories,  or  public  lands,  or  person  holding  a  place 
of  minor  distinction,  but  of  considerable  profit  —  be  called  upon  to  pay 
the  last  great  debt  of  nature.  The  poor  man  shall  hardly  be  dead, — 
he  shall  not  be  cold, —  long  before  the  corpse  is  in  the  coffin,  the  mail 
shall  be  crowded  to  repletion  with  letters,  certificates,  recommendations 
and  representations,  and  every  species  of  sturdy,  sycophantic  solicita- 


-  JOSIAH   QUINCT.  265 

tion,  by  •which  obtrusive  mendicity  seeks  charity  or  invites  compassion. 
Why,  sir,  we  hear  the  clamor  of  the  craving  animals  at  the  treasury- 
trough  here  in  this  capitol.  Such  running,  such  jostling,  such  wrig- 
gling, such  clambering  over  one  another's  backs,  such  squealing, 
because  the  tub  is  so  narrow  and  the  company  so  crowded  !  No,  sir  ; 
let  us  not  talk  of  stoical  apathy  towards  the  things  of  the  national 
treasury,  either  in  this  people,  or  in  the  representatives,  or  senators." 

Mr.  Quincy,  in  this  speech,  uttered  a  prediction  which  should  be 
revived  previous  to  every  presidential  election.  "  Without  meaning, 
in  this  place,"  says  he,  "  to  cast  any  particular  reflections  upon  this, 
or  upon  any  other  executive,  this  I  will  say,  that  if  no  additional 
guards  are  provided,  and  now,  after  the  spirit  of  party  has  brought 
into  so  full  acti\ity  the  spirit  of  patronage,  there  never  will  be  a  pres- 
ident of  these  United  States,  elected  by  means  now  in  use,  who,  if  he 
deals  honestly  with  himself,  will  not  be  able,  on  quitting,  to  address 
his  presidential  chair  as  John  Falstaflf  addressed  Prince  Hal :  '  Before  I 
knew  thee  I  knew  nothing,  and  now  I  am  but  little  better  than  one  of 
the  wicked.'  The  possession  of  that  station,  under  the  reign  of  party, 
will  make  a  man  so  acquainted  with  the  corrupt  principles  of  human 
conduct, —  he  will  behold  our  nature  in  so  hungry  and  shivering  and 
craving  a  state,  and  be  compelled  so  constantly  to  observe  the  soUd 
rewards  daily  demanded  by  way  of  compensation  for  outrageous  patri- 
otism,—  that,  if  he  escape  out  of  that  atmosphere  without  partaking 
of  its  corruption,  he  must  be  below  or  above  the  ordinary  condition 
of  mortal  nature.  Is  it  possible,  sir,  that  he  should  remain  altogether 
uninfected?  " 

Mr.  Quincy  was  an  ardent  opponent  of  the  embargo,  and  the  war 
with  Great  Britain ;  and,  in  his  oration  for  the  Washington  Benevolent 
Society,  April  30,  1813, —  an  institution  consisting  of  the  Federal 
party, —  he  impugns  the  motives  of  our  national  rulers.  "  The  prin- 
ciple of  Washington,  which  lay  at  the  foundation  of  his  glory,"  says 
Quincy,  "  and  was  the  basis  of  the  blessing  of  his  day,  was  to  introduce 
virtue  and  talent  into  the  conduct  of  pubhc  afiairs.  The  principle  of 
our  present  rulers  is  to  introduce  tools  and  instruments.  With  these 
men,  the  great  requisite  is  pohtical  subserviency.  This  single  feature  is, 
alone,  sufficient  to  account  for  the  whole  difference  of  our  political  con- 
dition. For  the  particular  in  which  that  difference  consists  is,  in  fact, 
the  corner-stone  of  the  repubhcan  system  of  government.  The  theory 
of  which  rests  upon  this  basis,  that,  in  its  result,  the  virtue  and  talents 
9.q 


266  THE   nUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  a  country  shall  preside  over  its  destinies.  Whenever  this  fail,  and 
attachment  to  a  party,  or  fidelity  to  a  chief,  or  subserviency  to  a 
cabal. —  Avhcnever,  as  was  distinctly  avowed  in  the  outset  of  the  power 
of  these  men,  other  considerations  than  '  honesty,  capacity,  and  fidelity 
to  the  constitution,'  become  the  criterions  of  office  and  appointment, — 
the  moral  basis  of  the  republic  is  gone.  Its  form  may,  indeed,  remain  ; 
but  its  vital  spirit  has  fled.  The  stream  of  corruption,  when  once  it 
begins  to  flow,  in  a  free  country,  never  retreats  to  its  fountain,  nor 
does  the  spring  which  feeds  it  ever  become  dry.  At  first,  it  winds  its 
way  in  secrecy  and  silence,  attracting  to  its  current  only  what  is  light 
and  hollow,  and  rotten  and  feculent ;  but  soon,  gathering  boldness  in 
its  course,  it  advances  with  an  irresistible  torrent,  and  sweeps  away 
every  honor  of  the  field,  and  every  mound  of  safety, 

"  Whenever  the  rulers  of  a  nation  become  the  mere  heads  of  a  party, 
the  last  and  least  consideration  with  them  is  the  good  of  the  people. 
How  to  secure  their  power, —  how  to  manage  the  elections, —  who  is 
the  fittest  tool, —  who  will  run  the  fastest,  go  the  farthest,  and  hold  out 
the  longest  for  the  least  wages  of  corruption, —  are  the  only  inquiries. 
To  give  muscle  and  durabihty  to  their  influence  is  the  single  end  of 
their  political  system.  For  this,  British  antipathies  are  stimulated. 
For  this,  British  injuries  are  magnified.  For  this,  French  afiections 
are  cultivated,  and  French  insults  and  injuries  palliated  or  concealed. 
For  this,  we  had  restriction.  For  this,  embargo.  For  this,  we  have 
war.  For  this,  war  shall  be  continued.  And  if  peace  come,  for  this 
peace  shall  be  concluded.  For  unprincipled  ambition,  in  power,  effects 
not  even  public  good,  except  from  corrupt  motives." 

Mr.  Quincy  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  June,  1813,  when  a 
proposition  was  made  for  the  adoption  of  resolutions  expressive  of  their 
sense  of  the  gallantry  and  good  conduct  of  Capt.  James  Lawrence,  of 
the  U.  S.  sloop-of-war  Hornet,  and  the  officers  and  crew  of  that  ship, 
in  the  destruction  of  the  British  ship-of-war  Peacock,  the  preamble 
and  resolve  of  which  were  proposed  by  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy.  As  this 
resolve  is  a  political  curiosity,  expressive  of  the  sentiment  of  the  Legis- 
lature, and  the  decided  opposition  of  the  author  to  the  existing  war,  we 
will  quote  the  document  almost  entire  : 

^'•Whereas,  It  has  been  found  that  former  resolutions  of  this  kind, 
passed  on  similar  occasions,  relative  to  other  officers  engaged  in  similar 
service,  have  given  great  discontent  to  many  of  the  good  people  of  this 
commonwealth,  it  being  considered  by  them  as  an  encouragement  and 


JOSIAH   QUINCY.  267 

excitement  to  the  countenance  of  the  present  unjust,  unnecessary,  and 
iniquitous  war  ;  and,  on  this  account,  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts  have 
deemed  it  their  duty  to  refrain  from  acting  on  the  said  proposition. 
And  whereas,  this  determination  of  the  Senate  may,  without  explana- 
tion, he  misconstrued  into  an  intentional  slight  of  Capt.  Lawrence,  and 
a  denial  of  his  particular  merits,  the  Senate  therefore  deem  it  their 
duty  to  declare  that  they  have  a  high  sense  of  the  naval  skill  and  mil- 
itary and  civil  virtues  of  Capt.  James  Lawrence ;  and  they  have  been 
withheld  from  acting  on  said  proposition  solely  from  considerations 
relative  to  the  nature  and  principle  of  the  present  war :  and,  to  the  end 
that  all  misapprehension  on  this  subject  may  be  obviated,  Resolved, 
as  the  sense  of  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  that,  in  a  war  like  the 
present,  waged  without  justifiable  cause,  and  prosecuted  in  a  manner 
which  indicates  that  conquest  and  ambition  are  its  real  motives,  it  is  not 
becoming  a  moral  and  religious  people  to  express  any  approbation  of 
military  or  naval  exploits  which  are  not  immediately  connected  with 
the  defence  of  our  sea-coast  and  soil."  On  Feb.  10, 1814,  Mr.  Holmes 
moved  that  this  resolution  be  erased  from  the  journal  of  the  Senate ; 
on  which  it  was  decided  in  the  negative,  by  twenty-one  nays  to  eight 
yeas.  Li  the  administration  of  Gov.  Eustis,  on  the  motion  of  Hon. 
Seth  Sprague,  Jan.  23, 1824,  it  was  voted  that  the  preamble  and  reso- 
lution be  expunged,  as  it  was  predicated  upon  an  erroneous  estimate 
of  the  nature  and  character  of  the  late  war,  and  involves  and  asserts 
principles  unsound  in  policy,  and  dangerous  and  alarming  in  tendency. 
It  is  related  in  Russell's  Centinel,  that  on  Jan.  26,  1814,  after  a 
speech  from  Hon.  John  Holmes,  warmly  advocating  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  wliich  closed  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Quincy  rose  and  entered  on  a  full  exposition  of  the  measures  of  Mas- 
sachusetts on  the  subject ;  but,  after  having  spoken  about  forty  min- 
utes, in  a  ropm  crowded  to  overflowing,  and  in  a  hot  and  close  air,  he 
found  his  strength  fail  him,  and,  fainting,  he  fell  in  his  chair.  The 
Senate  immediately  voted  to  adjourn  ;  the  windows  were  thrown  open, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  was  recovered.  The  Chronicle  relates  of  this 
incident  that  Mr.  Quincy  drank  "  two  tumblers  of  cold  water  in  about 
thirty  minutes,  to  extinguish  the  volcano  within  his  bosom ;  and  yet, 
with  all  this  salutary  cooling  application,  he  was  so  far  burnt  up  with 
ardent  passion,  that  he  cried  out, '  I  am  gone,'  and  fell  immediately  back- 
wards into  his  chair.  But  if  this  was  a  faint  attempt  to  imitate  the  Earl 
of  Chatham,  it  was  a  poor  description  of  that  sublime  scene.     The  Earl 


268  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  Cliatliam  really  expired ;  but  Josiah  Quincy,  on  tlie  next  day,  was 
more  alert  than  ever."  And  Forsyth,  of  Georgia,  said  on  the  floor  of 
Congress,  in  allusion  to  this  incident,  ascribed  to  severe  illness,  that  he 
who  cowers  under  the  falcon  eye  of  an  indignant  adversary  will  not 
court  the  fiery  glance  of  angry  steel. 

This  war  with  Great  Britain  prompted  the  philanthropic  Noah 
Worcester  to  originate  the  Massachusetts  Peace  Society,  in  1815,  and 
Mr.  Quincy  was  one  of  its  earliest  members.  In  1820  Mr.  Quincy  deliv- 
ered an  address  for  the  society,  in  which  he  said  that  war  establish- 
ments are  everywhere  scions  of  despotism,  which,  when  engrafted  on 
republics,  always  begin  by  determining  the  best  sap  to  their  own 
branch,  and  never  fail  to  finish  by  withering  every  branch  excepting 
their  own.  Peace  societies  are  the  moral  armories  destined  to  break  in 
pieces  the  sword,  the  spear  and  the  battle-axe,  in  like  manner  as  the 
rays  of  light  and  of  truth,  concentrated  by  the  magic  mirror  of  Cer- 
vantes, melted  into  air  and  dissipated  the  dwarfs,  the  knights,  the 
giants,  the  enchanters  and  battlements,  of  ancient  chivalry. 

Mr.  Quincy  continued  a  member  of  the  Senate  until  1821,  and  in 
the  two  successive  years  he  was  elected  to  the  house,  on  the  last  of 
which  he  was  chosen  speaker.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  of 
1820,  on  revising  the  State  constitution.  In  1822  he  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  Municipal  Court,  which  he  resigned  on  his  election  to  the 
mayoralty  of  Boston,  on  the  decease  of  Hon.  John  Phillips,  the  fii'st 
incumbent  of""  that  station. 

At  one  of  the  political  meetings  subsequent  to  the  contest  between 
Mr.  Otis  and  his  quondam  friend  and  rival,  Josiah  Quincy,  who  was 
viewed  as  the  most  efficient  man  to  effect  the  great  projects  in  founding 
the  city,  the  latter  took  occasion  to  account  for  his  success  over  his 
brilliant  competitor,  on  the  decease  of  Phillips,  by  remarking  that  the 
result  was,  after  all,  an  indirect  compliment  to  the  superior  genius  of 
Mr.  Otis,  inasmuch  as  it  demonstrated  the  conviction,  on  the  part  of 
their  mutual  constituents,  that  to  degrade  ]\Ir.  Otis  by  such  a  compar- 
atively subordinate  office  would  be  like  making  a  common  drag-chain 
of  a  diamond  necklace. 

Mayor  Quincy  was  a  more  vigorous  and  energetic  director  of  the 
municipal  interests  of  his  native  city  than  any  of  his  successors,  and 
efiected  most  for  its  advancement  and  elegance.  The  establishment  of 
the  House  of  Industry,  the  House  of  Reformation  for  Juvenile  Ofiend- 
«rs,  the  new  avenue  to  the  north  part  of  the  city  by  Commercial- 


JOSIAH  QUINCY.  269 

street,  and  the  Quincy  Market-house,  standing  between  two  very 
broad  streets,  are  alone  monuments  of  his  taste  and  enterprise.  He 
transformed,  as  it  were  by  enchantment,  the  antiquated  town  of  Boston 
into  the  most  elegant  city  of  the  United  States.  At  daylight.  Mayor 
Quincy  mounted  his  horse,  and  traversed  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the 
city,  reforming  abuses,  devising  improvements,  and  performing  the 
duties  of  a  vigilant  police-officer.  He  was  founder  of  the  noble  fire 
department,  in  1827.  Our  city  exliibits  traces  of  his  efficiency  never 
to  be  obliterated. 

We  cannot  resist  here  introducing  an  effective  allusion  to  the  Quincy 
Market-house.  At  the  annual  festival  for  the  public  schools  of  Bos- 
ton, in  Faneuil  Hall,  August  1826,  and  on  the  completion  of  the 
granite  market-house,  the  Hon.  Judge  Story,  being  present,  volunteered 
the  sentiment  herewith  :  ' '  May  the  fame  of  our  honored  mayor  prove 
as  durable  as  the  material  of  which  the  beautiful  market-house  is  con- 
structed." On  which,  quick  as  light.  Mayor  Quincy  responded  as  fol- 
lows :  "  That  stupendous  monument  of  the  wisdom  of  our  forefathers, 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  :  In  the  event  of  a  vacancy, 
may  it  be  raised  one  Story  higher;  "  which  was  received  with  raptur- 
ous applause.  At  the  pubhc  dinner  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society, 
after  the  institution  of  the  Story  Association,  Mr.  Quincy  gave  this 
sentiment :  "  The  Members  of  the  Bar :  Let  them  rise  as  high  as  they 
may,  they  can  never  rise  higher  than  one  Story."  We  will  relate  an 
incident  to  illustrate  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Otis,  his  successor,  in  regard  to 
his  character  for  energy  of  action.  On  the  occasion  when  Mayor  Otis 
was  inspecting  the  excavation  of  earth,  "where  the  gravestone  of  Wil- 
liam Paddy  and  human  bones  were  discovered,"  Mr.  Quincy,  who  was 
present,  remarked  to  Mr.  Otis  that,  in  the  whole  of  his  administration, 
he  had  never  been  accused  of  disturbing  the  bones  of  his  ancestors. 
On  this,  Mr.  Otis  archly  replied,  "Why,  Mr.  Quincy,  I  always  sup- 
posed you  never  made  any  bones  of  doing  anything." 

During  the  early  period  of  the  mayoralty  of  Mr.  Quincy,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  destructive  fire  in  Central  and  Kilby  streets,  which 
occurred  April  8,  1825,  when  fifty  warehouses  of  our  merchants  were 
destroyed,  it  was  resolved  by  the  city  authorities,  on  the  12th  of  that 
date,  to  effect  the  construction  of  reservoirs  for  protection  from  fire ; 
and,  on  the  second  of  May  following,  a  joint  committee  on  this  subject, 
of  which  Mayor  Quincy  was  chairman,  recommended  also  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  new  fire  department,  which  was  organized  June  18th  of 
23* 


270  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

that  year.  On  this  committee  was  John  Parker  Rice,  Esq.,  a  native 
of  Princeton,  Mass.,  a  resident  of  Boston  since  1818,  and  a  member 
of  the  Common  Council  from  ward  No.  10,  who  proposed  to  the  com- 
mittee the  consideration  of  the  subject  of  obtaining  a  supply  of  pure, 
soft  water,  for  domestic  purposes,  as  well  as  for  security  against  fire,  at 
the  expense  and  under  the  control  of  the  city.  Mr.  Quincy  promptly 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  could  not  bring  the 
subject  before  the  public,  if  they  wished  to  retain  their  official  stations, 
or  their  due  influence.  "But,"  he  added,  "if  you  gentlemen  of  the 
Common  Council  will  take  the  responsibihty  of  bringing  forward  the 
subject,  it  shall  receive  due  attention."  On  the  16th  of  May,  Mr. 
Rice  introduced  the  following  order  to  the  notice  of  the  Council,  which 
was  accepted  :  "Ordered,  that  the  committee  on  the  subject  of  protect- 
ing the  city  against  fire  be  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  practicability, 
expense  and  expediency,  of  supplying  the  city  with  good,  wholesome, 
soft  water,  both  for  the  general  use  of  the  inhabitants,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  extinguishing  fire."  It  is  not  named  on  the  original  record 
who  presented  this  order ;  but  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser  of  that  date 
states  that  it  was  adopted  on  the  motion  of  John  P.  Rice,  who  confirms 
the  fact  also  himself,  and  further  states  that  the  report  of  the  commit- 
tee on  the  subject  of  protecting  the  city  against  fire  was  made  and 
accepted  at  this  meeting  ;  and  their  duties  having  thus  been  brought 
to  a  close,  a  new  committee  was  appointed  on  the  subject  of  introducing 
water,  and  the  order  was  made  to  conform  accordingly.  Moreover,  it  was 
the  opinion  of  Mr.  Rice  that  Spot  Pond  was  a  source  that  could  be  ren- 
dered and  kept  more  pure,  under  the  control  of  the  city  authorities, 
than  any  other  source.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  on  June  9th  fol- 
lowing, it  was  resolved,  on  the  report  of  this  committee  on  the  subject, 
that  ' '  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  be  empowered  to  cause  a  survey  of 
suitable  points  for  this  object."  In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Quincy  had 
decided  to  forward  the  enterprise;  and  Mr.  Daniel  Treadwell  was 
appointed  to  make  a  survey,  who  reported  to  the  city  Council,  Nov. 
14, 1825,  his  opinion  in  favor  of  Spot  Pond,  in  Stoneham.  Mr.  Quincy 
decidedly  advocated  the  project  in  his  inaugural  address,  Jan.  2,  1826, 
arguing  the  necessity  of  "  a  sufficient  and  never-failing  supply  for  our 
city  of  pure  river  or  pond  water,  which  shall  be  adequate  for  all  pur- 
poses of  protection  against  fire,  and  for  all  culinary  and  other  domestic 
purposes,  and  capable  of  being  introduced  into  every  house  in  the  city. 
I  deem  it  my  duty  to  state,  unequivocally,  that  the  object  ought  never 


JOSIAH   QUINCY.  271 

to  be  lost  sight  of  by  the  city  Council,  until  effected  upon  a  scale  pro- 
portionate to  its  convenience  and  our  urgent  necessities.  If  tlicre  be 
any  privilege  Avhich  a  city  ought  to  reserve  exclusively  in  its  own  hands, 
and  under  its  own  control,  it  is  that  of  supplying  itself  with  water." 
During  a  period  of  twenty  years  this  vastly  important  enterprise  was 
a  subject  of  warm  controversy,  until  the  breaking  up  of  the  earth,  by 
the  hands  of  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  on  the 
embankments  of  Lake  Cochituate,  Aug.  20,  1846. 

Mr.  Quincy  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Otis  to  the  mayoralty  of  his 
native  city,  in  the  year  1829  ;  and  Pi'esident  Earkland  having  resigned 
his  station  as  the  head  of  Harvard  University  in  the  year  previous, 
Mr.  Quincy  was  elected  by  the  corporation  to  the  presidency,  Jan. 
15,  1829.  The  intellectual  capacities,  energetic  manners,  and  espec- 
ially the  financial  penetration,  of  Mr.  Quincy,  induced  such  men  as 
Bowditch,  Story  and  Jackson,  to  single  him  as  the  individual  peculiarly 
qualified  to  improve  the  fiscal  concerns  and  control  the  insubordinate 
spirit  of  the  students.  The  inauguration  occurred  June  2, 1829 ;  and, 
after  the  seal  of  the  university  and  other  badges  of  office  were  extended 
to  the  president  elect,  by  Gov.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Quincy  responded  in  Latin, 
when  he  made  a  happy  allusion  to  the  fact  of  his  being  unexpectedly 
called,  from  the  dust  and  clamor  of  the  capital,  to  preside  over  our  great 
literary  institution,  which  elicited  a  prompt  expression  of  applause  from 
the  audience.  The  president  then  took  his  seat  in  the  pulpit,  and 
assumed  the  academic  cap,  on  which  occasion  the  old  house  rang  again 
with  applause.  IIo  delivered  an  inaugural  discourse  on  the  occasion,  in 
which  he  urged  the  expediency  of  concentrating  public  patronage  to 
one  great  university,  in  preference  to  wasting  away  the  resources  of  the 
State  upon  small  institutions,  Avhere  its  benefits  would  not  be  generally 
felt.  An  apt  volunteer  sentiment  for  this  university  was  given  at  the 
dinner,  which  was  — ' '  May  it  unite  the  beauty,  strength  and  dura- 
bib  ty,  of  Quincy  granite."  The  same  decision  of  character,  so 
strongly  marked  in  his  city  administration,  forthwith  operated  to  the 
benefit  of  this  ancient  seat  of  learning,  which,  from  being  heavily  encum- 
bered with  debt,  emerged  into  the  light  of  pecuniary  independence ; 
and  he  has  done  more  to  improve  and  beautify  the  premises  of  venera- 
ble Harvard  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  once  said  of  the  uni- 
versity, "May  it,  hke  the  royal  mail  packets,  distribute  good  letters 
over  our  land." 

We  cannot  forbear  introducing  an  incident  illustrative  of  Mr.  Quin- 


272  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

cj's  happy  presence  of  mind.  "We  find  it  in  a  letter  of  William  Wirt, 
addressed  to  William  Pope,  Aug.  29,  1829,  in  which"  he  relates  of 
President  Quincy :  '•  He  happened,  when  I  made  him  a  visit,  to  ask 
me  in  what  college  I  had  graduated.  I  was  obliged  to  admit  that  I 
had  ncA^er  been  a  student  at  any  college.  A  shade  of  embarrassment, 
scarcely  perceptible,  just  flitted  across  his  countenance ;  but  he  recov- 
ered in  an  instant,  and  added,  most  gracefully,  "Upon  my  word,  you 
furnish  a  very  strong  argument  against  the  utility  of  a  college  educa- 
tion." 

]Mr.  Quincy  had  but  just  entered  on  his  new  sphere  of  usefulness, 
when  he  was  called  to  prepare  an  address  on  the  celebration  of  the  close 
of  the  second  century  from  the  settlement  of  his  native  city,  in  the  last 
sentence  of  which  he  says  :  "In  all  times  to  come,  as  in  all  times  past, 
may  Boston  be  among  the  foremost  and  the  boldest  to  exemphfy  and 
uphold  whatever  constitutes  the  prosperity,  the  happiness,  and  the  glory, 
of  New  England."  At  the  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Sept.  17,  1830,  on 
this  occasion,  the  following  sentiment  was  advanced  by  William  Hayden : 
"The  Peninsula  of  Shawmut :  Bought  by  Edmund  Quincy,  for  the 
benefit  of  our  ancestors.  The  City  of  Boston  :  Improved  and  embel- 
lished by  Josiah  Quincy,  for  our  benefit." 

At  the  centennial  celebration  of  Harvard  College,  September,  1836, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Palfrey  read  a  passage  from  the  will  of  the  father  of 
President  Quincy,  by  which  he  bequeathed  two  thousand  pounds 
sterling  to  the  college,  in  case  his  son  should  die  a  minor.  After  com- 
puting the  relative  value  of  money  at  the  date  of  ihS  will,  and  its  value 
at  the  present  day,  Dr.  Palfrey  estimated  the  conditional  bequest  to  be 
equal  to  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  forthwith  proposed  this  toast :  "  Har- 
vard College :  A  strangely  fortunate  yet  disappointed  legatee,  who,  in 
losing  ten  thousand  dollars,  gained  a  president."  On  this  occasion, 
Edward  Everett,  in  allusion  to  a  remark  of  President  Quincy, 
announced  the  sentiment,  that  "his  fame  shall  not  be  left  to  a  dog- 
gerel dirge  and  a  Latin  epitaph ;  we  pronounce  him,  while  he  lives,  in 
our  mother  tongue,  the  ornament  of  the  forum,  the  senate,  and  the 
academy." 

President  Quincy  was  remarkable  for  ready  wit  on  public  festive 
occasions,  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  which  appears  in  his  speech 
at  the  dinner  to  Charles  Dickens,  the  famous  author  of  the  Pickwick 
Club,  at  the  Papantis  Hall,  in  Boston,  Feb.  2,  1842.  When  Judge 
Loring  introduced  a  happy  compliment  to  Mr.  Quincy,  in  an  allusion 


JOSIAH   QUINCY.  273 

to  Harvard  College  at  the  close  of  an  effective  speech, —  that  there  is 
one  lesson  of  hers  that  we  have  learned  by  heart,  and  would  repeat 
now  Avhen  \ve  meet  her  at  our  own  festival;  it  is,  "  To  give  honor  to 
those  who  in  their  high  office  do  honor  to  her," — President  Quincy, 
amid  enthusiastic  greetings,  immediately  replied  :  "It  isn't  quite  fair, 
gentlemen ;  it  is  n't  quite  fair.  When  I  received  your  invitation,  I  had 
great  doubts  on  the  subject  of  accepting  it ;  for  I  saw  very  plainly  that 
if  I  did,  by  some  hook  or  crook,  I  should  be  set  up  for  a  speech  ;  and  I 
felt  like  giving  myself  the  same  advice  that  Swift  gave  to  the  man. 
Said  the  man,  'I  have  set  up  for  a  wit.'  'Well,' replied  Swift,  'I 
would  now  advise  you  to  sit  down.'  But  I  thought  that  I  had  laid  an/ 
anchor  to  the  windward ;  that  I  was  not  to  be  assailed  by  toast  or 
sentiment,  and  that  no  machinery  of  any  kind  would  be  set  to  work 
here  to  rasp  speeches  out  of  dry  and  reluctant  natures.  But,  gentle- 
men, I  belong  to  a  past  age,  and  you  should  no  more  expect  a  man  of 
three-score  and  ten  to  make  an  after-dinner  speech  than  to  dance  a 
hornpipe.  Nature  is  against  you ;  for,  to  make  a  good  after-dinner 
speech,  many  things  are  required  which  an  old  man  has  not.  Such  a 
speech  should  be  Avitty  as  well  as  wise ;  and,  with  an  abundance  of 
imagination,  it  should  have  a  sprinkling  of  salt  —  the  pure  Attic.  It 
should  be  strewn  Avith  roses,  such  as  are  grown  on  the  sides  of  Parnas- 
sus. There  should  be  alternate  layers  of  the  utile  and  the  dtilce^  and 
on  the  top  of  all  these  should  be  a  layer  of  sugared  sentiment.  Gen- 
tlemen, it  is  impossible  that  an  old  man  can  compound  anything  like 
this,  for  he  is  deficient  in  the  two  great  requisites,  memory  and  fancy. 
To  an  old  man,  memory  is  an  arrant  jade,  and  she  is  no  way  delicate 
in  letting  him  know  that,  like  the  rest  of  her  sex,  she  gives  young  men 
the  preference.  An  old  man's  fancy  will  neither  run  norAvalk;  and 
still  less  can  it  fly,  for  there  is  not  a  pin-feather  in  its  wings.  Besides, 
gentlemen,  it  is  a  universal  rule,  that  when  a  son  has  set  up  for  himself 
in  the  world,  and  is  doing  a  pretty  good  business,  it  is  time  for  the 
father  to  retire,  lest  his  presence  may  give  rise  to  unpleasant  compari- 
sons. For  to  say  that  the  young  man  beats  the  old  man,  would  be 
cruel ;  and  to  say,  as  in  this  case  I  fear  it  cannot  be  said,  the  old  man 
beats  the  young  man,  would  be  anything  but  complimentary."  After 
a  round  of  Avitty  remarks.  President  Quincy  said,  "I  will  detain  you 
no  longer,  but  conclude  by  giving  you  a  toast,  if  my  treacherous  mem- 
ory Avill  so  far  ser\'e  me.     I  Avill  give  you.  Genius  —  in "     Here, 

hoAvever,  the  venerable  president's  memory  did  desert  him ;  and,  after 


274  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

a  brief  interval  spent  in  vain  attempts  to  summon  her  to  his  aid,  he 
looked  pleasantly  round,  and  said :  '-Gentlemen,  a  good  memory  is  a 
great  thing,  and  I  will  give  you  all  a  piece  of  advice,  which  it  may  be 
useful  to  you  to  remember  :  when  you  are  not  certain  that  you  can 
keep  a  thing  in  your  memory,  be  sure  to  keep  it  in  your  pocket."'  He 
then,  enforcing  his  precept  by  example,  drew  from  his  own  pocket  a 
scrap  of  paper,  and  read  :  "Genius,  in  its  legitimate  use,  uniting  wit 
with  purity ;  instructing  the  high  in  their  duties  to  the  low  ;  and,  by 
improving  the  morals,  elevating  the  social  condition  of  man."  During 
the  delivery  of  his  speech,  Mr.  Quincy  was  frequently  interrupted  with 
bursts  of  applause  and  hearty  peals  of  laughter ;  and  the  happy  sally 
with  which  he  got  over  his  concluding  difficulty  set  the  company  in  a 
roar,  which  continued  until  the  president  of  the  company,  Josiah 
Quincy,  Jr..  arose  and  said  that  as  the  president  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity had  introduced  to  them  Samuel  Weller,  he  would  take  the  liberty 
to  read  to  them  one  of  the  sayings  of  that  distinguished  personage : 

"If  ever  I  wanted  anything  of  my  father,"  said  Sam,  "  I  always 
asked  for  it  in  a  werry  'spectful  and  obliging  manner.  If  he  did  n't  give 
it  me,  I  took  it,  for  fear  I  should  be  led  to  do  anything  wrong,  through 
not  having  it."  President  Quincy  had  felt  an  intense  desire  to  know 
whether  the  present  company  was  to  be  composed  of  any  but  young 
men,  and  said,  by  way  of  illustration  :  "I  felt,  in  regard  to  the  com- 
position of  this  meeting,  much  as  Sam  Weller  did.  You  have  all  heard 
of  Sam  Weller,  gentlemen,  when  he  was  invited  to  dine  upon  veal-pie : 
'  A  weal-pie  is  a  werry  nice  thing  —  werry  nice  ;  but  I  should  like  to 
know  beforehand  how  it  is  composed,  and  whether  there  is  anything 
there  besides  kittens.^  "  This  was  the  point  to  which  the  president  of 
the  meeting  alluded. 

Amid  the  arduous  duties  necessarily  involved  in  the  administration 
of  the  university,  Mr.  Quincy  prepared  an  extensive  history  of  this 
ancient  seat  of  learning,  in  two  volumes,  published  in  the  year  1840, 
with  engravings.  This  work,  though  deeply  hned  with  personal  and 
sectarian  prejudice,  exhibits  profound  research,  and  furnishes  valuable 
materials  for  a  candid  and  impartial  history.  It  should  be  specially 
noticed  that  Quincy  lashes  the  Mathers  with  a  caustic  severity  unwor- 
thy of  this  golden  age  of  toleration.  Moreover,  is  there  not  a  shade 
of  injustice  to  the  memory  of  our  time-honored  Hancock?  The 
memoir  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  by  his  son,  one  of  the  most  valuable 
works  of  the  sort,  representing  his  revered  image  in  the  best  expres- 


JOSIAH   QUINCY.  275 

sions,  should  be  printed  in  a  popular  form.  His  History  of  the  Boston 
Athenaeum,  with  the  Biography  of  its  Founders,  is  another  production 
of  his  last  days,  evincing  the  research  of  an  antiquarian,  and  the  pol- 
ish of  a  scholar.  He  prepared  also  the  Memoirs  of  Maj.  Samuel  Shaw, 
and  the  Memoir  of  James  Grahame,  productions  of  historical  value. 

Pi'esident  Quincy,  on  the  inauguration  of  Edward  Everett  as  suc- 
cessor to  the  presidency  of  Harvard  University,  April  30,  1846.  in 
expressing  his  grateful  sense  to  the  corporation  and  the  faculty,  for 
their  friendly  concurrence  in  his  measures,  remarked,  they  had  received 
him  covered  with  the  dust  from  the  streets  of  Boston,  in  which  he  had 
been  sent  to  Avork,  as  if  it  had  been  gathered  on  the  top  of  Hel- 
icon, or  in  the  walks  of  Plato's  academy.  He  stated  that  seventeen 
years  ago  he  proposed  Mr.  Everett  for  the  presidency,  to  the  eminent 
Bowditch,  who  replied,  "  That  may  do  in  twenty  years  hence,  but  it  will 
not  do  now."  "Why  not 7"  said  Quincy.  "The  eagle  must  have 
its  flight,"  said  Bowditch.  And  so  Mr.  Quincy  was  called  to  the  sta- 
tion, who  was  as  much  surprised  by  it,  to  use  his  own  words,  "as  if 
he  had  received  a  call  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Old  South  Church," 
where  he  w^as  baptized. 

The  greatest  achievement  probably  ever  effected  by  Mr.  Quincy  con- 
sists of  the  concise  History  of  Boston  from  its  first  settlement,  in 
1630,  and  more  especially  from  its  incorporation  as  a  city, —  a  labor 
"which  hasr  absorbed  many  of  the  best  days  of  his  hfe,  during  a  period 
of  nearly  twenty  years.  This  valuable  legacy  to  his  native  city  can 
only  be  measured  in  importance  by  the  inconceivable  advantages  he 
secured  to  its  citizens  during  his  administration  over  its  destinies.  We 
know  not  the  man  whose  decision  and  perseverance  could  htuve  conceived 
and  completed  such  a  noble  memorial  for  posterity  as  our  own  Josiah 
Quincy.  We  know  not  the  writer,  in  the  length  and  breadth  of  this 
city,  who  has  nerved  himself  to  more  intense  mental  labor  than  the 
venerated  Josiah  Quincy.  In  his  address,  or  rather  eloquent  appeal, 
on  taking  final  leave  of  the  mayoralty,  on  Jan.  3,  1829,  Mr.  Quincy 
implied  his  intention  to  prepare  a  history  of  the  city ;  when  he  remarked 
that  it  was  his  purpose  in  another  way  and  in  a  more  permanent  form 
to  do  justice  to  those  who  had  favored  his  most  important  measures. 
This  farewell  exhibit  of  his  six  years'  administration  was  prepared  as  a 
shield  to  ward  off  the  calumnies  of  partisans  who  wished  him  to  retire 
from  his  station.  "The  public  officer,"  said  Mr.  Quincy,  "who.  from 
a  sense  of  public  duty,  dares  to  cross  strong  interests  in  their  way  to 


276  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

gratification  at  the  public  expense,  always  has  had,  and  ever  "will  have, 
meted  to  him  the  same  measure.  The  beaten  course  is  first  to  slander 
in  order  to  intimidate ;  and  if  that  fail,  to  slander  in  order  to  sacrifice. 
He  who  loves  his  ofiice  better  than  his  duty  will  yield,  and  be  flattered 
as  long  as  he  is  a  tool.  He  who  loves  his  duty  better  than  his  office 
will  stand  erect,  and  take  his  fate."  Mr.  Quincy  had  been  absorbed  in 
a  laborious  fulfilment  of  every  known  duty,  a  prudent  exercise  of  every 
invested  power,  a  disposition  shrinking  from  no  official  responsibihty, 
and  an  absolute  self-devotion  to  the  interest  of  the  city.  This  is  an 
eloquent  defence,  comprising  thirty-two  pages  of  argument,  exhibiting 
the  fact  that  he  retired  from  the  mayoralty  when  the  real  estate  owned 
by  the  city  exceeded  more  than  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  debt  of  the  city  was  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars ; 
the  income  and  interest  of  their  real  estate,  including  bonds  and  mort- 
gages, amounting  to  fifty -two  thousand  dollars,  while  the  annual  inter- 
est of  the  debt  was  only  forty-seven  thousand  dollars.  Mayor  Quincy 
further  exhibits  what  he  had  effected  for  the  public  health,  the  popular 
education,  and  advance  in  the  public  morals. 

The  last  political  communication  of  Josiah  Quincy  to  the  people  of 
his  native  city,  with  the  exception  of  his  successful  remonstrance  to 
proposed  alterations  of  the  city  charter,  was  presented  at  a  meeting 
in  Faneuil  Hall,  October  14,  1850,  on  the  expediency  of  the  fugitive- 
slave  law,  occasioned  by  the  invitation  of  citizens  without  distinction 
of  party,  at  the  head  of  which  was  his  own  name.  Mr.  Quincy 
expressed  a  hope,  in  his  letter  to  the  meeting,  that  this  assembly  would 
not  partake  of  a  party  or  pohtical  character,  as  he  had  been  assured 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  those  interested  in  this  invitation  that  it 
should  not  be  a  party  movement.  The  meeting  was,  however,  con- 
ducted by  advocates  of  the  free-soil  or  abolition  project.  The  Hon. 
Charles  Francis  Adams  was  appointed  the  moderator:  and  it  was 
at  this  meeting  that  the  proposed  resolve  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Colver 
was  adopted,  declaring,  emphatically,  "  Constitution  or  no  constitution, 
law  or  no  law,  we  will  not  allow  a  fugitive  slave  to  be  taken  from 
Massachusetts."  It  was  in  allusion  to  the  policy  of  this  party,  that 
Daniel  Webster  advanced  the  bold  comparison  herewith,  in  his  famous 
speech  at  Albany.  "  It  was  in  Cromwell's  time,"  remarks  he,  "  there 
sprung  up  a  race  of  saints,  who  called  themselves  Fifth  ]Monarchy 
]\Ien.  A  happy,  felicitous,  glorious  people  they  Avere ;  for  they  had 
practised  so  many  virtues,  they  were  so  enlightened,  so  perfect,  that 


JOSIAII   QUINCY.  277 

they  got  to  be,  in  the  language  of  that  day,  above  ordinances.  That 
is  the  higher  law  of  this  day,  exactly.  It  is  the  old  doctrine  of  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  Men  of  Cromwell's  time  revived.  They  were  above 
ordinances, —  walked  about  like  the  man  in  the  play,  prim  and  spruce, 
self-satisfied,  thankful  to  God  that  they  were  not  as  other  men,  but 
had  attained  so  far  to  salvation  as  to  be  above  ordinances."  We  are 
of  opinion  that  this  figure  is  not  too  broad  to  cover  the  shoulders  of 
many  enthusiasts  of  the  free-soil  party ;  at  the  same  time,  it  is  our 
decided  belief,  that  Josiah  Quincy,  Charles  Sumner,  and  the  almost 
entire  majority  of  advocates  for  emancipation,  would  repudiate  such  a 
doctrine.  Indeed,  we  know  that  our  country  never  had  a  more  devoted 
advocate  of  the  constitution  and  the  laws  than  Josiah  Quincy. 

Mr.  Quincy' s  letter,  dated  Quincy,  Oct.  14,  1850,  contains  an  inter- 
esting pohtical  reminiscence  in  his  own  career,  which  we  will  quote : 

"  I  can  speak  of  this  subject  with  a  somewhat  personal  certainty,  so 
far  as  respects  the  existence  of  the  feeling  prevalent  on  this  subject 
fifty-six  years  ago.  Sometime  about  the  year  1794,  soon  after  the 
first  law  on  this  subject  was  passed,  I  was  sent  for,  as  a  counsellor-at- 
law,  to  appear  before  one  of  our  acting  justices  of  the  peace, —  Green- 
leaf, —  to  defend  a  person  then  on  trial,  under  the  charge  of  being  a 
slave,  on  the  claim  of  his  master  for  delivery  to  him.  On  appearing 
before  the  justice,  I  found  the  room  filled  with  a  crowd  of  persons,  not 
one  of  whom  I  knew,  but  who  w^ere  attending  the  court  apparently 
from  interest  or  curiosity.  Among  them  were  the  constables,  and  the 
agent  of  the  master ;  but  who  the  other  persons  were,  or  what  vras 
the  object  of  their  assembling,  I  was  ignorant.  I  entered,  of  course, 
on  my  duties  as  an  advocate  ;  called  for  the  evidence  of  the  agent's 
authority,  and  denied  the  authority  of  the  law  of  Congress,  and  of  the 
magistrate  under  it,  to  deliver  an  inhabitant  of  Massachusetts  into  the 
custody  of  another,  unless  after  trial  by  jury,  according  to  the  consti- 
tution of  the  State.  While  occupied  with  my  argument,  I  was 
suddenly  interrupted  by  a  loud  noise  behind  me ;  and,  on  turning 
round,  I  found,  to  my  astonishment,  both  the  constable  and  the  agent 
on  the  floor,  and  the  alleged  slave  passing  out  of  the  room  between  the 
files  of  bystanders,  which  were  opened  to  the  right  and  left  for  his 
escape. 

"About  a  fortnight  elapsed,  when  I  was  called  upon  by  Rufus 
Greene  Amory,  a  lawyer  of  eminence  at  the  Boston  bar  in  that  day, 
who  showed  me  a  letter  from  a  southern  slave-holder,  directing  him  to 
24 


278  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

prosecute  Josiah  Quincj  for  the  penalty  under  the  law  of  1793,  for 
obstructing  the  agent  of  the  claimant  in  obtaining  his  slave  under  the 
process  established  bj  that  law. 

"Mr.  Amory  felt,  not  less  than  myself,  the  folly  of  such  a  pre- 
tence ;  and  I  never  heard  from  him,  or  from  any  one,  anything  more 
upon  the  subject  of  prosecution.  This  fact,  and  the  universal  gratifi- 
cation which  the  result  appeared  to  give  to  the  public,  satisfied  my 
mind,  that,  unless  by  accident,  or  stealth,  or  in  some  very  thin-settled 
parts  of  the  country,  the  law  of  1793  would  forever  be  inoperative,  as 
the  event  has  proved,  in  Massachusetts.  And  the  same  will,  in  my 
opinion,  be  the  case,  as  I  have  already  said,  with  the  law  of  1850." 

President  Quincy,  having  represented  Suffolk  eight  years  in  the 
national  Congress,  his  native  city  in  the  State  Legislature  eight  years, 
the  mayoralty  for  a  period  of  six  years,  and  the  presidency  of  Harvard 
University  during  sixteen  years,  has  retired  to  his  residence  on  the 
location  of  Beacon  Hill,  now  levelled  and  overspread  by  elegant  dwell- 
ings and  the  granite  Cochituate  reservoir ;  the  spot  from  the  summit 
of  which  was  a  striking  view  of  Bunker  Hill,  thus  famed  by  Mrs. 
Morton : 

"  Witness  yon  tract,  Tvliere  first  the  Briton  bled  ! 
Driven  by  our  youtli,  redoubted  Percy  fled. 
There  Breed  ascends,  and  Bunker's  bleeding  steeps, 
Still  o'er  whose  brow  abortive  victory  weeps." 


JOHN  LOWELL. 

JULY  4,  1799.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

"A  FREE  government,"  says  our  orator,  "is  the  very  hot-bed  of 
ambition.  Ambition  is  an  indigenous  plant  in  democracies,  which  pro- 
duces and  scatters  its  seeds  like  the  balsamine,  and  propagates  with 
indescribable  rapidity.  In  such  governments,  therefore,  there  is 
always  a  plentiful  crop  of  candidates  for  promotion, —  of  proud  and 
haughty  claimants,  as  well  as  servile  beggars,  of  popular  favor.  These 
gormandizers  of  popularity  are  no  epicures, —  they  have  not  very  nice 
discriminating  palates.     They  are  ready  to  taste  the  sweets  of  every 


JOHN   LOWELL.  279 

office,  from  the  high  dignity  of  the  presidency,  down  to  the  lowest  muni- 
cipal employment  in  the  State,  Still,  however,  with  this  humble 
spirit  of  accommodation,  they  cannot  all  be  gratified.  The  disappointed 
will  pursue  their  revenge  with  an  acrimony  proportioned  to  the  raven- 
ous hunger  after  fame  which  impelled  them.  The  mortified  ambitious 
are  never  in  want  of  tools  to  carry  on  the  trade  of  faction.  The  igno- 
rant, the  jealous,  and  the  envious, —  the  bankrupt  in  morals  and  char- 
acter, and  the  insolvent  in  purse, —  are  the  small  weapons  with  which 
the  great  leviathans  in  opposition  continually  operate.  Review  the 
past  history  of  the  United  States,  and  what  page  is  there  in  which  the 
proofs  of  these  principles  are  not  inscribed  ?  Coeval  with  our  govern- 
ment has  been  an  inveterate  opposition, —  an  opposition  growing  with 
our  growth,  and  strengthening  with  our  strength.  At  first,  small  and 
feeble,  it  uttered  its  discontents  only  in  the  gentle  whispers  of  disap- 
probation ;  —  now,  bold,  hardy  and  shameless,  it  thunders  its  anathemas 
in  the  language  of  rebellion.  We  have  remarked,  that  faction  is  the 
spontaneous  production  of  a  free  soil ;  but,  like  all  native  plants,  it  is 
not  destined  wholly  to  destroy  the  vegetation  which  surrounds  it.  It 
is  by  the  introduction  of  exotics,  alone,  that  the  work  of  extermination 
can  be  effected.  In  vain  would  our  domestic  enemies  assail  the  goodly 
fabric  of  our  constitution, —  vain  would  be  the  calumny  against  our 
ablest  patriots, —  feeble  and  nerveless  would  be  the  assaults  of  our 
internal  enemies, —  if  they  were  not  supported  by  foreign  gold,  and 
encouraged  by  external  assistance.  Without  this  aid,  our  infant 
Hercules  would  have  strangled  the  rebellious  reptile  in  his  cradle. 
Still  our  young  and  vigorous  Samson  would  have  burst  asunder  the 
cords  with  which  an  insidious  faction  had  bound  him,  if  this  internal 
foe  had  not  entered  into  a  treaty  of  alhance,  offensive  and  defensive, 
with  a  foreign  adversary." 

In  the  oration  of  Mr.  Lowell,  an  object  of  which  is  to  vindicate  our 
Revolution  from  the  misrepresentation  and  calumnies  of  those  who 
have  endeavored,  by  its  example,  to  justify  that  of  France,  our  orator 
has,  with  much  warmth  of  coloring  and  fervor  of  imagination,  exhib- 
ited a  comparison  between  the  spirit  and  character  of  both.  The  two 
pictures  present  a  pei'fect  contrast.  In  that  of  America,  we  behold  a 
people  distinguished  for  unsullied  virtue,  uncorrupted  simplicity,  and 
a  pure  and  undefiled  religion,  impelled  by  an  ardent  love  of  liberty,  an 
unconquerable  spirit  of  independence,  a  hatred  of  foreign  dominion, 
and   detestation  of  domestic  oppression,  calmly  and  dispassionately 


280  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

resolve  to  resist  the  earliest  encroacliments  of  arbitrary  po-wer,  and 
pursuing,  with  moderation  and  firmness,  that  one  legitimate  object, 
preserving  inviolate  moral  and  religious  institutions,  the  principles  of 
justice,  the  order  of  civil  society,  and  the  rights  of  persons, —  and, 
when  their  lofty  purpose  was  accomplished,  return  to  the  enjoyment 
of  innocence  and  repose. 

In  another  passage,  Mr.  Lowell  points  out  the  more  imminent  and 
striking  hazards  to  which  the  United  States  were  then  exposed,  from 
the  open  attacks  and  secret  machinations  of  the  rulers  of  France, 
boundless  in  their  ambition,  and  insatiable  in  their  avarice,  whose 
sujsport  was  plunder,  whose  nutriment  Avas  carnage,  and  whose  pastime 
was  human  wretchedness.  He  depicted  the  conduct  of  the  French 
republic  towards  surrounding  nations,  and  demands  if  from  so  ferocious 
a  monster  we  have  reason  to  expect  forbearance,  to  hope  for  its  friend- 
ship, to  trust  to  its  moderation,  or  to  confide  in  its  justice.  Those  who 
still  cherished  the  love  of  peace,  and  persevered  in  their  faith  of  the 
■  professions  of  France,  he  reproaches  for  their  supineness  and  credulity, 
reminding  them  of  the  opinion  of  John  Adams,  then  the  president, 
that  "there  can  be  no  peace  without  degradation  and  submission,  and 
no  security  in  negotiation  and  convention."  The  law  dissolving  the 
treaties  and  consular  convention  with  France  was  approved  by  Presi- 
dent Adams,  July  7,  1798. 

John  Lowell  was  the  son  of  lion.  John  LoAvell,  whom  Harrison 
Gray  Otis  very  graphically  describes  as  being  about  five  feet  ten 
inches  in  height,  and  inclined  to  corpulence.  "  His  gait  was  rapid  and 
hurried ;  his  conversation,  animated  and  ardent.  He  appeared  to 
strangers,  at  first,  to  speak  too  much  ex  cathedra ;  but  he  was  free 
of  all  propensity  to  browbeat  or  show  ill  humor.  On  the  contrary, 
he  was  the  very  mirror  of  benevolence,  which  beamed  in  and  made 
attractive  a  countenance  not  remai'kable  for  symmetry  of  feature  or 
beauty ;  and  his  companionable  talents,  though  never  displayed  at  the 
expense  of  dignity,  made  liim  the  delight  of  the  society  in  which  he 
moved,  and  which  he  always  put  at  ease.  His  private  character  was 
irreproachable  ;  his  honesty  and  modei'ation,  proverbial.  In  a  satirical 
and  very  personal  farce,  got  up  by  a  witty  desperado,  and  which  had 
a  great  run,  he  was  dubbed  by  the  author  —  no  friend  of  his  —  Lawyer 
Candor ;  a  most  appropriate  sobriquet,  which  the  wprld  unanimously 
applied  to  him.  He  was  most  ardent  in  his  attachment  to  his  partic- 
ular friends,  who,  in  their  turn,  looked  to  him  as  their  oracle.     His 


JOHN  LOWELL.  281 

general  health,"  continues  Mr.  Otis,  "during  the  time  of  my  intimacy 
with  him,  was  good,  though  occasionally  inclined  to  bo  a  onalade  imag- 
inaire,  an  ordinary  symptom  of  ardent  temperament  and  ethereal 
genius."  He  was  known  to  be  one  of  the  confidential  advisers  of  the 
measures  that  were  successfully  adopted  to  suppress  that  formidable 
outbreak  of  Shays'  Insurrection,  and  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Dis- 
trict Court  U.  S.  by  Washington,  on  its  institution. 

John  Lowell,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Newburyport,  Oct.  6,  1769.  Soon 
after  the  town  and  harbor  of  Boston  were  evacuated  by  the  royalists, 
in  1776,  his  father  removed  to  the  city  with  his  family,  Avhere  his  res- 
idence was  in  the  dwelling  afterwards  occupied  by  the  late  Samuel 
Eliot,  Esq.,  directly  opposite  King's  Chapel.  He  was  for  a  brief 
period  in  the  Latin  School,  but  was  fitted  for  college  in  Phillips'  Acad- 
emy, and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1786.  On  this  occasion 
his  part  was  in  a  forensic  dispute  on  this  subject :  Whether  the  happi- 
ness of  the  people  consists  most  in  the  constitution  or  administration 
of  government ;  and  in  the  year  1789,  when  a  candidate  for  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts,  he  engaged  in  another  forensic  dispute,  with  Isaac 
Parker,  afterwards  the  chief-justice  of  Massachusetts  :  Whether  a  law 
making  administration  between  an  insolvent  by  vice  and  one  by  mis- 
fortune, would  tend  to  the  good  of  society  1  He  studied  law  with  his 
father,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  before  he  was  twenty  years  of  age. 
In  preparing  arguments,  he  was  laborious  and  searching.  In  his  man- 
ner he  was  animated,  eloquent,  vehement,  rapid,  and  highly  logical ; 
his  memory  was  tenacious.  In  his  person  he  was  a  great  contrast  to 
his  father,  being  very  short  and  slender.  On  June  3,  1793,  Mr. 
Lowell  married  Rebecca  Amory.  He  was  a  representative  in  the 
State  Legislature  from  1798  to  1801.  He  was  a  member  of  the  cor- 
poration of  Harvard  College  from  1810  to  1822,  and  was  an  overseer 
from  that  period  to  1827.  He  was  an  honored  member  of  the  State 
Senate. 

Mr.  Lowell's  articles  in  Russell's  Centinel,  over  the  signature  of  the 
Boston  Rebel,  in  opposition  to  the  war  of  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  were  of  a  character  the  most  inflammatory  of  any  political 
writings  of  that  day.  His  productions  were  in  a  highly  nervous  style, 
abounding  in  piquant  philippics.  His  remarks  on  Madison's  war,  in 
a  large  pamphlet,  exhibited  the  most  exciting  attack  on  the  democratic 
administration  that  emanated  from  any  political  writer.  His  fervid 
genius  and  rapid  pen  poured  forth  pamphlet  after  pamphlet,  and  column 
24* 


282  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

after  column  in  the  newspapers,  replete  with  spirit  and  force  and  pur- 
pose, on  the  side  of  the  Federal  party,  in  warm  opposition  to  the  gen- 
eral government.  In  these  exciting  times,  a  rumor  was  circulated 
that  some  of  those  who  had  been  exasperated  by  his  political  remarks 
had  threatened  to  burn  his  house  in  Roxbury  to  the  ground.  This 
rumor  was  so  far  believed,  that  some  of  his  friends  went  out  or  sent 
out  from  Boston  to  offer  themselves  as  the  guard  of  his  person  and 
property  for  the  night.  Mr.  Lowell  expressed  his  belief  that  his  fel- 
low-townsmen were  incapable  of  such  an  act,  and  insisted  on  dechning 
the  offer  of  defence.  Indeed,  no  assistance  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  town  would  in  any  case  have  been  required ;  for  several  of  the 
most  respectable  inhabitants  of  Roxbury  itself,  and  of  both  political 
parties,  voluntarily  offered  to  stand  ready  to  defend  to  the  last  extrem- 
ity. Indeed,  Mr.  Lowell  was  an  extraordinary  man,  adapted  to 
exciting  times.  He  was  a  tenacious  sectarian  in  theology,  and  wrote 
with  fervent  severity.  He  entered  with  delight  on  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture.  To  hear  him  converse  in  his  farm  or  his  garden,  one 
would  suppose  that  his  entire  occupation  was  farming  and  gardening. 
He  would  discuss  the  qualities  of  a  fruit-tree,  or  an  exotic  plant,  with 
the  same  earnestness,  copiousness  and  tact,- that  he  would  have  given 
to  a  question  of  politics,  law  or  divinity.  Horticulture  was  also  an 
object  of  devoted  interest,  and  the  periodical  was  enriched  Avith  articles 
for  the  florist  from  his  ready  hand.  His  residence  in  Boston  was 
du'ectly  opposite  Horticultural  Hall,  in  School-street. 

Amid  ihe  violence  of  contending  parties,  Mr.  Lowell's  sincerity  and 
integrity  were  never  seriously  questioned.  His  motives  were  manifestly 
pure.  "  He  never  sought  apolitical  office,  and  never  would  accept  one. 
Amid  all  the  buffets  of  the  conflict,  he  never  cherished  one  spark  of 
malice,"  says  Greenwood,  "  or  one  root  of  bitterness,  in  his  heart,  which 
was  no  place  for  one  or  the  other ;  and,  as  I  lately  glanced  over  some 
of  the  pamphlets  of  which  he  was  the  author, — not  with  all  the  attention 
they  deserved,  but  with  all  I  could  spare, —  entertaining  the  common 
impression  that  the  zeal  of  the  times  and  the  zeal  of  his  own  nature 
had  betrayed  him  into  offensive  and  uncharitable  statements,  and 
remembering  also,  as  I  well  remembered,  the  language  of  mutual  exas- 
peration which  was  everywhere  to  be  heard  during  that  tempestuous 
period,  I  Avas  surprised  to  find  how  little  there  was  of  an  objection- 
able description  in  these  writings  ;  and  was  rather  struck  with  their 
power  of  argument  and  store  of  rich  illustration,  than  with  their  heat. 


ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE.  283 

That  night  has  gone  by ;  and,  though  the  side  which  he  espoused  so 
disinterestedly  did  not  prevail,  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  his  and  his 
friends'  efforts,  with  all  the  deductions  which  may  be  made  from  them, 
contributed  to  restore  the  morning."  By  resolute  opposition,  they  most 
probably  modified  the  measures  of  the  other  party  to  beneficial  results. 
The  winter  of  1839  was  spent  by  Mr.  Lowell  in  the  West  India  Islands, 
which  he  had  visited  for  his  health.  He  returned  with  improved  health, 
but  very  much  enfeebled.  On  the  12th  of  March,  1840,  as  he  was 
reading  a  daily  paper  in  his  residence  in  the  city,  the  summoner  came ; 
the  paper  dropped  from  his  hands,  and  he  expired  that  very  hour, 
without  sufiering.  He  was  buried  in  Roxbury.  Dinsmore  thus 
emphasizes : 

"  Lowell  and  Channing  may  debate, 
As  politicians  wise  and  great 
Pi'edict  their  country's  future  fate. 

By  reasoning  clear, 
And  show  blind  rulers  of  the  State 

What  course  to  steer." 


ROBERT  TREAT   PAINE. 

JULY  17,  1799.  ON  THE  DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  TREATIES  AND  CONSULAR  CON- 
VENTION  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES.  FOR  THE  YOUNG 
MEN   OF   BOSTON. 

"  It  is  a  day,"  says  our  orator,  "which  will  forever  be  illustrious  in 
our  annals.  It  is  the  completion  of  our  liberties,  the  acme  of  our  inde- 
pendence. The  Fourth  of  July  will  be  celebrated  by  our  latest  pos- 
terity, as  the  splendid  era  of  our  national  glory ;  but  the  Seventh  will 
be  venerated  as  the  dignified  epoch  of  our  national  character.  The 
one  annihilated  our  colonial  submission  to  a  powerful,  avowed,  and 
determined  foe ;  the  other  emancipated  us  from  the  oppressive  friend- 
ship of  an  ambitious,  malignant,  treacherous  ally.  The  former  asserted 
our  political  supremacy,  which  preserved  to  us  our  country  from  sub- 
jection, our  liberties  from  encroachment,  and  our  government  from  for- 
eign control;  the  latter  united  to  the  same  momentous  object  a 
declaration  of  our  moral  sovereignty,  which  rescued  our  principles 
from  subjugation,  as  well  as  our  persons  from  slavery;  which  secured 


284  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

our  cities  from  massacre,  as  well  as  their  inbabitants  from  debasement ; 
wbicb  preserved  our  fair  ones  from  violation,  as  well  as  our  religion 
from  bondage.  In  fine,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  dis- 
solved our  connection  with  Great  Britain,  may  be  correctly  denomi- 
nated the  birth-day  of  our  nation,  when,  as  its  infant  genius  was  ushered 
into  political  existence,  a  lambent  flame  of  glory  played  around  its 
brows,  in  presage  of  its  future  greatness.  But  the  period  which  sun- 
dered our  alliance  with  France  may  be  pronounced  the  day  of  our 
nation's  manhood,  when  this  genius  had  become  an  Hercules,  who,  no 
longer  amused  with  the  coral  and  bells  of  'liberty  and  equality,' — 
no  longer  'pleased  with  the  rattles,  tickled  with  the  straws,'  of 
•health  and  fraternity,' — no  longer  willing  to  trifle  at  the  distafi"  of 
a  'lady  negotiator,' — boldly  invested  himself  in  the  toga  virllis,  and 
assumed  his  rank  in  the  forum  of  nations. 

"  It  will,  therefore,  in  all  ages  be  pointed  to  as  a  luminous  page  in 
our  history,  when  the  patriotic  statesmen  of  America,  with  a  decision 
of  character  which  has  shot  a  ray  of  enthusiasm  into  the  coldest  regions 
of  Europe,  cut  asunder  the  inexplicable  knot  of  so  contagious  a  con- 
nection, and  forever  abolished  the  impolitic  and  deleterious  instrument 
which  had  created  it ;  when  that  memorable  treaty,  which  had  linked 
together  two  heterogeneous  nations  in  an  unnatural,  unequal  and  hate- 
ful alliance,  after  an  attenuated  life  of  twenty  years,  was  ignominiously 
committed  to  the  grave,  where,  in  the  language  of  French  philosophy, 
'its  death  will  prove  an  eternal  sleep.'  " 

Robert  Treat  Paine,  whose  name  was  originally  Thomas,  and  changed 
in  1801  by  an  act  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  as  he  was  desirous 
of  being  known  by  a  Christian  name,  abhorring  an  association  of  the 
man  who,  in  his  Age  of  Reason,  lost  his  Common  Sense,  was  born 
in  Taunton,  Bristol  county.  Mass.,  Dec.  9,  1773.  His  father  was  the 
celebrated  Robert  Treat  Paine,  who  acted  as  counsel  for  the  crown,  in 
company  with  Samuel  Quincy,  in  the  trial  of  the  British  soldiers  for 
the  massacre  in  King-street ;  and  was,  moreover,  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  whose  residence  was  at  the  corner 
of  Milk  and  Federal  streets.  Young  Robert  was  early  in  the  school 
of  Master  James  Carter.  In  the  year  1781  he  entered  the  Latin 
School,  under  ^Master  Saml.  Hunt ;  he  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1792,  on  which  occasion  he  delivered  an  oration  on  the  Nature  and 
Progress  of  Liberty, —  a  theme  naturally  expected  from  a  scion  of 
the  Revolution.     He  was  stimulated  to  a  taste  for  poetry  by  the  famous 


ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE.  285 

Joseph  Allen,  the  laureate  of  his  class,  who  inscribed  on  the  college- 
wall  several  abusive  satirical  verses  on  Paine,  who  fearlessly  repelled 
him  in  rhj^me  :  and  he  once  remarked,  that  if  it  were  not  for  this  cir- 
cumstance, probably  he  never  should  have  undertaken  a  couplet.  On 
leaving  college,  he  entered  the  store  of  Mr.  James  Tisdale,  a  Boston 
merchant ;  but  his  mind  Avas  so  much  absorbed  in  poetry,  that  he  made 
entries  in  the  day-book  in  verse,  and  once  made  out  a  charter  party  in 
the  same  style.  He  soon  became  devoted  to  the  theatre,  which,  con- 
trary to  law,  had  been  estabhshed  in  Board-alley,  in  1792,  by  a  small 
party  of  actors  from  England,  — 

"  And  plays  their  heathen  names  forsook, 
And  those  of  '  Moral  Lectures '  took." 

The  law  was  abrogated,  and  in  1793  an  elegant  brick  theatre  .was 
erected  in  Federal-street,  on  which  occasion  the  prize  medal  was 
awarded  to  him  for  the  best  prologue  on  the  occasion.  His  mind  was 
so  averse  to  mercantile  pursuits,  that  he  left  Mr.  Tisdale  in  1794.  In 
October  of  that  year  he  established  a  political  and  literary  paper, — 
"The  Federal  Orrery," — in  which  appeared  "The  Jacobiniad,"  a 
pohtical  poem,  and  also  "The  Lyars,"  from  both  of  which  passages 
appear  in  this  volume.  So  caustic  and  personal  vfere  these  produc- 
tions, that  it  drew  upon  him  the  summary  vengeance  of  a  mob,  who 
attacked  the  dwelling  of  Major  Wallach,  with  whom  he  resided,  and 
who  gallantly  defended  his  castle,  and  compelled  them  to  retreat.  The 
son  of  a  gentleman  at  whom  the  shafts  of  wit  had  been  aimed  called 
upon  Paine  for  satisfaction,  which  was  denied.  The  parties  accident- 
ally met, —  Mr.  Paine  presented  his  pistol,  but  the  assailant  fearlessly 
rushed  forward,  and  violently  assaulted  him.  In  1797  Mr.  Paine 
married  Elizabeth  Baker,  who  was  a  retired  actress,  and  they  were 
forbid  his  father's  dwelling.  They  were  hospitably  sheltered  in  the 
family  of  Major  Wallach  for  the  period  of  fifteen  months.  With  tears 
of  gratitude  Mr.  Paine  once  remarked,  "  When  I  lost  a  father,  I 
gained  a  wife  and  found  a  friend."'  In  the  year  1798  a  reconcihation 
was  effected ;  and  it  is  related  that  at  a  congratulatory  party  the  forth- 
coming sentiments  were  publicly  advanced,  "The  love  of  liberty  and 
the  liberty  of  loving ;  "  "  Champagne  to  real  friends,  and  real  pain  to 
sham  friends."  Paine  was  bold  in  his  views,  quick  at  retort,  and 
sometimes  fearfully  sarcastic.  His  genius  was  certainly  of  a  high 
order,  and  his  imagination  prolific.     His  talents  always  commanded 


286  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

admiration,  his  wit  excited  merriment  and  delight.  He  was  followed 
and  eulogized,  honored  by  social  attentions  in  the  higher  ranks,  and 
viewed  as  the  first  poet  of  the  town.  His  poem  on  "The  Invention 
of  Letters"  was  greatly  admired,  and  Washington  sent  him  a  letter 
highly  expressive  of  admiration  at  its  merits.  It  afforded  him  a  profit 
of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  "  The  Ruling  Passion,"  intended  as  a 
gallery  of  portraits,  is  a  rare  production,  for  which  he  reaUzed  a  profit 
of  twelve  hundred  dollars. 

In  1798  Mr.  Paine  wrote  the  celebrated  national  song  of  Adams 
and  Liberty ;  and  never  was  a  political  song  more  favorably  received 
than  this  patriotic  effusion.  Visiting  Major  Russell,  of  the  Centinel, 
it  was  pronounced  as  imperfect,  for  the  conception  of  "Washington  was 
not  advanced.  The  sideboard  was  replenished,  and  Paine  was  ready 
for  a  libation,  when  Major  Russell  famiharly  interposed,  and  insisted, 
in  his  humorous  manner,  that  he  should  not  slake  his  thirst  till  he 
had  written  an  additional  stanza,  in  which  Washington  should  be 
introduced.  Paine  paced  back  and  forth  a  few  minutes,  and,  suddenly 
starting,  called  for  a  pen.  He  forthwith  wrote  the  following  sublime 
stanza : 

"  Should  the  tempest  of  war  overshadow  our  land, 

Its  bolts  could  ne'er  rend  Freedom's  temple  asunder  ; 
For,  unmoved,  at  its  portal,  would  Washington  stand. 
And  repulse,  with  his  breast,  the  assaults  of  the  thunder  ! 
His  sword  from  the  sleep 
Of  its  scabbard  would  leap. 
And  conduct  with  its  point  every  flash  to  the  deep  !  " 

Paine' s  eulogy  on  the  death  of  Washington  was  serious  even  to 
sadness,  with  the  melancholy  reflections  inspired  by  that  event. 

In  a  political  discussion,  which  was  conducted  with  warmth,  in 
1807,  Mr.  Paine  once  said  of  the  Essex  Junto,  "Washington  was  its 
subhme  head,  and  the  tower  of  its  strength ;  it  was  informed  by  the 
genius  and  guided  by  the  energy  of  Hamilton.  Since  their  decease, 
nothing  but  the  Attic  salt  of  Fisher  Ames  has  preserved  it  from  putre- 
faction. When  the  ethereal  spirits  escaped,  the  residuum  settled  into 
faction.    It  has  captured  Boston,  and  keeps  it  in  tow,  hke  a  prize-ship." 

In  1799  Mr.  Paine  became  a  student  at  law  under  the  eminent 
Judge  Parsons,  at  Newburyport,  who  greatly  esteemed  him;  was 
admitted  to  Suffolk  bar  in  1802;  retired  from  the  profession  in  1809, 
and  removed  to  Dorchester ;  but  he  soon  returned  to  Boston,  and 
became  an  inmate  at  his  fltther's  mansion,  where  he  wrote,  at  the 


JOHN   THORNTON    KIRKLAND.  287 

request  of  the  Jockey  Club,  "The  Steeds  of  Apollo."  This  was  his 
last  famous  effusion.  Depressed  in  spirits,  afflicted  Avith  disease,  and 
reduced  in  his  circumstances,  he  died,  Nov.  14,  1811. 

President  Allen  remarks  of  Paine,  "There  is  nothing  of  simple, 
natural  beauty  in  his  writings  ;  his  poetry  is  entirely  unworthy  of 
the  praise  extended  in  its  favor,  and  his  prose  is  in  bad  taste;  "  while 
Bradford,  on  the  other  hand,  was  of  opinion  that  Paine  resembled 
Pope  more  than  any  English  poet,  and  was  always  happy  in  his 
phraseology :  but  it  is  probable  the  fact  lies  between  the  two  extremes. 
Boston  may  well  be  proud  of  his  talent,  and  throw  away  the  weeds 
that  blemish  his  fame.  Everett  says  that  "  Paine  was  a  luckless 
man,  but,  oh  !  how  sweet  a  bard  !  " 

"  Never  shall  his  tuneful  numbers 
Charm  the  listening  ear  again, — 
Cold  and  silent  where  he  slumbers. 
Genius  weeps  the  fate  of  Paine." 

The  Hon.  Judge  Story  remarks  of  him  that  he  enjoyed  reputation,  in 
his  day,  not  since  attained  by  any  American  poet. 


JOHN  THORNTON  KIRKLAND. 

DEC.  29,  1799.    EULOGY  ON  "WASHINGTON. 

"America,  without  Washington,"  says  Kirkland,  "  resembles  the 
earth  without  the  light  of  day.  Associated  as  he  was  with  all  w© 
loved  and  valued  in  our  country,  possessions,  pursuits  and  pleasui-es, 
for  a  time,  sink  in  our  esteem.  We  exulted  in  our  country,  because 
it  gave  him  birth ;  we  thought  better  of  our  nature,  because  it  pro- 
duced such  a  man.  The  sense  of  this  gift  of  Heaven  increased  the 
fervor  of  our  devotions  ;  and  our  national  felicity  seemed  to  be  crowned 
in  Washington.  Time  has  been,  when,  indeed,  his  services  were  more 
immediately  necessary,  and  the  political  salvation  of  his  country 
seemed  to  depend  on  the  continuance  of  his  life.  But  if  his  departure 
at  this  time  has  a  less  unpropitious  aspect  upon  the  public  prosperity, 
yet  it  cannot  be  thought  unimportant  to  the  momentous  interests  of  the 


288  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATOKS. 

empire,  whilst  it  arrests  our  melanclioly  feelings,  and  wounds  our 
fond  attachment  to  his  name.  His  sun  approached  the  horizon ;  yet, 
with  delighted  eyes,  we  gazed  on  its  parting  splendor,  believing  that, 
if  clouds  should  thicken  to  a  tempest  in  our  political  sky,  it  would 
shine  out  in  all  its  meridian  brightness,  and  chase  them  away.  Though 
he  had  left  the  drama  to  distinguished  actors,  yet  he  might  again  be 
called  out  to  support  a  part  in  some  master  scene,  to  which  no  other 
man  might  be  found  suited.  Nay,  he  was  already  prepared,  if  the 
catastrophe  should  require  it,  to  step  upon  the  stage,  and  be  the  hero 
of  the  eventful  tragedy  into  which  his  country  seemed  to  be  hastening. 
Was  the  nation  to  be  roused  from  dangerous  sleep  ?  —  his  name  was 
sounded  in  their  ears.  Was  faction  to  be  driven  from  the  light  ?  —  it 
was  pointed  to  his  awful  frown.  Was  a  foreign  foe  to  be  deterred  from 
invasion  7  —  it  was  shown  his  hand  upon  his  sword.  With  him  its 
patron,  the  federal  administration  would  not  despair  of  final  support ; 
with  him  their  leader,  the  armies  of  America  would  be  inefiectually 
held  up  to  odium,  would  be  created  Avith  facility,  and,  in  every  con- 
flict, would  feel  invincible.  In  the  present  dubious  aspect  of  our 
national  interests,  everything  was  hoped,  in  aid  of  the  present  system, 
from  the  part  which  he  would  take,  in  case  of  civil  dissension,  or 
increased  danger  from  foi'eign  arts  or  arms." 

John  Thornton  Kirkland  was  born  at  Little  Falls,  Herkimer 
county,  N.  Y.,  August  17,  1770;  entered  Philhps'  Academy  in 
1784;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1789;  became  assistant 
teacher  at  Andover  Academy ;  studied  theology,  and  was  a  tutor  in 
Harvard  College,  when  he  gave  the  salutatory  oration.  A  singular 
episode  in  his  college  life  was  his  having  borne  arms  in  the  winter 
vacation  of  his  sophomore  year,  during  the  campaign  to  suppress 
Shays'  Insurrection.  He  was  pastor  of  the  New  South  Church,  from 
Feb.  5,  1794,  until  his  induction  to  the  presidency  of  Harvard  College, 
Nov.  14,  1810,  Avhich  station  he  occupied  until  his  resignation,  Aug. 
27,  1828.  He  was  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  orator  at  Cambridge  in 
1798.  He  married  Elizabeth,  the  only  daughter  of  Hon.  George 
Cabot.  Sept.  1,  1827.  After  his  retirement  from  public  life,  Dr. 
Kirkland  suffered  from  the  effects  of  a  paralysis,  with  powers  of  mind 
and  body  considerably  impaired ;  but  with  the  same  undisturbed  and 
delightful  temper,  and  with  an  occasional  flash  of  those  clear  and 
profound  thoughts,  saj^s  Eliot,  that  intellectual  humor,  and  those 
generous  affections,  which  in  previous  years  had  been  the  deUght  of  all 


JOHN  THORNTON  KIRKLAND.  289 

who  knew  him.  The  carelessness  which  made  him  write  his  sermons 
upon  mere  scraps  of  paper,  in  an  almost  illegible  hand,  and  the  physical 
indolence  which  made  him  neglect  to  transcribe  or  arrange  them,  might 
excite  a  smile,  rather  than  provoke  a  frown ;  and  it  has  been  well  said 
of  Dr.  Kirkland,  that  his  sermons  were  full  of  intellectual  wealth  and 
practical  wisdom,  with  sometimes  a  quaintness  that  bordered  on  humor, 
yet  had  never  been  inspired  by  the  peculiar  genius  of  pulpit  eloquence. 
He  was  president  of  the  Anthology  Club.  His  biography  of  Fisher 
Ames  is  one  of  the  most  classic  productions  of  an  American  mind. 
After  having  visited  Europe,  Egypt,  and  Palestine,  he  died  at  Boston, 
of  an  inveterate  disease  that  had  long  afflicted  him,  April  26,  1840. 

His  successor.  President  Quincy,  remarks  of  him:  "Possessing 
talents  of  a  high  order,  which  he  had  diligently  cultivated,  enjoying 
the  friendship  and  confidence  of  many  of  the  most  influential  and 
eminent  men  among  his  contemporaries,  combining  great  sagacity  with 
great  knoAvledge  of  human  nature,  he  conducted  this  seminary  for  a 
succession  of  years  prosperously  and  with  great  popularity.  Under 
his  auspices,  the  standard  necessary  for  obtaining  admission  to  its 
privileges  was  raised,  its  literary  character  elevated,  the  general  sphere 
of  its  usefulness  extended,  and  great  improvements  effected ;  "  and  Dr. 
Young,  his  successor  in  the  pastoral  care  of  the  New  South  Church, 
says  of  him,  in  his  highly  graphic  biography,  of  which  a  divine  of  another 
sect  said  he  did  not  see  how  it  could  be  better  written,  "What  style 
shall  I  set  forth  of  this  excellent  man,  to  whom  I  never  came  but  I 
grew  stronger  in  moral  virtue,  from  whom  I  never  went  but  I  parted 
better  instructed  ?  If  I  speak  much,  it  were  not  to  be  marvelled ;  if  I 
speak  frankly,  it  is  not  to  be  blamed ;  and  though  I  speak  partially, 
it  were  to  be  pardoned." 

The  preaching  of  Kirkland  was  of  the  same  character  with  his 
conversation,  says  Young.  It  was  sententious,  and  full  of  apo- 
thegms. There  was  not  much  visible  logic  or  induction  in  his  dis- 
courses. The  description  which  he  gives  of  Fisher  Ames'  writings  is 
strikingly  apphcable  to  his  own.  When  the  result  of  his  researches 
was  exhibited  in  discourse,  the  steps  of  a  logical  process  were  in  some 
measure  concealed  by  the  coloring  of  rhetoric.  It  was  the  prerogative 
of  his  mind  to  discern  by  a  glance,  so  rapid  as  to  seem  intuition, 
those  truths  which  common  capacities  struggle  hard  to  comprehend. 
His  style  is  conspicuous  for  sententious  brevity,  for  antithesis  and 
point.  Single  ideas  appear  with  so  much  lustre  and  prominence,  that 
25 


290  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

the  connection  of  the  several  parts  of  his  discourse  is  not  always  obvious 
to  the  common  mind,  and  the  aggregate  impression  of  the  composition 
is  not  always  completely  obtained.  His  learning  seldom  appeared  as 
such,  but  was  interwoven  with  his  thoughts,  and  became  his  own. 

There  was  httle  apparent  method,  arrangement  or  connection,  in 
Dr.  Kirkland's  preaching;  so  that  it  was  not  uncommon  for  him  to 
bring  into  the  pulpit  half  a  dozen  sermons  or  more,  and,  on  the  instant, 
construct  a  new  sermon  as  he  went  along,  turning  the  leaves  backwards 
and  forwards,  and  connecting  them  together  by  the  thread  of  his 
extemporaneous  discourse.  These  scattered  leaves  resembled  those  of 
the  Sybil,  not  only  in  their  confusion,  causing  many  to  marvel  how  he 
could  marshal  and  manage  them  so  adroitly,  but  also  in  their  hidden 
wisdom,  and  in  the  fact  that  when  two-thirds  of  what  he  had  thus 
brought  into  the  pulpit  was  omitted, —  thrown  by,  as  unworthy  of 
delivery, —  the  remaining  third,  which  he  uttered,  was  more  precious 
than  the  entire  pile  of  manuscript,  containing,  as  it  did,  the  spirit  and 
essence,  the  condensed  and  concentrated  wisdom,  of  the  whole. 

Condensation,  indeed,  continues  Dr.  Young,  was  his  ci'owning 
faculty.  It  was  here,  especially,  that  he  manifested  the  supremacy  of 
his  intellect.  He  always  spoke  from  a  crowded  and  overflowing  mind. 
Although  he  said  so  much,  you  felt  that  there  was  much  more  behind 
unsaid.  He  poured  himself  forth  into  a  full  stream  of  thought,  which 
evidently  flowed  from  a  living  and  inexhaustible  fountain.  Chief 
Justice  Parsons  used  to  say  that  Dr.  Elirkland  put  more  thought  into 
one  sermon  than  other  ministers  did  into  five.  And  how  much  weight 
and  wisdom  were  there  even  in  single  sentences  of  his  writings,  as 
when,  in  his  Life  of  Fisher  Ames,  he  says,  "  He  did  not  need  the 
smart  of  guilt  to  make  him  virtuous,  nor  the  regret  of  folly  to  make 
him  wise ;  "  and  when,  in  the  same  work,  he  says,  "  The  admission  of 
danger  implies  duty ;  and  many  refuse  to  be  alarmed,  because  they 
wish  to  be  at  ease."  Such  was  his  wonderful  and  accurate  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  and  his  clear  insight  into  the  springs  of  human 
action,  that  sometimes,  when  I  have  heard  Kirkland  preach,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  he  had  actually  got  his  hand  into  my  bosom,  and  that  I 
could  feel  him  moving  it  about,  and  inserting  his  fingers  into  all  the 
interstices  and  crevices  of  my  heart.  According  to  Dr.  Palfrey, 
there  were  twelve  hundred  graduates  of  Harvard  College  who  enjoyed 
his  care,  having  been,  at  the  period  of  his  decease,  nearly  one  quarter 
part  of  the  whole  that  had  been  educated  at  that  institution. 


FISHER  AMES.  291 

FISHER  AMES. 

FEB.  8,  1800.     STATE  EULOGY  ON  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  speech  of  Hon.  Fisher  Ames,  on  Jay's  treaty,  April  28, 
1796,  dehvered  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  he  says  :  "  "We  are  either  to 
execute  this  treaty,  or  break  our  faith.  To  expatiate  on  the  value  of 
public  faith,  may  pass  with  some  men  for  declamation.  To  such  men 
I  have  nothing  to  say.  To  others,  I  will  urge,  can  any  circumstance 
mark  upon  a  people  more  turpitude  and  debasement  ?  Can  anything 
tend  more  to  make  men  think  themselves  mean,  or  degrade  to  a  lower 
point  their  estimation  of  virtue,  and  their  standard  of  action  1  It  would 
not  merely  demoralize  mankind ;  it  tends  to  break  all  the  ligaments  of 
society,  to  dissolve  that  mysterious  charm  which  attracts  individuals  to 
the  nation,  and  to  inspire  in  its  stead  a  repulsive  sense  of  shame  and 
disgust. 

"  What  is  patriotism?  Is  it  a  narrow  affection  for  the  spot  where  a 
man  was  born  !■  Are  the  very  clods  where  we  tread  entitled  to  this 
ardent  preference,  because  they  are  greener  7  No,  sir ;  this  is  not 
the  character  of  the  virtue,  and  it  soars  higher  for  its  object.  It  is  an 
extended  self-love,  mingling  with  all  the  enjoyments  of  life,  and  twist- 
ing itself  with=  the  minutest  filaments  of  the  heart.  It  is  thus  we 
obey  the  laws  of  society,  because  they  are  the  laws  of  virtue.  In 
their  authority  we  see  not  the  array  of  force  and  terror,  but  the  vener- 
able image  of  our  country's  honor.  Every  good  citizen  makes  that 
honor  his  own,  and  cherishes  it  not  only  as  precious,  but  as  sacred.  He 
is  willing  to  risk  his  life  in  its  defence,  and  is  conscious  that  he  gains 
protection  while  he  gives  it.  For  what  rights  of  a  citizen  will  be 
deemed  inviolable,  when  a  State  renounces  the  principles  that  consti- 
tute their  security  ?  Or,  if  his  life  should  not  be  invaded,  what  would 
its  enjoyment  be,  in  a  country  odious  in  the  eyes  of  strangers,  and  dis- 
honored in  his  own  ?  Could  he  look  with  affection  and  veneration  to 
such  a  country  as  his  parent  1  The  sense  of  having  one  would  die 
within  him.  He  would  blush  for  his  patriotism,  if  he  retained  any ; 
and  justly,  for  it  would  be  a  vice.  He  would  be  a  banished  man  in  his 
native  kind. 

"  I  see  no  exception  to  the  respect  that  is  paid  among  nations  to  the 
law  of  good  faith.     If  there  are  cases  in  this  enlightened  period  when 


292  THE   nUNDBED    BOSTON    ORATORS, 

it  is  violated,  there  are  none  -when  it  is  denied.  It  is  tlie  philosophy 
of  politics,  the  religion  of  governments.  It  is  observed  by  barbarians. 
A  whiflf  of  tobacco-smoke,  or  a  string  of  beads,  gives  not  merely  bind- 
ing force,  but  sanctity,  to  treaties.  Even  in  Algiers,  a  truce  may  be 
bought  for  money ;  but,  -when  ratified,  even  Algiers  is  too  Tvise  or  too 
just  to  disown  and  annul  its  obligation.  Thus,  we  see,  neither  the  igno- 
rance of  savages,  nor  the  principles  of  an  association  for  piracy  and 
rapine,  permit  a  nation  to  despise  its  engagements.  K,  sir,  there  could 
be  a  resurrection  from  the  foot  of  the  gallows, —  if  the  victims  of  jus- 
tice could  live  again,  collect  together,  and  form  a  society, —  they  would, 
however  loath,  soon  find  themselves  obliged  to  make  justice  —  that 
justice  under  which  they  fell  —  the  fundamental  law  of  their  state. 
They  would  perceive  it  was  their  interest  to  make  others  respect,  and 
they  would  therefore  soon  pay  some  respect  themselves,  to  the  obliga- 
tions of  good  faith." 

Fisher  Ames  was  born  at  Dedham,  April  9,  1758,  and  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  Ames,  who  was  for  forty  years  a  noted 
author  of  almanacs ;  of  whom  it  is  related,  having  accidentally  entered 
in  one  of  them  "the  prediction  of  snow  in  June,  and  a  snow-storm 
occurring  on  the  day  named,  it  caused  a  rapid  sale  of  his  almanacs. 
It  is  related  in  the  IMassachusetts  Historical  Collections,  that  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Ames,  whose  son  Nathaniel  was  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of 
the  Revolution,  had  two  wives,  Mary  and  Deborah,  sucpessively  of  the 
name  of  Fisher.  The  first  dying  young,  but  not  until  after  his 
mother,  and  her  estate  having  vested  in  him,  gave  rise  to  the  famous 
lawsuit,  in  which  it  was  first  determined  that  real  estate  ascended,  con- 
trary to  the  English  rule,  to  the  fiither,  as  next  of  kin,  by  the  province 
law.  Dr.  Ames  was  a  public  taverner  at  Dedham;  and  there  is  a 
tradition  that,  after  this  case  was  decided,  a  sign-board  was  suspended 
over  his  door,  with  the  painted  figure  of  the  judges,  in  full-bottomed 
wigs  and  robes,  among  whom  were  caricatured  the  two  who  were  of 
adverse  opinion.  This  being  viewed  as  a  contempt  of  court,  it  was 
shortly  after  taken  down.  Dr.  Ames  died  at  Dedham  in  1764,  aged 
fifty-seven  years.  His  son  Fisher  was  born  in  the  Woodward  man- 
sion, on  the  north  side  of  the  court-house,  opposite  the  monumental 
stone,  surmounted  by  a  pillar  and  a  bust,  erected  in  honor  of  William 
Pitt,  for  his  services  to  the  colonies.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1774;  studied  law  under  Jud^e  Tudor,  and  became  a  counsellor-at- 
law.     In  1788  he  was  a  representative  in  the  State  Legislature ;  and 


FISHER  AMES.  293 

was  elected  to  Congress  for  Suffolk  county,  December  ISth  of  the  same 
year,  in  opposition  to  Samuel  Adams,  and  was  probably  the  junior 
member  of  the  house.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  State  convention 
on  the  federal  constitution,  in  1788  ;  and  was  of  the  State  Executive 
Council,  in  1800.  Mr.  Ames  married  Frances,  daughter  of  John 
"Worthington,  Esq.,  July  15,  1792.  He  continued  in  Congress  during 
a  period  of  eight  years,  where  he  displayed  irresistible  eloquence ;  and, 
after  his  memorable  speech  in  favor  of  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain, 
from  which  a  passage  is  presented  at  the  head  of  this  article,  a  mem- 
ber, opposed  to  Ames,  objected  to  taking  a  vote  at  that  time,  as  they 
had  been  overwhelmed  by  his  eloquence.  One  day,  when  in  the  book- 
store of  Manning  &  Loring,  in  Boston,  on  observing  their  new  edi- 
tion of  Perry's  Dictionary,  which  was  on  the  counter,  in  which  words 
are  accented, — "Here  is  a  book,"  said  Ames,  "showing  us  how  to 
pronounce  words."  After  a  moment's  reflection,  he  continued,  "  But 
we  are  told  that  the  best  standard  of  pronunciation  is  the  imitation  of 
the  best  speakers."  The  residence  of  Fisher  Ames  was  in  the  dwell- 
ing now  occupied  by  John  Gardner,  Esq.  He  died  at  Dedham,  July 
4,  1808.  The  stanzas  herewith  added  were  sung  in  King's  Chapel, 
July  6,  1808,  after  the  delivery  of  the  eulogy  of  Samuel  Dexter  over 
the  remains  of  Fisher  Ames,  and  are  ascribed  to  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner : 

"  As,  wlieu  dark  clouds  obscure  the  dawn. 

The  day-star's  lustre  disappears, 
So  Ames  beheld  our  natal  morn. 

And  left  desponding  friends  in  tears. 
Soon  as  the  distant  cannon's  roar 

Announced  that  morn's  retui-ning  ray, 
He  feared  its  early  hopes  were  o'er, 

And  flew  to  everlasting  day. 
0,  drop  thy  mantle,  sainted  shade. 

On  some  surviving  patriot  name, 
Who,  great  by  thy  example  made. 

May  yet  retrieve  a  nation's  fame  ! 
The  manly  genius,  ardent  thought. 

The  love  of  truth,  and  wit  refined. 
The  eloquence  that  wonders  wrought. 

And  flashed  its  light  on  every  mind,  — 
These  gifts  were  thine,  immortal  Ames  ! 

Of  motive  pure,  of  life  sublime  ; 
Their  loss  our  flowing  sorrow  claims,  — 

Their  praise  survives  the  wreck  of  time." 

25* 


294  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS, 

President  Dwiglit,  of  Yale  College,  remarked  of  Fisher  Ames  that 
few  men  have  so  much  good  sense,  and  none  "with  whom  I  have  con- 
versed, a  mind  so  ready  to  furnish,  at  every  call,  the  facts  which  should 
be  remembered,  the  truths  which  should  be  declared,  the  arguments 
which  should  be  urged,  language  in  which  they  might  be  clearly  arid 
forcibly  expressed,  and  images  with  which  they  might  be  beautifully 
adorned.  His  imagination  was  perhaps  too  brilliant,  and  too  rich.  It 
could  hardly  be  said  that  any  of  the  pictures  which  it  drew  were  ill- 
drawn  or  out  of  place  ;  yet  it  might,  I  think,  be  truly  said,  that  the 
gallery  was  crowded.  The  excess  was  not,  however,  the  consequence 
of  a  defective  taste,  or  a  soHcitude  to  shine  ;  but  the  produce  of  a  fancy 
over  creative,  always  exuberant,  and  exerting  its  powers  more  easily  in 
this  manner  than  in  any  other.  '  To  speak  and  write  as  he  actually 
spoke  and  wrote,  was  only  to  permit  the  thoughts  and  images  which 
first  offered  themselves  to  flow  from  his  lips  or  his  pen. 

"Mr.  Ames  was  distinguished  by  a  remarkable  and  very  amiable  sim- 
plicity of  character.  In  circles  where  any  man  would  have  thought  it 
an  honor  to  shine,  and  where  he  always  shone  with  superior  lustre,  he 
appeared  entirely  to  forget  himself,  and  to  direct  all  his  observations  to 
the  entertainment  of  the  company,  and  the  elucidation  of  the  subject. 
Whenever  he  conversed,  it  was  impossible  to  fail  of  receiving  both 
instruction  and  delight.  But  the  instruction  flowed  not  from  the  pride 
of  talents,  or  the  aml)ition  of  being  brilliant.  Whatever  was  the  field 
of  thought,  he  expanded  it ;  whatever  was  the  theme  of  discussion,  he 
gave  it  new  splendor.  But  the  manner  in  which  he  did  both  showed 
irresistibly  that  they  were  the  most  ob\ious  and  the  least  laborious 
employments  of  such  a  fancy.  His  sense  of  rectitude,  both  public 
and  personal,  was  not  only  exact,  but  delicate  and  exquisite.  His 
patriotism  was  glowing.  Eminent  as  he  was  among  those  who  were 
most  eminent,  I  should  more  strongly  covet  his  private  character;"  and 
President  Allen  says  of  Ames,  he  compelled  assent  more  by  striking 
allusions  than  by  regular  deductions,  and  for  charms  of  conversation 
was  unequalled.  Ames  was  opposed  to  democracy,  as  it  would  end  in 
monarchy ;  and  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  Federal  pai'ty,  as  being 
the  shield  of  our  constitution. 

Though  the  professional  brethren  of  Fisher  Ames  held  him  in  the 
highest  respect,  they  concurred  with  President  Kirkland,  who  prepared 
the  biography  prefixed  to  his  collected  works,  that  he  was  more  adapted 
for  the  senate  than  the  bar.     It  was  easy  and  delightful  to  him  to  illus- 


FISHER  AMES.  295 

trate  by  a  picture,  but  painful  and  laborious  to  prove  by  a  diagram. 
He  was  a  man  of  purest  morals,  of  most  amiable  disposition,  and  most 
sincerely  beloved  by  his  friends,  among  whom  were  some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  of  that  day.  He  was  graphically  sketched  by  Sullivan, 
'"as  above  the  middle  stature,  and  well  formed.  His  features  were  not 
strongly  marked.  His  forehead  was  neither  high  nor  expansive.  His 
eyes  were  blue  and  Of  middling  size,  his  mouth  handsome,  his  hair 
black,  and  short  on  the  forehead,  and  in  his  latter  years  unpowdered. 
He  was  very  erect,  and  when  speaking  he  raised  his  head,  or  rather  his 
chin,  with  the  most  projected  part  of  his  face.  His  face  had  a  most 
complacent  expression  when  he  was  speaking ;  and  whe;i  he  meant  to 
be  severe,  it  was  seen  in  good-natured  sarcasm,  rather  than  in  ill-natured 
words.  It  was  said  that  the  beautiful  productions  of  his  pen  were  the 
first  Sowings  of  his  mind,  and  hardly  corrected  for  the  press.  His  life 
is  supposed  to  have  been  shortened  by  his  excessive  anxiety  about  his 
country.  Many  of  his  predictions  have  been  realized,  and  some  of 
them  in  his  lifetime.  His  air,  manner  and  countenance,  were  those 
of  an  honest  and  sincere  man.  The  condition  of  the  country  furnishes 
abundant  proof  that  he  was,  politically,  a  wise  man.  All  his  mournful 
prophecies  seem  to  be  in  the  course  of  fulfilment." 

Fisher  Ames  once  said  :  "If  every  gravestone  of  a  departed  repub- 
lic bore  a  lesson  of  wisdom  and  warning,  the  democrats  would  shut  their 
eyes  rather  than  look  upon  it.  They  have  no  idea  of  any  principles, 
excepting  their  extremes  when  they  are  no  longer  principles;"  and, 
in  his  Dangers  of  American  Liberty,  he  asserts  "it  never  happened 
in  the  world,  and  it  never  will,  that  a  democracy  has  been  kept  out  of 
the  control  of  the  fiercest  and  most  turbulent  spirits  in  the  society. 
They  breathe  into  it  all  their  own  fury,  and  make  it  subservient  to  the 
worst  designs  of  the  worst  men ; "  and  in  another  paragraph  exclaims  : 
"All  history  lies  open  for  our  warning, —  open  like  a  church-yard, 
all  whose  lessons  are  solemn,  and  chiselled  for  eternity  in  the  hard 
stone;  —  lessons  that  whisper, —  0  !  that  they  could  thunder  to  repub- 
lics,— '  Your  passions  and  your  vices  forbid  you  to  be  free  ! '  " 

Upon  one  occasion,  Judge  Story  related  the  following  anecdote  in 
relation  to  three  great  men.  "  Samuel  Dexter,"  said  he,  "was  one 
of  those  men  whom,  as  was  said  of  Burke,  if  you  should  meet  on  a 
rainy  day  beneath  a  shed,  you  would  at  once  distinguish  as  a  great 
man.  A  few  moments'  conversation  with  Mr.  Dexter  showed  this ; 
and  I  remember  that  when  I  first  met  him,  not  knowing  who  he  was,  I 


296  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

stared  in  -wonderment, —  and  yet  his  mind  was  ratlier  of  a  brilliant 
shade  than  a  great  one.  Mr.  Dexter  was  once  in  company  Tsdth  Fisher 
Ames  and  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  The  latter  commenced  a  conver- 
sation, or  rather  an  opinion  (for  he  was  almost  solus  in  the  dialogue), 
which  lasted  some  three  hours.  On  breaking  up,  the  two  former  com- 
menced, on  their  way  homeward,  praising  the  depth  and  learning  of 
their  noble  host.  Said  Ames,  after  a  short  talk,  '  To  confess  the 
truth.  Dexter,  I  have  not  understood  a  word  of  his  argument  for  half 
an  hour.'  'And  I,'  good-humoredly  rejoined  Dexter,  ^have  been  out 
of  my  depth  for  an  hour  and  a  half.'  " 

In  Felt's  Memorials  of  William  S.  Shaw,  we  find  it  stated  by  Hannah 
Adams,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Shaw,  that  in  the  year  1790  she  sent  a 
petition  to  Congress,  which  Mr.  Ames  presented  at  her  request,  for  a 
general  law  to  be  passed  which  would  secure  to  authors  the  exclusive 
right  of  their  publications.  We  find,  on  turning  to  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress, that  this  act,  which  is  entitled  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of 
learning,  etc.,  was  established  on  the  31st  of  May,  1790. 

The  following  incident  regarding  Fisher  Ames  is  worthy  of  record. 
There  lived  in  Dedham  a  farmer  of  great  natural  wit  and  smartness  of 
repartee, —  one  Joseph  Kingsbury, —  who  had  a  great  partiality  for  Mr. 
Ames,  yet  would  never  let  pass  an  opportunity  of  showing  his  tact,  even 
at  the  expense  of  his  friend.  A  town-meeting  was  held,  at  which  ]Mr. 
Ames  made  an  eloquent  speech.  Kingsbury,  in  his  dirty  frock  and 
trousers,  had  taken  a  seat  in  the  adjoining  pew ;  and  no  sooner  had  our 
orator  finished,  than  he  rose  and  said,  '•  Mr.  Moderator,  my  brother 
Ames'  eloquence  reminds  me  of  nothing  but  the  sliining  of  a  fire-fly, 
which  gives  just  light  enough  to  show  its  own  insignificance;"  and 
down  he  sat,  having  thus,  at  a  blow,  by  exciting  the  risibles  of  the 
audience,  defeated  the  cfiect  of  Mr.  Ames'  eloquence. 

In  public  speaking,  Fisher  Ames  trusted  much  to  excitement,  and 
did  little  more  in  his  closet  than  draw  the  outlines  of  his  speech  and 
reflect  on  it,  till  he  had  received  deeply  the  impressions  he  intended  to 
make ;  depending  for  the  turns  and  figures,  says  Kirkland,  of  lan- 
guage, illustrations,  and  modes  of  appeal  to  the  passions,  on  his  imag- 
ination and  feelings  at  the  time.  This  excitement  continued,  when  the 
cause  had  ceased  to  operate.  After  debate,  his  mind  was  agitated  Uke 
the  ocean  after  a  storm,  and  his  nerves  were  like  the  shrouds  of  a  ship 
torn  by  the  tempest.  When  Washington  died,  he  pronounced  his 
eulogy  before  the  State  Legislature.     This  performance,  though  it 


FISHER   AMES.  297 

contains  touches  of  real  pathos,  is  less  impassioned  than  might  at  first 
be  expected.  The  numerous  funeral  honors  paid  to  the  memory  of  this 
beloved  man  had  already  made  a  great  demand  on  the  public  sensibil- 
ity. Mr.  Ames  chOse  rather  to  dwell  on  the  political  events  and  acts 
which  illustrated  his  character,  than  merely  to  draw  tears  for  his  loss  ; 
and  it  abounds  in  accurate  discrimination  and  sententious  wisdom. 

From  his  knowledge  of  affairs,  says  Kirkland,  and  his  confidential 
standing  with  those  who  were  principals  in  effecting  a  measure  regard- 
ing the  pubhc  credit,  he  might  have  made  himself  a  gainer,  along  with 
the  public,  by  the  funding  system.  But  he  consulted  his  Hvely  sense 
of  reputation  by  a  scrupulous  abstinence  from  participating  in  this 
advantage.  He  observed  upon  a  calumny,  which  was  uttered  not 
because  it  was  deserved,  but  because  it  might  be  behoved,  "  I  have  too 
good  proofs  of  the  want  of  property  for  surmise  to  the  contrary  to  have 
weight ;  I  have  much  more  occasion  to  justify  myself  to  my  family  for 
being  poor,  than  to  repel  the  charge  by  being  rich."  His  delicate 
mind  and  amiable  temper  made  the  contests  of  his  public  station  often 
irksome.  Though  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  complain,  yet  he  some- 
times felt  these  irritations  with  much  sensibility.  "  The  value  of 
friends,"  he  observes,  "  is  the  most  apparent  and  highest  rated  to 
those  who  mingle  in  the  conflicts  of  political  life.  The  sharp  contests 
for  httle  points  wound  the  mind,  and  the  ceaseless  jargon  of  hypocrisy 
overpowers  the  faculties.  I  turn  from  scenes  which  provoke  and  dis- 
gust me,  to  the  contemplation  of  the  interest  I  have  in  private  life,  and 
to  the  pleasures  of  society  with  those  friends  whom  I  have  so  much 
reason  to  esteem." 

Fisher  Ames  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  in 
Dedham,  and  ever  entered  with  spirit  and  devotion  into  the  service,  by 
audibly  responding  in  the  litany  and  gloria  patri.  He  observed  to  a 
friend,  one  day,  after  reading  "  Nelson  on  the  Fasts  and  Feasts,"  that 
he  admired  the  church,  though  he  would  wish  to  be  understood  that  he 
did  not  consider  all  those  holy  days  to  be  essential.  It  was  observed 
to  him  that  the  Episcopal  church  diifered  very  widely  from  the  Con- 
gregational platform,  in  her  ordination,  government,  and  mode  of  wor- 
ship. He  replied  :  "  The  difference  is  what  I  like,  and  for  which  I  give 
the  church  the  preference."  He  directed  his  parish  taxes  to  be  paid  to 
the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church,  whom  he  requested,  during  his  last 
illness,  to  come  to  his  house  and  have  the  church  service,  and  make  it 
familiar  to  his  family.     On  the  Christmas  eve  of  1807,  he  had  his 


298  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

house  decorated  -with  green  boughs,  and  made  some  beautiful  observa- 
tions on  tliat  ancient  custom,  -^vhich  has  become  as  venerable  by  age  as 
the  church  catechism.  Some  time  after  he  was  a  member  of  the 
church,  one  Madam  Sprague  proposed  to  dispose  of  her  pew  in  the 
Cono-reo-ational  church  at  a  very  low  rate,  and  which  was  the  best 
pew  in  the  house.  He  replied  to  her  that  he  did  not  desire  it.  She 
then  said,  '"If  they  build  a  new,  splendid  meeting-house,  Mr.  Ames,  I 
presume  you  will  return  to  the  old  society."  On  which  he  gravely 
replied  :  ' '  No,  madam  ;  if  they  erect  a  meeting-house  of  silver,  and 
line  it  with  gold,  and  give  me  the  best  pew  in  it,  I  shall  go  to  the 
Ejjiscopal  church." 

In  the  poem  by  John  Pierpont,  recited  at  the  celebration  of  the 
Xewburyport  Washington  Benevolent  Society,  Oct.  27,  1812,  appeal's 
this  glowing  tribute  to  Fisher  Ames : 

' '  Then  a  bright  spirit,  free  from  every  vice 
As  was  the  rose  that  bloomed  in  Paradise,  — 
A  zeal  as  warm  to  see  his  country  blest 
As  lived  in  Cato's  or  Lycurgus'  breast ; 
A  fancy  chaste  and  vigorous  as  strong 
To  holy  themes  Isaiah's  hallowed  tongue  ; 
And  strains  as  eloquent  as  Zion  heard, 
,   ■  When,  on  his  golden  harp,  her  royal  bard 

Waked  to  a  glow  devotion's  dj-iug  flames, 
Flowed  from  the  lips  and  warmed  the  soul  of  Ames. 
Like  Memnon's  harp,  that  breathed  a  mournful  tone 
When  on  its  strings  the  rays  of  morning  shone. 
That  stainless  spirit,  on  approaching  night. 
Was  touched  and  saddened  by  prophetic  light ; 
And,  as  the  vision  to  his  view  was  given. 
That  spirit  sunk,  and,  sighing,  fled  to  heaven." 


TIMOTHY   BIGELOW. 

FEB.  11,  1800.    EULOGY  OX  WASHINGTON.    FOR  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  GRAND 

LODGE. 

"His  administration  was  a  satire  on  those  who  are  born  to  rule," 
says  Mr.  Bigelow.  "  Making  the  general  good  the  sole  object  of  liis 
pursuit,  and  carefully  distinguishing  the  attention  which  was  due  from 


TIMOTHY   BIGELOW.  299 

« 
him  as  an  individual  to  the  claims  of  relation  and  friendship,  from  the 

duties  he  owed  to  the  public,  he  never  yielded  to  the  influence  of 
private  partiality,  nor  stooped  to  the  low  policy  of  aggrandizing  his 
family  by  the  gifts  of  office.  He  bestowed  emjsloyments  on  those  only 
who  added  to  integrity  the  qualities  necessary  to  discharge  them. 
Patient  in  investigation,  and  cautious  in  research,  he  formed  his  reso- 
lutions with  deliberation,  and  executed  them  with  decision.  Conscious 
of  the  purity  of  his  motives,  and  satisfied  with  the  propriety  of  his 
determinations, —  daily  estimating,  also,  the  sacred  duty  of  maintaining 
the  constitutional  rights  of  his  office, —  he  was  not  to  be  soothed  into 
dishonorable  compliance  by  the  blandishments  of  flattery,  nor  diverted 
from  liis  purposes  by  the  terror  of  numbers,  or  the  imposing  weight  of 
pubhc  character.  When  a  revolution,  unprecedented  in  its  kind,  had 
involved  the  European  world  in  confusion,  and  the  flame  of  war 
was  spreading  into  other  quarters  of  the  globe,  neither  the  insidious 
attempts  of  the  emissaries  of  France,  nor  the  treacherous  arts  of  her 
American  adherents,  could  induce  him  to  hazard  our  quiet.  Though 
himself  a  soldier,  and  equal  to  the  emergencies  of  war,  he  perceived 
not  only  the  true  interests  of  his  country,  but  justice  and  humanity, 
enjoined  a  continuance  of  peace.  He  therefore  wisely  adjusted  the 
misunderstandings  which  threatened  our  tranquillity,  and  resolved  on 
a  strict  neutrality.  Our  own  experience,  and  the  events  which  have 
since  transpired  in  other  countries,  have  fully  justified  the  measure. 
Yet,  strange  to  tell,  disappointed  faction,  despairing  of  success  in  an 
impeachment  of  his  discernment  or  understanding,  has  dared  here  to 
arraign  the  purity  of  his  motives.  Circumstances  seem  to  have  placed 
him  beyond  the  j.'each  of  suspicion.  His  wealth  was  more  than  suf- 
ficient for  all  the  purposes  of  splendid  enjoyment ;  he  had  no  posterity 
to  inherit  hereditary  honors ;  and  he  was  surely  too  wise  not  to  know 
that  a  crown  would  tarnish  his  glory, —  that  his  own  reputation  was 
inseparably  connected  with  the  prosperity  of  his  country, —  that  his 
fame  would  mount  no  higher  than  her  eagle  could  soar.  What  more 
than  he  possessed  could  ambition  pant  for?  What  further  had  the 
world  to  bestow  1  *  *  *  *  Animated  with  a  generous  philan- 
thropy, our  deceased  brother  early  sought  admission  into  our  ancient 
and  honorable  fraternity,  at  once  to  enable  him  to  cherish  with  advan- 
tage this  heavenly  principle,  and  enlarge  the  sphere  of  its  operation. 
He  cultivated  our  art  with  sedulous  attention,  and  never  lost  an 
opportunity  of  advancing  the  interest  or  promoting  the  honor  of  the 


300  THE  HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

craft.  "While  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  Revolutionary 
army,  he  countenanced  the  establishment  and  encouraged  the  labors 
of  a  travelling  lodge  among  the  mihtary.  He  "wisely  considered  it  as 
a  school  of  urbanity,  well  calculated  to  disseminate  those  mild  virtues 
of  the  heart  so  ornamental  to  the  human  character,  and  so  peculiarly 
useful  to  correct  the  ferocity  of  soldiers,  and  alleviate  the  miseries  of 
war.  The  cares  of  his  high  office  engrossed  too  much  of  his  time 
to  admit  of  his  engaging  in  the  duties  of  the  chair ;  yet  he  found 
frequent  opportunities  to  visit  the  lodge,  and  thought  it  no  derogation 
from  his  dignity  there  to  stand  on  a  level  with  the  brethren.  True  to 
our  principles  on  all  occasions,  an  incident  once  occurred  which  enabled 
him  to  display  their  influence  to  his  foes.  A  body  of  American  troops, 
in  some  successful  rencounter  with  the  enemy,  possessed  themselves, 
among  other  booty,  of  the  jewels  and  furniture  of  a  British  travelling 
lodge  of  Masons.  This  property  was  directed  by  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  be  returned,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  its  former  proprietors, 
accompanied  with  a  message,  purporting  that  the  Americans  did  not 
make  war  upon  institutions  of  benevolence." 

We  find  a  highly  independent  and  dignified  passage  in  the  oration 
of  Mr.  Eigelow,  pronounced  for  the  Washington  Benevolent  Society, 
that  deserves  to  be  perpetuated  :  "  Thanks  be  to  God,  we  still  retain 
the  right  of  expressing  our  opinions  !  Nor  will  we  ever  surrender  it- 
It  is  our  inheritance.  For  let  it  be  remembered  that  our  ancestors, 
from  the  moment  of  their  first  landing  on  these  shores,  were  always 
free ;  that  their  resistance  to  Great  Britain  was  not  so  much  the 
effect  of  actual  sufiering,  as  of  apprehension  of  approaching  danger. 
It  was  not  the  resistance  of  slaves,  but  of  those  who  were  determined 
never  to  become  such.  It  is  proverbial,  in  our  country,  that  Boston 
is  the  cradle  of  liberty.  It  is  not  so  much  her  cradle  as  her  asylum  ; 
not  so  much  her  place  of  nurture  as  her  citadel.  If  this  were  her 
birth-place,  she  must  have  been  produced  at  once,  as  INIinerva  is  said 
to  have  sprung  forth  from  the  brain  of  Jupiter,  full-grown  and  com- 
plete in  armor.  Except  a  short  exile  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolution,  this  always  was.  and  I  trust  always  will  be,  her  favorite 
abode." 

Col.  Timothy,  the  father  of  Hon.  Timothy  Bigclow,  married  Anna 
Andrews,  of  Worcester,  an  orphan,  July  7, 1762.  He  was  an  intrepid 
adherent  of  the  cause  of  the  Revolution ;  and,  after  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington, with  the  assistance  of  General  Warren,  effected  the  removal 


TIMOTHY  BIGELOW.  301 

of  the  printing-press  and  the  materials  of  the  printing-office  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Spy,  a  decided  Whig  paper,  conducted  by  Isaiah  Thomas, 
founder  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  incorporated  in  1812. 
They  were  conveyed  across  Charles  River  to  Lechmere  Point,  thence 
to  Worcester,  and  deposited  in  the  dwelling-house  of  Col.  Bigelow, 
where  the  operations  of  this  patriot  paper  were  boldly  executed. 
During  the  Revolution,  many  towns  voted  that  they  would  have  no 
slaves ;  and  it  is  related  of  Col.  Bigelow,  that,  Avhen  solicited  to  make 
sale  of  a  slave  whom  he  owned,  he  replied  that,  "while  fighting  for 
liberty,  he  would  never  be  guilty  of  selling  slaves."  Col.  Bigelow,  then 
a  major,  was  captured  in  the  attack  on  Quebec,  when  Montgomery 
was  killed.  In  1777  he  became  a  colonel  in  the  continental  army, 
and  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne.  He  was  active  at  Saratoga, 
Valley  Forge,  and  West  Point.  After  the  war,  he  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  national  arsenal  at  Springfield,  and  died  jNIarch 
31,  1790,  aged  51. 

Hon.  Timothy  Bigelow,  the  second  child  of  six  children,  was  born  at 
Worcester,  April  80,  1767.  His  elementary  education  was  at  the 
public  school  of  his  native  town ;  but  the  perils  of  the  war  suspending 
school  operations,  he  entered  the  oflSce  of  Thomas'  Spy,  Avhere  he  was 
occupied  during  two  years,  in  which  period  Benjamin  Russell  was  also 
employed  in  the  same  office.  In  1778  he  became  a  puj^il  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Pope,  of  Spencer,  and  was  finally  prepared  for  college  under 
the  care  of  Hon.  Samuel  Dexter.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1786,  and  on  commencement  day  he  took  part  in  a  forensic  dispute, 
whether  religious  disputation  promotes  the  interest  of  true  piety. 
Mr.  Bigelow  engaged  in  the  study  of  law,  under  the  guidance  of  Levi 
Lincoln,  senior,  at  Worcester.  Previous  to  entering  college,  he  first 
engaged  in  classical  studies  under  the  care  of  Benjamin,  son  of  Gen. 
Benjamin  Lincoln,  of  Hingham.  Among  his  fellow-companions  pre- 
paring for  the  bar,  were  Judge  Edward  Bangs,  Joseph  Dennie,  the 
essayist,  and  Theophilus  Wheeler.  The  insurrection  of  Shays  occur- 
ring in  1786,  these  young  patriots  threw  aside  Blackstone  and  the  dry 
study  of  law,  and  shouldered  their  muskets,  and  marched  to  Petersham 
as  volunteers,  to  thwart  the  treasonable  designs  of  the  reckless  rebels, 
who  were  soon  defeated.  In  1789  Mr.  Bigelow  entered  on  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Groton,  in  INIassachusetts.  In  1806  he  removed  to 
Medford,  and  practised  law  in  Boston.  He  was  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture during  more  than  twenty  years.  He  was  Speaker  of  the  House 
26 


302  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

during  eleven  years.  He  was  a  State  Senator  during  four  years,  and 
of  the  Executive  Council  during  two  years. 

In  the  popular  period  of  Freemasonry,  Mr.  Bigelow  presided  during 
two  triennial  terms  at  the  head  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts ; 
and,  in  that  capacity,  with  a  splendid  escort  of  craftsmen,  in  the  yeaj* 
1808,  made  a  journey  to  Portland,  for  the  instalment  of  officers  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maine.  He  was  a  member  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  vice-president  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society.  He  was  an  originator  of  the  institution  of  Middlesex  Hus- 
bandmen. His  devoted  taste  for  horticulture  prompted  him  to  adopt  a 
tasteful  plan  of  ornamental  gardening  around  his  mansion  at  Medford, 
which  his  social  spirit  made  the  seat  of  hospitahty,  and  where  were 
exhibited  domestic  virtues  rendering  his  society  as  desirable  as  his 
public  career  was  eminent.  He  was  profoundly  endowed  with  a  knowl- 
edge of  theology,  and  was  so  well  versed  in  Greek  and  Hebrew  as  to 
easily  read  the  Scriptures  in  the  original  languages. 

In  a  period  of  political  excitement,  when  an  anonymous  writer  in 
Dr.  Park's  Repertory  was  pouring  out  his  political  philippics,  inflaming 
the  whole  State,  INIr.  Bigelow,  having  a  great  desire  to  know  who  he 
was,  proceeded  to  the  printing-office,  where  he  remarked  that  he  was 
somewhat  familiar  with  case-work,  and  requested  leave  to  try  his 
hand ;  on  which,  some  manuscript  copy  was  passed  to  him,  when, 
seizing  the  composing-stick,  he  set  up  several  lines,  and  immediately 
recognizing  the  hand-writing  as  that  of  the  famous  John  Lowell,  he 
quitted  the  office,  rejoiced  at  the  discovery. 

There  are  those  hvdng  who  remember  the  eminent  position  sustained 
by  Mr.  Bigelow,  both  in  law  and  politics.  They  have  not  forgotten 
the  manly  dignity  which  he  sustained  in  presiding  over  the  Legisla- 
ture of  the  State ;  nor  of  his  remarkable  memory,  which  enabled  him 
to  call  all  the  seven  hundred  members  of  that  house  by  name,  on  the 
second  day  after  they  had  assembled ;  nor  the  unexampled  influence 
which  he  exercised  over  that  body  during  sessions  of  intense  political 
excitement.  They  may  be  able  to  repeat  a  few  of  his  brilliant  sayings 
and  admirable  repartees ;  but  this  is  all  that  can  now  be  related  of  his 
wit,  which  ever  shone  at  the  bar  and  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  and 
enlivened  the  social  banquet,  for  which  he  was  not  excelled  by  any  of 
his  associates,  of  whom  were  Strong,  Gore,  Dexter,  and  Otis.  A  few 
printed  orations  are  all  that  inform  the  present  day  of  the  clear 
reason,  strong  logic,  and  fervid  eloquence,  which  marked  the  advocate 


TIMOTHY    BIGELOW.  303 

and  the  politician,  and  wliicli  rendered  his  control  over  juries  and 
popular  gatherings  almost  unbounded.  His  exordium  on  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  in  his  oration  on  Samuel  Pana,  is  worthy  of  a  divine. 
It  should  be  stated,  moreover,  that  several  of  his  speeches  and  reports 
are  to  be  found  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  and  may  still  be  read  by  men 
of  taste  with  applause  who  embrace  his  political  views,  and  with 
veneration  by  his  opponents.  Some  of  those  who  loved  him  best  can 
declare  how  honorable  was  his  legal  and  political  course,  and  how 
scrupulous  he  was  in  observing  the  duties  of  religion.  But  these 
memorials  are  all  that  can  be  gathered  of  this  eminent  civilian ;  and 
before  many  of  these  have  faded  away,  a  learned  scion  of  the  stock, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Bigelow,  would  perform  a  great  public  service  by  fath- 
ering memoirs  and  remains  of  his  venerated  father,  embracing  orations, 
political  speeches,  and  legal  arguments  that  he  has  delivered,  to  be 
pubhshed  in  a  permanent  form. 

Mr.  Bigelow  was  a  ready  speaker,  and  during  a  practice  of  thirty- 
two  years  he  argued  more  cases  than  any  one  of  the  profession  in  New 
England.  Possessing  rai*e  wit,  as  we  have  said,i,  and  force  of  argu- 
ment, with  fluent  narrative  powers,  his  society  was  endeared  to  all  that 
knew  him.  His  figure  was  tall,  and  courtesy  graced  his  manners. 
He  was  an  ardent  friend  of  the  old  Federal  party>  His  oration  for 
the  Washington  Benevolent  Society  is  one  of  the  best  specimens  of 
political  spirit  in  that  burning  period.  He  was  an  honored  member 
of  the  greatly-defamed  Hartford  Convention.  May  our  country  ever 
have  such  men  as  Cabot,  Otis,  Bliss,  Dane,  Prescott,  and  Bigelow, — 
not  forgetting  Baylies,  Thomas,  Waldo,  Lyman,  Wilde,  and  Longfel- 
low !  The  gathering  of  this  venerable  convocation  was  the  principal 
means  of  hastening  the  peace  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  contest 
advanced  the  glory  of  the  nation, 

Mr.  Bigelow  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Judge  Oliver  Prescott,  of 
Groton,  September,  1791.  His  children  were,  Katharine,  who  mar- 
ried Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James.  Rev. 
Dr.  Andrew,  formerly  of  Medford  and  Taunton,  minister  at  large  for 
Boston,  and  author  of  Leaves  of  a  Journal  in  North  Britain  and 
Ireland,  also  Notes  of  Travels  in  Sicily  and  Malta;  whose  life  of 
philanthropy  will  sweeten  his  last  days.  Hon.  John  Prescott,  for- 
merly Secretary  of  State,  of  the  Executive  Council,  and  Blayor  of 
Boston,  elected  in  1849.  When  at  the  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall,  on 
the  centennial  celebration  of  the  settlement  of  Boston,  September  17, 


804  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

1830,  Mayor  Bigelow  gave  the  forthcoming  sentiment:  "The  two 
most  celebrated  cradles  in  history. —  the  cradle  of  Hercules,  and  this 
old  Cradle  of  Liberty  :  Both  memorable  for  the  energy  of  their  infant 
occupants  in  resisting  the  emissaries  of  oppression."  Edward,  a 
brother  beloved,  who  died  in  1838  ;  Francis,  a  merchant  of  Boston ; 
and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  married  Henry  Stevens,  Esq.,  a 
merchant  of  New  York.  Hon.  Timothy  Bigelow  died  in  Medford, 
May  18,  1821. 


JOHN   DAVIS. 


FEB.  19,  1800.     EULOGY  ON  WASHINGTON.     FOR  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY 
OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 

Was  born  at  Plymouth,  Jan.  25, 1761.  Graduated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1781 ;  and  when  he  took  his  degree,  his  theme  was  a  poem  on 
"  Commencetnent."  He  became  teacher  in  the  family  of  Gen.  Joseph 
Otis,  a  brother  of  the  patriot.  He  prepared  for  the  bar  under  the 
direction  of  Benjamin,  a  son  of  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  and  com- 
pleted under  Oakes  Angier,  Esq.,  of  Bridgewater.  He  married  Ellen 
Watson,  June  7,  1786,  and  was  elected  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention 
on  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution  in  1788,  and  last  of  the 
sur\dvors.  Was  a  senator  for  Plymouth  county  in  1795,  and  a 
Comptroller  of  the  United  States  Treasury  in  1795.  Was  appointed 
by  Washington  U.  S.  District  Attorney  for  Massachusetts.  In  1801 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Adams  a  judge  of  the  U.  S.  District 
Court  for  this  State.  Was  counsellor  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences,  and  member  of  that  institution,  and  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  from  their  foundation.  Judge  Davis  was 
treasurer  of  Harvard  University,  member  of  the  corporation  and  board 
of  overseers  of  that  college,  and  member  of  the  N.  E.  Genealogical 
Historical  Society.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  JNIassachusetts 
convention  on  revising  the  State  constitution,  in  1820.  He  devised 
the  city  seal,  with  this  inscription,  adopted  by  Boston  on  its  incorpora- 
tion, Feb.  23,  1822 :  ''•  As  with  our  fathers,  so  may  God  be  with  us." 
Judge  Davis  resigned  his  station  as  district  judge  of  U.  S.  Court, 


JOHN  DAVIS.  805 

July,  1841,  on  which  occasion  he  said  to  the  court,  "  It  is  painful  to 
employ  the  solemn  word  dissolved.  Our  official  connection  will  cease ; 
but  reciprocal  esteem  and  good-will  will,  I  trust,  remain  in  continued 
exercise."  Judge  Davis  was  present  at  the  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall  on 
the  centennial  celebration  of  the  settlement  of  Boston,  on  which  occasion 
he  advanced  the  following  sentiment,  "History  and  poetry, —  Black- 
stone's  spring  and  the  Pierian  spring :  '  To  keep  the  Pilgrims' 
memory  green,'  Boston  is  satisfied."  This  occurred  after  the  delivery 
of  the  oration  by  Quincy,  and  the  poem  by  Sprague. 

Judge  Davis  was  one  of  the  most  profound  antiquarians  in  New 
England.  His  learned  notes  to  Morton's  New  England  Memorial  have 
done  more  to  incite  research  into  the  history  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  than 
any  other  work.  It  created  a  new  era  in  antiquarian  lore ;  and,  had  he 
possessed  the  active  vigor  of  Camden  of  Old  England,  he  would  have 
been  his  rival  in  New  England. 

On  the  occasion  of  a  dinner  party,  at  which  Judge  Story  and  others 
eminent  in  the  legal  profession  were  present,  the  conversation  turned 
upon  the  comparative  advantages  of  the  different  periods  of  life. 
Some  preferred  for  enjoyment  youth  and  manhood ;  others  ascribed 
more  satisfactions  to  old  age.  When  the  opinion  of  Judge  Davis  was 
asked,  he  said,  with  his  usual  calm  simplicity  of  manner,  "  In  the 
warm  season  of  the  year,  it  is  my  delight  to  be  in  the  country ;  and, 
every  pleasant  evening  while  I  am  there,  I  love  to  sit  at  the  window, 
and  look  upon  some  beautiful  trees  which  grow  near  my  house.  The 
murmuring  of  the  Avind  tlirough  the  branches,  the  gentle  play  of  the 
leaves,  and  the  flickering  of  light  upon  them  when  the  moon  is  up,  fill 
me  with  indescribable  pleasure.  As  the  autumn  comes  on,  I  feel  very 
sad  to  see  these  leaves  falling,  one  by  one  ;  but  when  they  are  all  gone, 
I  find  that  they  were  only  a  screen  before  my  eyes  ;  for  I  experience 
a  new  and  higher  satisfaction,  as  I  gaze  through  the  naked  branches  at 
the  glorious  stars  beyond." 

The  following  version  of  Judge  Davis'  sentiment  on  the  autumn  of 
life,  is  from  the  hand  of  Allen  C.  Spooner,  Esq. : 

"  Before  my  door,  in  summer's  heat, 

Proudly  the  elms  their  branches  spread  ; 
Cool  verdure  sprang  beneath  my  feet. 

And  shadows  played  around  my  head  ; 
Joyful  I  passed  the  sultry  hours. 
And  mocked  the  sun's  meiidian  power. 

26* 


306  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

"  But  when,  with  withei'mg  hand,  the  frost 
Shrivelled  the  leaves,  and,  gaunt  and  bare, 

Their  naked  arms  the  elm-trees  tossed, 
AVhile  autumn  tempests  rent  the  air, 

I  mourned  the  summer's  glories  fled, 

And  copious  tears  of  sadness  shed. 

"  When  winter  came,  and,  cold  and  still, 
The  ice-king  forged  his  frozen  chain, 
And  over  snow-clad  vale  and  hill 

Midnight  assumed  her  solemn  reign. 
Forth-looking  from  my  window-bars. 
Through  the  stripped  limbs  I  saw  the  stars. 

*'  Thus  earthly  loves,  like  summer  leaves, 
Gladden,  but  intercept  our  view  ; 
But  when  bereft,  the  spirit  grieves. 

And  hopes  are  crushed,  and  comforts  few. 
Lo  !  in  the  depth  of  sorrow's  night 
Beams  forth  from  far  celestial  light." 

Judge  Davis  once  said:  "In  the  happy  country  wliich  -we  inhabit, 
Ave  find  from  its  earliest  history  principles  of  polity  and  rules  of  conduct 
have  prevailed  that  give  it  an  honorable  rank  among  the  nations,  and 
to  which  our  unexampled  growth  and  prosperity  must,  in  a  degree,  be 
ascribed.  In  its. infant  condition,  a  sober  regard  to  the  happiness  of 
men,  through  the  whole  of  their  existence,  distinguished  its  illustrious 
founders.  Their  scrupulous  care  to  render  satisfaction  for  a  scanty  por- 
tion of  grain  which  the  erratic  savage  had  left  buried  in  the  sand  mani- 
fests their  delicate  regard  to  justice.  And  when  we  follow  a  Winslow 
travelling  through  the  wilderness  to  visit  the  sick  sachem  Masassoit, 
we  behold  an  amiable  example  of  that  mercy  which  droppeth  as  the 
gentle  dew  from  heaven.  'Faithful  to  ourselves,'  said  the  revered 
Washington,  '  we  have  violated  no  obligations  to  others.'  "  In  allu- 
sion to  the  spirit  of  American  social  polity,  Judge  Davis  remarked,  at 
another  time,  "  Onward,  ever  onward,  more  majorwn  in  the  march 
of  improvement  and  advancement  of  human  happiness." 

How  inexpressibly  beautiful  was  his  own  estimation  of  old  age  ! 
Simplicity  and  truthfulness,  says  Dr.  Francis,  were  essential  elements 
of  his  whole  being.  No  provocation  could  tempt  him  to  be  unjust  to 
any  person  or  subject.  The  evenness  of  his  mind  and  the  serenity  of 
his  spirit  had  a  sedative  effect  on  the  rufBed  feelings  of  others.  The 
very  atmosphere  of  his  presence  was  a  restraint  on  impetuosity.  He 
died  Jan.  14,  1847. 


JOSEPH    HALL.  307 

JOSEPH   HALL. 

JULY  i,  1800.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Joseph  Hall  was  born  April  26, 1761,  in  Portland-street,  Boston . 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1781 ;  student  at  law  with  Col. 
Benjamin  Hicliborn,  and  married  Anna  Adams  in  1787 ;  he  married 
a  second  time,  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Ellis  Gray.  On  the  evening  of 
the  march  of  the  British  regulars  upon  Lexington  and  Concord,  he 
was  despatched  by  his  father  to  Roxbury,  in  order  to  convey  intelli- 
gence to  General  Warren  of  the  intended  attack.  His  father  had 
learned  at  that  early  period  the  purpose  for  which  the  troops  were 
mustering,  through  a  domestic  in  the  family,  who  was  intimate  with 
one  of  the  nurses  employed  in  the  military  hospital  near  the  family 
residence,  in  Portland-street.  Li  1786  Mr.  Hall  was  an  aid  to  Major 
Geijeral  Brooks,  in  Shays'  Insurrection.  In  1788  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company.  He  was  a  Boston 
representative.  In  1818  he  was  appointed  High  Sheriff  of  Suffolk. 
In  1825  he  succeeded  Judge  Dawes  as  judge  of  Suffolk  Probate, 
which  station  he  resigned  in  1836.  Judge  Hall  died  April  15, 
1848. 

A  prominent  feature  in  the  character  of  Judge  Hall  was  a  manly 
and  decided  honesty,  which  was  exhibited  in  a  striking  incident.  ^  The 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  conducted  by  John  Jay,  was,  like  the 
Mexican  treaty  of  1847,  surreptitiously  disclosed  previous  to  its 
confirmation  in  the  Senate.  This  treaty  .was  at  first  violently  con- 
tested. In  Boston  opposition  to  it  was  decided.  On  the  10th  of  July, 
1795,  a  town-meeting  was  held  at  Boston,  and,  amid  universal  enthu- 
siasm, a  vote  was  passed  appointing  a  committee  to  report  objections  to 
the  articles  of  the  treaty,  that  the  same  may  be  returned  to  President 
Washington.  This  committee  reported  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  held 
July  13  ;  and,  according  to  the  town  records,  this  report  was  unani- 
mously accepted.  The  record  is  not  strictly  correct.  One  person 
had  the  firmness  to  oppose  their  measures, —  and  that  man  was  Joseph 
Hall.  The  Rev.  S.  K.  Lothrop,  his  last  pastor,  states  that  he 
received  the  facts  from  his  own  lips.  Mr.  Hall  stood  in  the  gallery  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  and,  before  the  question  was  put,  addressed  the  audience. 
Being  at  this  time  a  young  man  of  popular  character,  and  an  energetic 


308  THE    HUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

speaker,  he  readily  gained  listening  ears;  but  the  moment  it  was 
perceived  he  intended  to  advocate  the  treaty,  in  opposition  to  their 
proposed  measures,  he  was  overwhelmed  with  groans  and  hisses.  He 
persevered,  however,  in  stating  boldly  his  arguments  for  approving  the 
treaty,  and  opposing  the  doings  of  the  town.  Mr.  Hall  concluded  his 
speech  by  reprobating  a  proceeding  which  he  said  would  have  a  tend- 
ency to  unsenatorize  the  Senate.  The  citizens,  excited  already  by  the 
publication  in  the  Chronicle,  were  frenzied  by  the  inflammatory  elo- 
quence of  Dr.  Jarvis,  the  unrivalled  declaimer  of  the  day,  who 
instantly  caught  the  expression.  "  The  gentleman,"  exclaimed  he, 
'•would  not  unsenatorize  the  Senate  :  I  will  never  consent  to  unpop- 
ularize  the  people."  Old  Faneuil  Hall  rang  with  applauding  shouts, 
and  the  measure  was  adopted  with  acclamation.  The  public  excite- 
ment was  so  strong  that  mobs  paraded  the  streets  of  Boston,  and  in 
one  of  which  was  a  riotous  procession  of  watermelon  lanterns,  with  the 
intention  of  burning  John  Jay  in  eflSgy.  Several  of  the  boys  engaged 
in  it  declared,  when  they  were  taken  into  custody,  that  Mr.  Benjamin 
Austin,  Jr.,  had  given  them  one  shilling  and  sixpence  each  to  effect 
this  design  ;  and  it  was  thus  celebrated  by  a  satirical  poet : 

"  To  acts  of  bribery  it  belongs  the  prize, 
Let  my  bold  fete  of  yesternight  suffice, 
When  half  the  school-boys  in  the  town  I  paid, 
Our  streets  in  mob-like  phalanx  to  parade, 
A  melon  lanthorn  on  a  pole  display, 
And  burn  it  for  an  effigy  of  Jay." 

In  less  than  one  year  from  that  time, —  on  the  27th  of  April,  1796, 
—  Mr,  Hall  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  another  town-meeting, 
so  densely  crowded  that  it  was  necessary  to  adjourn  from  Faneuil  Hall 
to  the  Old  South  Church,  at  which,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of 
an  eloquent  speech  delivered  by  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  it  was  voted, 
almost  unanimously,  to  address  a  memorial  to  Congress,  urging  that 
body  to  make  the  necessary  appropriations  to  fulfil  the  stipulations  of 
the  treaty.  The  memorial  was  signed  by  thirteen  hundred  citizeas  of 
Boston.  At  this  final  meeting  the  rolling  thunder  of  Jarvis  was 
again  heard ;  but  a  new  and  bright  planet  blazed  through  the  darkness, 
and  dispelled  the  clouds.  Harrison  Gray  Otis  for  the  first  time  came 
before  the  people  on  a  political  question ;  and  they,  to  their  admiration, 
discovered  that  the  talent  of  popular  eloquence  was  not  a  monopoly. 


JOSEPH   HALL.  309 

Bishop  Cheverus,  afterwards  a  cardinal,  in  the  rapture  of  his  admira- 
tion, threw  his  arms  around  Otis,  and  while  tears  were  streaming  down 
his  cheeks,  exclaimed,  "Future  generations,  young  man,  will  rise  up 
and  call  thee  blessed  !  " 

Dr.  Charles  Jarvis  was  one  of  the  greatest  orators  that  ever  con- 
trolled the  people  in  Faneuil  Hall.  He  was  both  vehement  and  ardent ; 
and  when  he  went  over  to  the  Jacobin  party,  the  Boston  political  poet 
thus  apostrophized,  in  the  Federal  Orrery  of  1T95,  edited  by  Paine: 

"  IMucli  I  regret  from  power  thy  forced  retreat, 
By  Ames  out-voted,  and  by  Woodward  beat ; 
Was  it  for  this,  before  the  listening  throng. 
You  poured  the  patriot  torrent  of  your  tongue  ? 

*  *  *  * 

Then  shall  thy  sons,  oh  goddess,  never  more 
From  anti-Federal  throats  their  voices  pour. 
Your  warmest  friends  will  suffer  fresh  defeat, 
And  Ames,  your  bitterest  foe,  retain  his  seat  ; 
On  our  whole  corps  contempt  and  scandal  fall, 

And  universal  ruin  whelm  us  all, 

ff 

*  *  *  * 

Yet  to  thyself,  regretted  Charles,  return, — 

Bid  that  warm  heart  with  nobler  passions  burn  ; 

With  conscious  pride  those  twining  weeds  disclaim. 

That  kill  the  laurels  of  thy  former  fame." 

The  candidate  for  Congress,  in  opposition  to  Fisher  Ames,  besides 
Samuel  Adams,  was  Charles  Jarvis,  who,  it  is  said,  forsook  the  old 
Federal  party,  and  became  a  leader  of  the  Jefferson  party, —  an  orator 
of  tall,  fine  person,  expression  and  voice ;  fluent,  accurate  and  grace- 
ful, in  oratory ;  with  a  head  bald,  and  face  rather  large,  beautifully 
shaped,  an  aquiline  nose,  small,  piercing  eyes,  and  remarkably  express- 
ive countenance.  He  was  characterized  by  Gardiner  as  the  Bald 
Eagle  of  the  Boston  seat. 

Dr.  Jarvis  was  accustomed  to  pause  in  his  eloquence,  when  he  had 
said  something  which  he  thought  impressive,  and  to  look  round  upon 
his  audience  for  the  effect ;  and  he  never  seemed  to  fail  of  success.  It 
is  said  that,  in  early  life,  he  was  one  of  a  party  given  to  fox-hunt- 
ing and  cock-fighting ;  and,  meeting  a  friend  shortly  previous  to  an 
evening  lecture,  who  inquired  if  he  should  attend  there,  Jarvis 
replied  that  he  did  not  know  that  he  should  be  ready  in  season.  On 
this,  a  game-cockj  which  he  had  concealed  under  his  cloak,  most  lustily 


310  THE    nUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

crowed,  to  the  surprise  of  liis  friend,  who  was  satisfied  that  his  mind 
Avas  unfitted  for  devotion  at  that  time. 

He  was  born  in  Boston  in  1748,  and  married  the  sister  of  Sir  William 
Pepperell ;  was  appointed  by  Jefferson  surgeon  to  the  INlarine  Hospital 
at  Charlestown  ;  in  1788  was  a  delegate  to  the  Massachusetts  convention, 
and  was  of  the  State  Legislature  until  1796.  Dr.  Jarvis  was  elected 
president  of  the  Society  of  Republican  Citizens,  gathered  at  the  State- 
house  July  4, 1803,  on  which  occasion  he  gave  this  sentiment :  "  May 
the  light  of  Heaven  disappear,  before  the  people  of  this  country  shall 
cease  to  be  free."  This  was  probably  the  first  democratic  society  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  was  of  ready  conception  and  acute  penetration,  highly 
popular,  until  his  opinions  on  Jay's  Treaty  and  the  French  Revolution 
left  him  in  the  minority.  Dr.  Jarvis,  in  the  last  days  of  his  existence, 
when  he  had  given  up  all  hopes  of  life,  remarked,  with  composure, 
that  he  should  not  die  hke  a  certain  French  philosopher,  who  boasted 
that  he  died  without  hope  and  without  fear ;  for,  though  he  should  die 
without  fear,  he  should  not  die  without  hope.  Benjamin  Austin  said 
of  Charles  Jarvis,  that  he  was  a  Demosthenes  in  eloquence,  a  Cato  in 
integrity,  a  Howard  in  philanthropy,  and  a  Sidney  in  patriotism.  It 
is  said  of  Jarvis  in  the  poem  "  The  Demos  in  Council "  : 

"  A  fairer  intellect,  more  active  mind, 
Warped  not  from  truth  and  government ; 
For  Lis  tongue  dropt  manna,  and  could  sometimes 
Make  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason." 


CHARLES   PAINE. 

JULY   4,  ISOl.    FOR   THE   TOWN   AUTHORiriES. 

Charles  Paine  was  a  son  of  Hon.  Robert  Treat  Paine,  and  born 
at  Taunton,  Aug.  30,  1776 ;  entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1782 ; 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1793,  when  he  engaged  in  a  con- 
ference on  the  comparative  advantages  which  have  resulted  to  mankind 
from  the  mariner's  compass,  gunpowder,  and  the  art  of  printing  ;  was 
a  counsellor-at-law,  a  partner  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  and  married 
Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Brig.  Gen.  Charles  Gushing,  clerk  of  the  Suffolk 


WILLIAM   EMERSON.  311 

courts.  He  delivered  an  address  for  the  Massachusetts  Charitable 
Fire  Society,  in  1808.  Mr.  Paine  was  a  young  man  of  great  powers 
of  wit  and  force  of  character.  Had  he  not  died  in  early  life,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  he  would  have  risen  to  eminence.  He  died  in 
Boston,  Feb.  15,  1810. 


WILLIAM   EMERSON. 

JULY  4,  1802.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

"The  dust  of  Zion,"  says  Emerson,  "was  precious  to  the  exiled 
Jew,  and  in  her  very  stones  and  ruins  he  contemplated  the  resurrec- 
tion of  her  walls,  and  the  augmented  magnificence  of  her  towers.  A 
new  glory,  too,  shall  yet  overspread  our  beloved  constitution.  The 
guardian  God  of  America  —  he  who  heard  the  groans  of  her  oppression, 
and  led  her  hosts  to  victory  and  peace  —  has  still  an  ear  for  her  com- 
plaints, and  an  arm  for  her  salvation.  That  confidence  in  liis  care 
which  consists  in  steadfastness  to  his  eternal  statutes  will  dispel  the 
clouds  which  darken  her  hemisphere. 

"  Ye,  therefore,  to  whom  the  welfare  of  your  country  is  dear,  unite  in 
the  preservation  of  the  Christian,  scientific,  political,  and  military  insti- 
tutions of  your  fathers.  This  high  tribute  is  due  to  those  venerable 
sages  who  established  this  Columbian  festival,  to  the  surviving  officers 
and  soldiers  of  that  army  which  secured  your  rights  with  the  sword,  and 
to  the  memory  of  their  departed  brethren.  You  owe  it  to  the  ashes  of 
him  who,  whether  considered  as  a  man  among  men,  or  an  hero  among 
heroes,  will  command  the  love  and  admiration  of  every  future  age. 
Yes,  immortal  Washington  !  amidst  all  the  rancor  of  party  and  war  of 
opinions,  we  will  remember  thy  dying  voice,  which  was  raised  against 
the  madness  of  innovation :  '  We  will  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and 
immovable  attachment  to  our  national  union,  accustoming  ourselves 
to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  the  palladium  of  our  political  safety  and 
prosperity.'  You  owe  it  to  his  great  successor,  who  has  now  carried 
into  retirement  the  sublime  and  delightful  consciousness  of  having  been 
an  everlasting  benefactor  to  his  country.  Enjoy,  illustrious  man,  both 
here  and  hereafter,  the  recompense  of  the  wise  and  good  !  And  may 
the  principles  of  free  government  which  you  have  developed,  and  the 


312  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

constitutions  which  you  have  defended,  continue  the  pride  of  America, 
until  the  earth,  palsied  with  age,  shall  shake  the  mountains  from  their 
bases,  and  empty  her  oceans  into  the  immensity  of  space !  You  owe 
it  to  the  civil  fathers  of  this  commonwealth,  and  in  particular  to  him 
who,  thrice  raised  to  its  highest  dignity,  watches  over  its  immunities 
with  painful  diligence,  and  governs  it  with  unrivalled  wisdom,  modera- 
tion, and  clemency.  You  owe  it,  in  fine,  Americans,  to  yourselves,  to 
your  posterity  and  to  mankind." 

William  Emerson  was  son  of  Rev.  Wilham  Emerson,  of  Concord, 
Mass.,  who  left  his  church  in  1776  to  serve  as  chaplain  in  the  army  at 
Ticonderoga;  and  was  horn  at  Concord,  May,  1769;  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College  in  1789,  when  he  engaged  in  a  colloquy  on  the  compara- 
tive value  of  riches,  knowledge,  and  refinement  of  manners ;  was 
installed  as  pastor  of  the  church  in  Harvard,  1792,  and  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston,  in  1799.  He  was  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  orator  in  1789.  In  1805  he  was  elected  the  first  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Literary  Anthology  Club,  and  was  editor  of  the  IMonthly 
Anthology.  It  was  on  his  motion,  seconded  by  Wilham  Smith  Shaw, 
the  vote  to  establish  a  library  of  periodical  pubhcations  was  adopted  by 
the  society ;  and  this  was  the  fii'st  step  towards  the  establishment  of  the 
Boston  Athenaeum.  Mr.  Emerson  prepared  a  history  of  the  First 
Church  in  Boston,  a  work  which  will  ever  identify  him  with  antiqua- 
rian research.  He  published  several  occasional  discourses,  and  died 
May  11,  1811. 

He  was  a  devoted  student,  and  of  chaste  classical  taste,  both  in  com- 
position and  rhetoric,  and  was  a  graceful  and  dignified  speaker.  The 
sweetness  of  his  demeanor,  being  attended  with  general  courtesy,  was 
a  ready  passport  to  the  heart.  Though  he  had  not  the  fervor  that 
rouses  the  many,  or  the  originality  to  overpower  the  few,  the  elegance 
of  his  style,  united  to  his  natural  equanimity  and  kindness  of  heart, 
gave  him  devoted  admirers.  He  married  Ruth  Haskins,  of  Boston, 
Oct.  25,  1796.  His  son,  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  formerly  pastor  of 
the  Second  Church  in  Boston,  is  an  ingenious  writer,  of  peculiar  fame. 


WILLIAM   SULLIVAN.  313 

WILLIAM   SULLIVAN. 

JULY  4,  1803.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

"  The  evils  which  are  said  to  menace  our  happiness,"  remarks  Sul- 
livan, ''are  attributed  to  the  monarchical  and  aristocratical  tendencies 
of  our  government  on  the  one  part,  and  to  its  democratical  prepon- 
derance on  the  other.  We  are  told  that  there  are  men  among  us  who 
covet  distinctions  incompatible  with  the  general  welfare, —  distinctions 
which  will  require  the  radiance  of  monarchy  and  the  force  of  obedient 
legions  to  cherish  and  support  them.  The  throne,  it  is  said,  must  first 
be  estabhshed,  because  it  is  the  fountain  of  honor,  whence  is  to  flow  the 
stream  which  is  to  render  its  partakers  illustrious  and  noble.  A  throne 
could  be  established  only  by  the  will  of  the  people,  or  by  military 
power.  Who  will  be  mad  enough  to  expect  such  a  will  amongst  people 
who  possess  the  best  information,  and  to  whom  death  and  dependence 
have  equal  terrors  1  And  whence  do  the  plottings  of  turpitude,  or  the 
dreams  of  imbecility,  pretend  to  gather  that  force  which  is  to  vanquish 
a  people  who  have  arms  in  their  hands,  and  whose  hearts  are  the 
dwellings  of  valor  1 

"  It  is  often  repeated,  that  aristocrats  will  raise  the  storm  of  civil 
discord,  and  will  direct  its  course  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  designs. 
Can  it  be  seriously  pretended  that  men,  who  must  be  allowed  to  have 
some  understanding, —  men  who  must  know  something  of  the  history 
of  their  species, —  men  to  whom  are  secured,  by  the  admired  results 
of  legislation,  their  patrimonial  possessions  and  their  fruits  of  industry, 
—  men  who  enjoy  all  thJit  hfe  can  give, —  will  court  the  bloodiest  con- 
flicts, and  hazard  everything  dear  to  them,  to  obtain  an  empty  titular 
distinction  ?  They  who  tell  us  that  such  distinctions  are  pursued  seek 
to  deceive  us.  They  do  not  tell  the  truth.  Well  do  they  know  that, 
with  whatever  ma1;erials  and  by  whatever  hands  the  fabric  of  nobility 
may  "be  raised,  it  Avill  rise  only  to  fall,  and  to  crush  its  short-sighted 
founders.  The  informed  and  the  opulent  ask  only  that  their  country 
may  be  saved  from  the  horrors  of  democracy.  They  want  no  other 
nobility  than  that  which  springs  from  the  union  of  wisdom  with  good- 
ness ;  a  nobility  whose  orders  are  registered  in  heaven ;  a  nobility 
founded  by  the  Author  of  the  universe. 

"  It  is  not  from  monarchy — it  is  not  from  aristocracy — that  dangers 
27 


314  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

threaten ;  but  do  they  not  threaten  from  democracy?  In  the  affairs  of 
men  there  is  no  test  of  truth  but  experience ;  and  experience  proves  that, 
■whenever  free  governments  have  been  lost,  their  loss  is  dated  from  the 
innovations  of  those  who  pronounce  themselves  patriots  and  friends  of 
the  people.  Our  republic  is  said  to  resemble  that  of  Carthage  more 
than  any  other  of  ancient  times.  Like  us,  its  citizens  cultivated  let- 
ters, arms,  and  commerce.  It  flourished  in  remarkable  splendor  dur- 
ing five  hundred  years,  and  "was  that  power  which  opposed  the  most 
formidable  resistance  to  the  dominion  of  Rome.  The  evils  which  arose 
from  popular  turbulence  at  length  enabled  the  Romans  to  enumerate 
among  their  triumphs  the  total  destruction  of  the  Carthaginian  people. 
Such  was  the  debasement  which  preceded  their  last  days,  that  they 
were  reproached  with  having  wept  for  the  loss  of  their  jewels,  while 
the  loss  of  their  honor  and  of  their  liberties  could  not  command  a  sigh." 

William  Sullivan  was  the  second  son  of  Gov.  James  Sulhvan,  whose 
father,  John,  came  from  Ireland  in  1730,  as  passenger  in  a  ship  which 
was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  into  a  port  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  and 
settled  at  Berwick,  then  a  town  of  Massachusetts. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Saco,  in  the  District  of  Maine, 
Nov.  12,  1774;  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1781,  and  was  prepared 
for  college  under  the  instruction  of  Rev.  Pbilhps  Payson,  D.D.,  of 
Chelsea,  near  Boston ;  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1792,  at 
which  time  he  took  part  in  a  conference  on  law,  physic,  and  divinity. 
He  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  under  the  direction  of  his  father,  was 
admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar  at  the  July  term  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  in  1795,  and  married  Sarah  Webb,  a  daughter  of  Col.  James 
Swan,  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  May,  1802.  He  soon  became  an  emi- 
nent counsellor.  At  this  period,  it  was  his  habit  to  rise  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  closely  engage  in  study.  He  thus  acquired  that 
taste  for  intense  application  which  led  him  gradually  into  such  sedentary 
practice  that  .shortened  his  days.  In  the  year  1803  he  pronounced  the 
oration  on  our  national  independence  ;  and  it  is  related  that  it  effected 
such  a  strong  impression,  that  it  led  to  his  election  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1804,  and  was  afterwards  elected  to  the  Senate  and 
Executive  Council,  until  his  withdrawal  in  1830.  In  1820  Mr.  Sullivan 
was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  on  the  revision  of  the  State  constitu- 
tion, and  was  appointed  by  the  convention  to  draft  an  address  to  the 
people,  which  accompanied  the  amendments,  and  was  published  Jan.  9, 
1821.     He  was  major  of  the  Independent  Cadets,  a  member  of  the 


WILLIAM   SULLIVAN.  315 

Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  qnd  brigadier-general  of  the 
Boston  militia.  In  1812  Mr.  Sullivan  pronounced  tlie  first  oration  for 
the  Washington  Benevolent  Society ;  a  zealous  political  effort,  in  -which, 
remarking  of  Washington,  he  says  :  "If,  from  the  abode  which  his  vir- 
tues have  acquired  to  him,  he  can  behold  the  concerns  of  men, —  if  the 
hearts  of  this  assembly  are  open  to  him, —  he  sees  that  we  have  con- 
tinued to  deserve  his  praise  and  benedictions  ;  "  and,  in  1814,  he  was 
elected  president  of  this  political  institution,  which  was  opposed  to  the 
war  with  Great  Britain.  In  1815  Gen.  Sullivan,  H.  G.  Otis,  and 
Thomas  H.  Perkins,  were  appointed  by  the  State  Legislature  as  com- 
missioners to  the  government  at  Washington,  to  present  the  resolves  of 
the  State  in  relation  to  the  contest  with  Great  Britain.  Gen.  Sullivan 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  the  town  of  Boston  who  reported  a  city 
charter,  and  was  the  author  of  the  sections  on  theatrical  amusements, 
and  of  the  bill  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a  police  court.  He 
was  elected  to  the  city  Council,  on  its  institution,  in  1822.  He  was 
president  of  the  Social  Law  Library  of  Suffolk,  originated  by  Hon. 
Judge  Jackson;  and  in  1824  proposed  the  establishment  of  a  His- 
torical Law  Library.  When  Lafayette  dined  with  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society  of  Harvard  College,  August,  1824,  Gen.  Sullivan  gave  the 
sentiment  herewith :  "  Minerva,  Apollo,  and  the  Muses,  who  have  done 
themselves  so  much  honor  this  day  in  their  homage  to  Mars."  He 
was  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society.  Gen.  Sullivan  was  an  elegant  belles-lettres  scholar,  hn  accom- 
plished gentleman,  remarkable  for  bland  and  affable  manners,  and  per- 
suasive oratory.  His  eloquence  at  Faneuil  Hall  was  truly  captivating, 
but  not  of  so  masterly  stamp  as  that  of  his  compeer,  Otis.  Mr.  Sul- 
livan once  said,  "A  man  may  be  a  profound  lawyer,  yet  no  advocate; 
but  he  cannot  be  an  advocate  without  being  a  lawyer : "  and  it  may  be 
fairly  said  of  him,  that  he  united  both  qualities  in  himself;  for  his  elo- 
quence at  the  bar  and  in  political  assemblies,  and  his  sagacity  as  coun- 
sel, embodied  as  much  effective  power  as  did  his  rhetoric.  What  Justice 
Story  remarked,  in  allusion  to  Samuel  Dexter,  may  be  with  great  pro- 
priety appHed  to  William  Sullivan,  that  no  man  was  ever  more  exempt 
from  finesse  or  cunning,  in  addressing  a  jury.  He  disdained  the  little 
arts  of  sophistry  or  popular  appeal.  It  was  in  his  judgment  something 
more  degrading  than  the  sight  of  Achilles  playing  with  a  lady's  distaff. 
Mr.  Sullivan  was  about  six  feet  in  height,  and  well  formed.     He  was 


316  THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS. 

dignified  and  moderate  in  his  gait ;  and  rather  reserved  in  manners,  on 
the  first  approach,  but  very  agreeable  on  acquaintance.  His  manners 
were  those  of  olden  time,  and  would  more  deeply  wound  with  a  formal 
bow,  than  many  men,  less  dignified,  with  a  blow.  He  used  to  say  that 
dignified  civility,  founded  on  self-respect,  was  a  gentleman's  weapon 
and  defence.  He  delighted  to  have  his  family  about  him,  and  see  them 
happy.  His  son  says  of  him,  in  a  biographical  sketch  prefixed  to  an 
edition  of  his  "  Pubhc  Men  of  the  Revolution,"  published  since  his 
decease:  "Oftentimes  he  would  steal  an  hour  from  his  professional 
duties,  to  remain  after  dinner  with  his  children  at  the  table,  where 
agreeable  conversation,  song  and  anecdote,  softened  the  cold  realities  of 
life,  and  united  more  closely  the  natural  ties  of  affection,  which  bound 
his  circle  together.  He  was  attentive  to  the  education  of  his  daugh- 
ters, and  many  of  his  works  were  originally  written  with  a  particular 
view  to  theu'  instruction." 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  narrative  powers  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  we  cite 
a  reminiscence  of  Gen.  Knox,  in  which  he  was  concerned,  to  whom  we 
have  frequently  alluded.  The  son  gives  this  relation,  as  near  as  he 
can  remember,  in  Sullivan's  own  language.  "  Generals  Knox,  Lincoln 
and  Jackson,  had  been  companions  in  the  Revolution ;  had  laughed, 
eaten  and  drank,  fought  and  lived,  together,  and  were  on  the  most 
intimate  terms.  They  loved  each  other  to  a  degree  but  httle  known 
among  men  of  the  present  day.  After  the  struggle  of  the  war,  they 
retired  to  their  homes,  and  were  all  comfortable  in  their  worldly  cir- 
cumstance's, if  not  rich ;  but  Knox,  possessing  large  tracts  of  land  in 
the  State  of  Maine,  upon  the  rapid  sales  of  which  he  confidently 
relied,  imagined  himself  more  wealthy  than  he  was,  and  lived  in  luxu- 
rious style.  He  built  himself  a  superb  mansion  at  Thomaston,  Me., 
where  all  his  friends  met  with  a  cordial  welcome,  and  enjoyed  the  most 
hberal  hospitahty.  It  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  Knox  to  kill,  in 
summer,  when  great  numbers  of  friends  visited  him,  an  ox  and  twenty 
sheep  on  every  Monday  morning,  and  to  make  up  an  hundred  beds 
daily  in  his  own  house.  He  kept,  for  his  own  use  and  that  of  his 
friends,  twenty  saddle-horses,  and  several  pairs  of  carriages,  in  his  sta- 
bles. This  expensive  style  of  living  was  too  much  for  his  means,  as 
he  was  disappointed  in  the  sale  of  his  lands ;  and  he  was  forced  to  ^Dor- 
row  sums  of  money  on  the  credit  of  his  friends,  Generals  Lincoln  and 
Jackson.  He  soon  found  himself  involved  to  a  large  amount,  and  was 
obliged  to  acquaint  his  friends  of  his  embarrassments,  into  which  he 


WILLIAM  SULLIVAN.  317 

had  unfortunately  drawn  them.  Lincoln  was  at  that  time  collector  of 
the  port  of  Boston,  and  occupied  a  house  in  State-street,  now  torn 
down,  part  of  which  he  used  for  the  custom-house,  and  part  he  occu- 
pied as  his  dwelling.  It  was  agreed  that  the  three  should  meet  there, 
and  a  full  exposition  of  Knox's  affairs  be  made  known.  I  was  applied 
to  as  counsel  on  the  occasion,  and  was  the  first  one  who  came  at  the 
time  appointed.  Jackson  soon  entered ;  after  him,  Knox  ;  and  almost 
immediately,  Lincoln  came  in.  They  seated  themselves  in  a  semi- 
circle, whilst  I  took  my  place  at  the  table,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing 
up  the  necessary  papers,  and  taking  the  notes  of  this  melancholy  dis- 
closure. These  men  had  often  met  before,  but  never  in  a  moment  of 
such  sorrow.  Both  Lincoln  and  Jackson  knew  and  felt  that  Knox,  the 
kindest  heart  in  the  world,  had  unwittingly  involved  them.  They  v/ere 
all  too  full  to  speak,  and  maintained  for  some  minutes  a  sorrowful 
silence.  At  last,  as  if  moved  by  the  same  impulse,  they  raised  their 
eyes.  Their  glances  met,  and  Knox  burst  into  tears.  Soon,  however, 
Lincoln  rose,  brushed  the  tear  from  his  eye,  and  exclaimed,  '  Gentle- 
men, this  will  never  do !  We  came  hither  to  transact  business  ;  let  us 
attend  to  it.'  This  aroused  the  others,  and  Knox  made  a  full  dis- 
closure of  his  affairs.  Although  Lincoln  and  Jackson  suffered  severe 
losses,  it  never  disturbed  the  feelings  of  friendship  and  intimacy  which 
had  existed  between  these  generous-hearted  men." 

We  will  introduce  another  reminiscence  related  by  Gen.  Sullivan. 
"  Soon  after  the  war  had  been  declared,  I  chanced  to  be  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  where  I  met  with  the  Hon.  Calvin  Goddard,  of  Norwich,  Ct., 
and  with  Hon.  Jon.  Dwight,  of  Springfield,  Mass.  Gov.  Griswold,  of 
Connecticut,  was  also  at  the  hotel,  but  confined  to  his  chamber.  It 
was  the  habit  of  these  gentlemen  and  myself  to  pay  the  governor  a 
daily  visit ;  and,  when  he  announced  himself  too  ill  to  receive  us,  we 
strolled  into  the  neighboring  woods  to  talk  over  the  state  of  the  Union, 
respecting  the  welfare  and  durabihty  of  which  we  entertained  serious  and 
painful  fears.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  it  was  concluded  that  a  con- 
vention should  be  gathered  at  New  York,  during  the  following  Septem- 
ber, at  which  as  many  States  should  be  represented  as  could  be  induced 
to  send  delegates.  The  object  of  this  convention  was  to  determine 
upon  the  expediency  of  Madison's  reelection,  by  running  De  Witt 
Chnton  as  the  opposing  candidate  for  the  presidency.  Goddard  was 
intrusted  with  the  State  of  Connecticut,  Dwight  with  New  York,  and 
I  was  to  awaken  Massachusetts  to  the  importance  of  this  convention, 
27* 


318  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

while  all  three  were  to  assist  in  rousing  the  other  States.  The  conven- 
tion met  at  New  York,  September.  1812 :  and  eleven  States  were  rep- 
resented by  seventy  delegates.  The  convention  during  two  days  had 
been  unable  to  come  to  any  determination ;  and.  on  the  third  day.  were 
about  dissolving,  -ft-ithout  any  fixed  plan  of  operation.  Hon.  Rufus 
King  had  pronounced  the  most  impassioned  invective  against  Clin- 
ton, and  was  so  excited,  during  his  address,  that  his  knees  trembled 
under  him.  Governeur  Morris  doubted  much  the  expediency  of  this 
measure,  and  was  seconded  in  these  doubts  by  Theo.  Sedgwick,  as  well 
as  by  Judge  Hopkinson.  Many  of  the  members  were  desirous  of  return- 
ing to  Philadelphia  by  the  steamboat,  at  two  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  the  third 
day.  It  was  approaching  the  hour,  and  nothing  had  been  determined, 
when  Mr.  Otis  arose,  apparently  much  embarrassed,  holding  his  hat  in 
his  hand,  and  seeming  as  if  he  were  almost  sorry  he  had  arisen.  Soon 
he  warmed  with  the  subject,  his  hat  fell  from  his  hand,  and  he  poured 
forth  a  strain  of  eloquence  that  chained  all  present  to  their  seats  :  and 
when,  at  a  late  hour,  the  vote  was  taken,  it  was  almost  unanimously 
resolved  to  support  Chnton.  This  effort  was  unprepared,  but  only 
proves  how  entirely  Mr.  Otis  deserves  the  reputation  he  enjoys  of 
being  a  great  orator." 

Mr.  Sulhvan  will  ever  deserve  the  gratitude  of  the  pubhc  for  his 
excellent  moral  and  political  productions.  The  Political  Class-book 
entitles  him  to  the  reputation  of  having  first  introduced  th^  study  of 
the  nature  and  principles  of  our  government  into  the  schools  of  our 
land ;  and  he  was  promptly  followed  by  Judge  Story  and  President 
Duer,  with  works  of  like  nature.  Such  labors  are  indications  of  a 
return  to  the  days  of  Socrates  and  Plato,  of  Cicero  and  Quintilian. 
The  Moral  Class-book,  The  Historical  Class-book,  Historical  Causes 
and  Effects,  from  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  476,  to  the  Reforma- 
tion, 1517.  He  published  a  discourse,  delivered  for  the  Pilgrim  Soci- 
ety, at  Plymouth,  1829 ;  a  Discourse  on  Intemperance,  1832.  In  1837 
he  pubhshed  a  httle  treatise  on  "  Sea  Life  :  or  what  may  or  may  not 
be  done,  and  what  ought  to  be  done,  by  Shipowners,  Shipmasters, 
Mates,  and  Seamen."'  He  pubhshed  a  highly  antiquarian  address  to 
the  members  of  the  bar  of  Suffolk,  Mass.,  March,  1824,  giving  a  view 
of  legal  practice  from  the  earhest  date. 

During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  hfe,  Mr.  Sullivan  dechned  profes- 
sional business,  being  only  counsellor  for  a  few  institutions  who  were 
unwilling  to  lose  the  benefit  of  his  ad\ice.     His  last  days  were  devoted 


WILLIAM   SULLIVAN.  319 

to  studies  purely  moral  and  historical.  He  said  to  an  intimate  friend, 
■who  expressed  extreme  regret  that  he  had  retired  from  his  profession : 
"  I  believe  I  mistook,  in  my  selection  of  a  profession,  the  course  most 
favorable  to  my  happiness ;  for  I  have  never  been  conscious  of  real 
enjoyment,  or  of  the  true  bent  of  my  talents,  if  I  have  any,  until  I 
devoted  myself  to  literature." 

At  the  centennial  celebration  of  Harvard  College,  Gen.  SulHvan,  in 
concluding  an  eloquent  speech,  gave  the  sentiment:  "May  the 
educated  conscientiously  remember  that  they  are  the  trustees  of 
knowledge,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  those  who  have  been  less  fortu- 
nate than  themselves." 

An  intimate  friend  of  Sullivan  remarked  of  him:  "His  manners 
among  his  friends  and  intimate  associates  were  very  delightful.  He 
was  not  forgetful  of  himself,  nor  unaware  of  his  talents  for  conversa- 
tion ;  but  his  habitual  kindness  of  heart  and  the  natural  nobleness  of 
his  character,  gave  him,  in  a  very  unusual  measure,  the  power  of  call- 
ing out  from  his  guests  whatever  there  was  in  them  which  was  most 
interesting ;  and  many  a  person  has  left  his  table  with  the  feeling  that, 
although  he  might  elsewhere  have  seen  men  who  talked  more,  he  had 
never  been  himself  so  agreeable.  Mr.  Sullivan  never  forgot  a  friend, 
nor  failed  to  requite,  with  ample  interest,  any  kindness.  He  accord- 
ingly sought  out,  and  was  constantly  entertaining  at  his  table,  or  in 
the  charming  evening  parties  which  he  gathered  in  his  parlors,  persons 
from  various  parts  of  the  country,  whose  only  claim  was  some  slight 
attention  paid,  perhaps  many  years  before,  to  Mr.  Sullivan,  or  some 
of  his  friends."  He  possessed  extreme  pride  of  character,  and  never 
deviated  from  a  certain  course  of  conduct  and  demeanor,  which  secured 
to  him  the  esteem  of  friends,  and  the  respect  of  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  him,  both  in  public  and  in  private  hfe.  His  style  of  writing  was 
simple  and  clear,  full  of  anecdote,  and  often  conversational.  As  an 
author,  he  shone  like  a  brilliant  star.  His  style  was  smooth,  chaste 
and  classical.  His  Public  Men  of  the  Revolution  is  almost  inimitable 
for  its  images  of  real  character.  Ho  was  a  Federalist  of  the  Washing- 
ton school,  and  tenaciously  opposed  to  the  policy  of  Jefierson  ;  and  his 
own  principles  are  clearly  developed  in  this  work. 


320  ^  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

THOMAS   DANFORTH. 

JULY  4,  1S04.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

The  Monthly  Anthology  states  of  this  production,  that  its  politi- 
cal sentiments  are  dignified,  and  evince  that  the  author  glows  with  a 
patriotic  zeal  for  the  honor  and  happiness  of  his  country.  We  take 
this  opportunity  to  remark  that  it  was  pronounced  in  a  superior  style 
of  elocution.  To  the  clear  and  commanding  tone  of  voice,  the  animated 
expression,  and  elegant  gesture,  of  the  orator,  combined  with  the  just- 
ness of  the  sentiment  and  its  unison  with  the  feelings  of  the  audience, 
must  we  attribute  the  enthusiasm  with  which  it  was  received.  He 
unfolds  the  dangers  to  which  our  country  is  exposed  from  mere  fac- 
tion and  party  rage,  those  avenging  angels,  delighting  in  the  calamity 
of  republics. 

"In  all  governments  there  must  be  a  preponderating  influence, —  a 
sovereign  power, —  doubtless  deriving  its  origin  fi-om  the  people,  but 
guaranteed  by  fundamental  laws,  in  order  that  the  liberty  of  all  may 
not  be  the  sport  of  the  licentiousness  of  any.  There  never  has,  and 
there  never  will  exist  a  true  democracy.  If,  says  the  elegant  author 
of  the  social  compact,  '  there  were  a  people  of  gods,  they  might  be  gov- 
erned democratically ;  a  state  so  perfect  will  never  belong  to  man.' 
In  our  own  government,  so  happily  blended  and  equipoised  the  powers 
of  state,  that;  though  sovereignty  exists,  it  may  be  said  never  to  remain 
fixed,  but,  like  the  vibrations  of  the  pendulum,  gives  to  every  part  and 
portion  its  uniform  spring  and  action.  The  federal  compact  is  not 
merely  the  sketch  of  liberty ;  it  is  the  work  complete ;  it  is  the  only 
government  under  heaven  yet  known  where  every  man  may  be  said  to 
exercise  his  right  in  the  aggregate  system  of  power.  Founded  in  reason 
and  the  analogy  of  nature,  like  the  fair  form  of  the  human  body,  it 
exhibits  the  beauty,  strength  and  proportions,  of  a  well-ordered  system. 
The  executive  is  its  brain,  the  judiciary  its  lungs,  and  the  legislative 
its  whole  heart,  circulating  the  very  pabulum  of  its  existence,  and 
issuing  the  powers  which  warm  and  invigorate  its  remotest  extremities. 
As  essential  to  the  existence  of  our  bodies  as  are  the  brain,  lungs  or 
heart,  equally  as  essential  are  the  distinct  and  independent  branches 
of  our  government  to  its  life  and  preservation.  Drawn  out  of  the 
experience  of  ages,  it  contains  the  principles  of  a  republic,  sublimely 
rectified.     It  is  the  palladium  of  your  future  peace, —  a  bond  of  union 


WARREN   BUTTON.  321 

and  obligation,  which,  when  violated,  will  convulse  to  its  centre  the 
delicate  frame  of  your  liberty." 

Thomas  Danforth,  the  son  of  the  eminent  Dr.  Samuel  Danforth, 
was  born  in  Boston,  July  31,  1772 ;  entered  the  Latin  School  in 
1781 ;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1792,  when  he  engaged  in  a 
conference  on  the  comparative  imjDortance  of  the  American,  French, 
and  Polish  revolutions,  upon  mankind;  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Jarathmiel  Blowers,  of  Somerset,  Mass.,  March,  1800  ;  was  a 
physician  ;  and  died  in  Dorchester,  July  12,  1817. 

Dr.  Danforth  delivered  a  discourse  for  the  Massachusetts  Humane 
Society,  in  1808,  which  was  pubhshed. 


WARREN   DUTTON. 

JULY  4,  1805.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

While  Russell's  Centinel  remarks  of  Dutton's  oration  that  it  was  a 
spirited  and  well-adapted  production,  the  Independent  Chronicle  says, 
that,  had  Pitt  deputed  missionaries  to  this  rescued  nation,  to  debauch 
the  public  mind  from  the  fair  knowledge  of  political  truth,  they  could 
not,  in  our  feeble  judgment,  have  used  language  more  fitted  for  such 
purposes.  But,  as  the  governor  (Strong)  sat  and  heard  these  declam- 
atory arts  without  evincing  displeasure  at  their  apparent  disloyalty, 
we  must  resign  our  opinion  to  the  more  correct  authority  of  the  public. 

Mr.  Dutton  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  and  married  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Judge  Lowell ;  was  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  the  first  editor 
of  the  New  England  Palladium ;  a  delegate  to  the  State  convention 
for  revising  the  constitution,  in  1820 ;  a  representative  in  the  State 
Legislature,  and  of  the  State  Senate.  In  1800  Mr.  Dutton  gave  the 
poem  at  the  commencement  at  Yale  College,  on  the  Present  State  of 
Literature ;  and  an  address  to  the  Suffolk  Bar,  in  1819,  on  the 
Advancement  of  the  Legal  Profession.  When  will  some  Lord  Camp- 
bell rise  up  in  our  country  to  body  forth  the  eminent  civilians  of  past 
days,  showing  their  habits,  sayings,  and  persons  7 


322  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 


EBENEZER  FRENCH. 

JUXY  4,    1805.     FOR   THE   YOUNG   DEMOCRATIC    REPUBLICANS,   AT   THE 
CHURCH  OF  REV.  JOHN  MURRAY. 

Ebenezer  French  -was  born  in  Boston,  and  was  a  practical  printer. 
The  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article,  and  another,  delivered  at  Port- 
land, in  1806,  on  our  national  independence,  were  pubhshed,  and  are  in 
the  collection  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Mr.  French 
was  in  early  life  married  to  Mrs.  Hannah  Grice,  the  widow  of  Samuel 
Bangs,  of  Boston,  after  having  been  previously  engaged  to  her  beau- 
tiful daughter.  A  rare  incident  here  in  romance, —  the  mother  stole 
from  the  daughter  the  heart  of  her  young  lover  !  After  the  delivery 
of  the  oration  in  Boston,  the  young  Repubhcans  proceeded  to  Faneuil 
Hall,  where,  on  partaking  a  rich  repast,  the  following  sentiment  was 
advanced  by  Benjamin  Austin,  the  great  apostle  of  democracy,  who 
was  elected  president  of  the  Society  of  Republican  Young  INIen  at  this 
time:  "The  young  Republican  orator  of  the  day:  May  our  young 
men  never  lose,  by  the  subtlety  of  their  enemies,  those  blessings  trans- 
mitted to  them  by  their  Republican  ancestors."  Mr.  Austin  -viewed 
the  people  and  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  as  the  real  senti- 
nels and  palladiums  of  American  independence. 

Mr.  French  was  an  inspector  of  the  customs  in  1810,  and  in  the 
next  year  he  became  a  publisher  of  the  Boston  Patriot,  in  company 
with  Isaac  Munroe ;  where  they  continued  until  1814,  when  they  sold 
the  paper  to  Mr.  Ballard,  and  both  removed  to  Baltimore,  where  they 
established  a  new  journal,  under  the  name  of  the  Baltimore  Patriot,  a 
paper  of  wide  political  influence. 


FRANCIS   DANA  CHANNING. 

JULY  4,  1806.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

This  oration  was  not  printed.     Mr.  Channing  was  born  at  Newport, 
R.  I.,  and  brother  of  Rev.  William  Ellery  Channing.     He  gi-aduated 


JOSEPH    GLEASON.  —  PETER    OXENBPJDGE    TIIACHER.  323 

at  Harvard  College  in  1794,  on  which  occasion  he  gave  the  salutatory 
oration  in  Latin.  In  1801  he  pronounced  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  ora- 
tion, and  married  Susan  Higginson,  of  Boston,  November,  1806.  He 
was  a  counsellor-at-law,  a  State  representative,  and  Secretary  of  the 
Boston  Social  Law  Library  in  1810.  He  died  at  sea,  ^Yhen  on  his 
passage  to  Rio  Janeiro,  November  5,  1810. 


JOSEPH   GLEASON. 

JULY  i,  1806.    FOR  THE  DEMOCRATIC  YOUNG  MEN. 

Joseph  Gleason  was  born  at  Boston,  and  the  son  of  a  truckman, 
who  was  a  ready  speaker  at  Faneuil  Hall  caucuses.  He  married 
Mary  Le  Baron,  daughter  of  Gov.  Hunt,  of  Detroit ;  and  was  a  com- 
positor in  the  office  of  the  Independent  Chronicle,  and  only  eighteen 
yea/s  of  age,  on  the  delivery  of  this  oration,  which  was  printed  a 
second  time.  In  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain  he  was  a  captain  in 
Col.  Miller's  regiment,  and  in  1816  an  army  commissary,  and  major 
of  a  brigade.     He  died  at  Mackinaw,  in  1820. 


PETER  OXENBRIDGE  THACHER. 

JULY  4,  1807.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Maiden,  Dec.  22,  1776,  and  son  of  Rev.  Peter,  who 
pronounced  an  oration  on  the  Boston  Massacre  in  that  year.  He 
entered  the  Latin  School  in  1785,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1796,  on  which  occasion  Mr.  Thacher  engaged  in  a  forensic  dispu- 
tation —  Whether  reason  unassisted  by  revelation  would  have  led  man- 
kind to  just  notions  even  of  the  first  principles  of  natural  religion  ? 


824  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

He  studied  law  under  Governor  Sullivan,  and  vras  three  years  a  teacher 
in  Exeter  Academy. 

Mr.  Thacher  visited  Savannah,  Ga.,  Nov.  2,  1802,  in  company 
with  his  father,  Eev.  Peter  Thacher,  for  the  purpose  of  relief  in  pul- 
monary consumption,  where  they  arrived  Dec.  3  of  that  date,  and  his 
father  expired  on  the  16th  of  that  month.  Mr.  Thacher  recorded  an 
account  of  the  voyage  from  Boston,  and  of  the  last  hours  of  his  father. 
One  incident  is  related,  for  the  reason  that  it  illustrates  the  influence 
and  shows  the  importance  of  early  religious  culture.  On  laying  down 
for  the  last  time,  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening,  a  few  hours  before 
his  death,  he  repeated  the  nursery  prayer : 

"  N'ow  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep, 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  keep  ; 
If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  take  ;  " 

and,  turning  to  his  son,  said,  "My  son,  this  little  prayer  I  have  not 
omitted  to  repeat,  on  going  to  bed,  for  forty  years.  This  may  be  the 
last  time  ;  I  charge  you  never  to  omit  it." 

In  1805  Mr.  Thacher  pronounced  the  oration  for  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  Society.  He  became  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  married  Charlotte 
I.,  daughter  of  Thomas  MacDonough,  a  British  consul.  He  was 
Town  Advocate  for  Boston  in  1807,  and  was  judge  of  the  Municipal 
Court  for  SuiTolk  from  1823  to  the  year  1843.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Literary  Anthology  Club,  on  its  institution,  in  1805 ;  and  a 
director  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  on  its  institution,  in  1807. 

Judge  Thacher  was  endowed  with  great  integrity,  and  firm  decision 
of  character,  and  often  stigmatized  as  a  very  severe  judge ;  but  he  was 
not  more  rigid  than  just.  He  was  peculiarly  qualified  for  the  period 
and  station,  and  wisely  effected  more  in  the  restraint  of  crime  among 
us  than  any  other  man  on  the  bench.  He  was  compelled  to  deal 
with  the  Avorst  passions  of  men,  says  the  Law  Reporter,  but  there  is 
no  act  of  his  life  Avhich  has  left  any  stain  on  his  character. 

The  Criminal  Cases  of  Judge  Thacher,  edited  by  Woodman,  in 
1845,  is  a  standard  text-book  for  the  bar  and  the  bench.  Several  of 
his  charges  were  published,  and  a  copy  of  them  is  in  the  library  of  the 
Historical  Society.  In  1833  the  Trial  of  Ebenezer  Clough,  for 
Embracery,  was  pubhshed,  with  the  arguments  of  Thacher  on  the 
case. 


ANDREW  RITCHIE,    JR.  —  CHARLES   PINCKNEY  SUMNER.       325 

4 

ANDREW  RITCHIE,   JR. 

JULY  4,  1808,    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Andrew  Ritchie  was  born  in  Boston,  and  gi'aduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1802,  when  he  gave  an  oration  on  "  Innovation."  He 
read  law  with  Rufus  G.  Amory,  and  married  a  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Durant,  a  West  India  planter.  He  married  a  second  time,  Sophia 
Harrison,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  H.  G.  Otis,  and  settled  on  his  plant- 
ation in  St.  Croix.  He  was  early  a  counsellor-at-law  in  Boston,  of 
which  town  he  was  a  representative  in  1816. 

In  1805  Mr.  Ritchie  gave  an  oration  on  the  Ancient  and  Modern 
Eloquence  of  Poetry;  and  in  1818  an  address  for  the  Massachusetts 
Peace  Society.  He  was  a  tasteful  and  effective  writer,  and  says,  in 
the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article  :  "  We  are  not  required,  like 
young  Hannibal,  to  approach  the  altar  and  vow  eternal  hatred  to  a 
rival  nation ;  but  we  will  repair  to  the  neighboring  heights,  at  once  the 
tombs  and  everlasting  monuments  of  our  heroes,  and  swear  that,  as 
they  did,  so  would  we,  rather  sacrifice  our  lives  than  our  country." 


CHARLES  PINCKNEY   SUMNER. 

JULY  4,  1803.    BEt'ORE  THE  YOUNG  REPUBLICANS  OF  BOSTON. 

Born  at  Milton,  Jan  20,  1776;  graduated  at  Harvard  College, 
1796.  He  Avas  the  only  child  of  Maj.  Job  Sumner,  of  the  continental 
army  in  the  Revolution,  whose  ancestry  may  be  traced  to  1637.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  Milton.  He  entered  Harvard  College  in  1774  ; 
but  when,  after  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  the  students  were  dispersed, 
and  the  college  edifice  converted  into  barracks,  he  joined  the  army,  in 
which  he  continued  until  the  peace.  He  was  second  in  command  of 
the  American  troops  who  took  possession  of  New  York,  on  its  evacua- 
tion by  the  British,  Nov.  25,  1783 ;  and  was  also  second  in  command 
of  the  battalion  of  light  infantry  which  rendered  to  Gen.  Washington 
28 


326  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

the  last  military  respects  of  the  Revolutionary  army,  -when,  in  Dec.  4, 
1783*,  at  Francis'  Tavern,  New  York  city,  he  took  leave  of  his  brother 
officers  and  comrades  in  arms  in  terms  of  vrarm  affection. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Maj.  Sumner  was  appointed  commis- 
sioner to  settle  the  accounts  between  the  United  States  and  Georgia  : 
and  in  this  capacity,  for  several  successive  winters,  visited  that  State. 
On  the  voyage,  upon  his  return  from  one  of  these  visits,  he  was  taken 
ill,  after  eating  of  a  dolphin  caught  off  the  copper  banks  of  Cape  Hat- 
teras ;  and,  though  his  vessel  made  a  rapid  passage  to  New  York,  and 
he  landed  without  delay,  he  died  on  the  day  after  his  arrival,  Sept. 
16. 1789.  He  was  buried  with  distinguished  military  honors.  Among 
the  pall-bearers  at  his  funeral  was  Alexander  Hamilton.  His  remains 
were  interred  near  the  middle  of  St.  Paul's  church-yard,  in  New  York ; 
and,  about  one  month  afterwards,  Maj.  Lucas,  of  Georgia,  was  buried 
by  his  side.  One  monumental  stone  covers  them  both,  with  an  appro- 
priate inscription  over  the  body  of  each.  That  over  Maj.  Sumner 
is  as  follows  :  "  This  tomb  contains  the  remains  of  Maj.  Job  Sumner, 
of  the  Massachusetts  line  of  the  army  of  the  Revolution  ;  who,  having 
supported  an  unblemished  character  through  life,  as  the  soldier,  citizen 
and  friend,  died  in  this  city,  after  a  short  illness,  universally  regretted 
by  his  acquaintance,  on  the  16th  day  of  September,  1789,  aged  33 
[35]  years." 

At  the  time  of  Maj.  Sumner's  decease,  his  son  was  a  student  at 
Andover  Academy,  under  Mr.  Pemberton,  where  he  was  prepared  for 
college.  He  entered  Harvard  College  in  1792,  and  received  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1796.  Among  his  classmates  with  whom  he 
was  on  terms  of  friendship  was  John  Pickering,  the  eminent  Greek 
lexicographer,  James  Jackson,  the  head  of  the  medic?^l  profession  in 
Boston,  Leonard  "Woods,  of  Andover,  the  profound  divine.  With  the 
latter  Mr.  Sumner  was  ever  on  terms  of  affectionate  intimacy.  While 
in  college  he  developed  poetical  talents  which  were  then  highly  favored. 
He  delivered  a  "Valedictory  Poem"  before  the  Speaking  Club,  when 
his  classmates  left  that  society  at  the  end  of  the  junior  year;  also,  at 
one  of  the  college  exhibitions,  a  poem  entitled  "The  Compass,"  which 
was  much  admired,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  printed  in  a  pamphlet. 
There  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  family  a  copy  of  Shakspeare 
and  Young's  Night  Thoughts,  inscribed  in  each  as  follows,  in  the  beau- 
tiful and  distinct  handwriting  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks,  a  fellow-student 
and  friend  of  Mr.  Sumner,  though  two  years  after  him  in  college : 


CHARLES  PINCKNEY  SUMNER.  327 

"  These  volumes  are  presented  to  C.  P.  Summer,  by  several  members 
of  Harvard  University,  Avbo  are  desirous  of  expressing  their  acknowl- 
edgments for  the  pleasure  afforded  by  his  poem  entitled  '  The  Com- 
pass,' and  for  the  honor  which  it  confers  upon  the  literary  character 
of  the  University."  The  same  poem  prompted  from  another  friend, 
Joseph  Story,  afterwards  the  illustrious  judge,  a  few  poetical  lines, 
expressive  of  warm  approval  of  the  production,  and  hvely  anticipa- 
tion of  his  future  success.  We  here  transcribe  the  apostrophe  from 
the  autograph  of  Justice  Story,  very  neatly  inscribed  on  the  back  of 
the  title-page  of  a  printed  copy  of  this  poem,  in  the  possession  of 
Charles  Sumner,  our  Senator  to  Congress,  which  may  be  viewed  as  a 
valuable  part  of  his  patrimony : 

"TO   THE   AUTHOR. 

"  Sure  some  celestial  Muse  thy  pen  inspired, 
With  noblest  thoughts  thy  glowing  bosom  fired. 
To  trace,  with  magic  art,  the  "varied  line. 
And  to  Pope's  smoothness  Milton's  grandeur  join. 
Sumner,  thy  worth  Columbia's  sons  shall  own, 
Long  as  the  magnet's  mighty  power  is  known  ; 
Enraptured  seraphs  shall  thy  praise  rehearse. 
And  Fame  with  laurels  consecrate  thy  verse  ; 
Genius  shall  place  her  crown  upon  thy  head. 
And  future  bards  revere  the  poet  dead. 

"J.  S.     Jwwe,  1796." 

We  cull  a  passage  from  "  The  Compass : " 

"  May  weeping  man  the  era  never  see, 
When  as  is  Carthage  shall  Columbia  be  ; 
When  glorious  works  of  art  shall  mouldering  lie, 
And  threatening  ruins  hold  the  distant  eye  ; 
Statues  of  Washington  shall  sink  in  dust. 
His  name  unrescued  from  oppressive  rust  ; 
Adams  shall  sleep  unhonored  mid  the  dead. 
And  Hancock's  broken  column  scarce  be  read." 

On  commencement- day,  when  he  took  his  degree,  Mr.  Sumner  deliv- 
ered a  poem  on  "Time."  He  also  pronounced  the  valedictory  poem 
before  his  classmates,  when  they  completed  their  studies.  The  verses 
herewith,  from  the  valedictory,  in  apt  words  picture  the  kindred  friend- 
ship among  his  fellow-classmates : 

"  From  this  loved  spot  to  festal-board  we  go. 
And  give  the  cordial  hand  to  friend  and  foe  ; 


328  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

One  firm  alliance,  one  enduring  peace. 
From  this  time  forth,  shall  never  cease  ; 
Each  shall  to  each  a  cheering  wish  extend. 
And  live  through  life  befriended  and  a  friend." 

All  his  productions  at  this  early  period,  as  through  life,  indicate  a 
philanthropic  spirit.  The  happiness  of  mankind  was  his  controlling 
passion.  Shortly  after  he  left  college  an  incident  occurred  expressive 
of  this  character.  He  passed  a  winter  in  the  West  Indies.  The  ves- 
sel in  which  he  was  a  passenger  happened  to  stop  at  the  Island  of  Hayti, 
which  was  then  rejoicing  in  its  independence ;  and  the  officers  and  pas- 
sengers, with  other  American  citizens  there,  were  invited  to  a  public 
entertainment  on  the  anniversary  of  the  birth-day  of  Washington,  at 
which  Gen.  Boyer,  afterwards  president  of  that  republic,  presided.  Mr. 
Sumner,  when  called  upon  for  a  toast,  gave  the  following  :  "  Liberty, 
Equality  and  Happiness,  to  all  men;"  which  so  much  pleased  Boyer, 
that  he  sent  one  of  his  aids-de-camp  to  invite  the  young  American  to 
take  the  seat  of  honor  by  his  side  at  the  feast. 

Mr.  Sumner  was  early  associated,  as  a  private  teacher,  under  the 
Rev.  Henry  Ware,  pastor  of  the  first  church  in  Hingham,  and  Professor 
of  Divinity  in  Harvard  College,  1805,  towards  whom  he  ever  sus- 
tained relations  of  friendship.  He  shortly  made  a  visit  to  Georgia, 
partly  to  settle  the  estate  of  his  father,  and  journeyed  home  by  land 
through  the  Southern  States.  On  his  return,  he  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  law,  in  the  office  of  Hon.  George  Richards  Minot ; 
and,  on  the  decease  of  that  ornament  of  Suflfolk  bar,  he  finished  his 
initiation  under  the  guidance  of  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  with  whom, 
though  difiering  in  politics,  he  always  sustained  the  relations  of  warm 
regard.  In  1798  JNIr.  Sumner  delivered  the  poem  before  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  of  Harvard  College,  and  the  oration  on  this  occasion  was  dehv- 
ered  by  Rev.  John  T.  Kirkland.  On  Feb.  22,  1800,  Mr.  Sumner 
delivered  at  Milton  a  eulogy  on  Washington,  which  was  published  at 
Dedham,  and  was  afterwards  embodied  in  the  octavo  volume  entitled 
"Eulogies  and  Orations  on  Washington,"  as  being  one  of  the  best 
pronounced  on  the  virtues  of  that  illustrious  father  of  the  Union. 

About  the  year  1805,  when  pohtical  excitement  was  warm,  William 
Austin,  of  the  Democratic  party,  author  of  Letters  from  London,  in 
consequence  of  political  differences  with  Gen.  Simon  Elhott,  in 
the  Chronicle,  over  "Decius,"  was  challenged  by  James  H.,  son 
of  the   general.     Mr.  Sumner  was    the  second  for    Mr.  Austin, 


CHARLES  PINCKNEY  SUMNER.  3'2& 

and  the  field  of  combat  was  in  Rhode  Island.  One  of  the  parties,  Mr. 
Austin,  was  slightly  wounded  by  a  pistol-shot.  Mr.  Sumner  deeply 
regretted  having  taken  a  part  in  this  conflict,  and  the  subject  was 
unknown  to  his  children  until  after  his  decease. 

Mr.  Samner  early  attached  himself  to  the  Democratic  party.  He 
was  a  constant  and  tenacious  advocate  of  the  administration  of  Jeffer- 
son. His  name  appears  on  important  local  committees  during  this 
period.  He  wrote  in  the  Republican  newspapers,  and  took  part  in  pub- 
lic meetings.  He  delivered  a  public  address  on  the  second  inaugura- 
tion of  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  also  an  oration  on  the  4th  of  July,  1808, 
as  named  at  the  head  of  this  article.  It  was  published  in  a  newspaper 
of  the  period.  We  find  in  this  production  a  passage  as  well  adapted  to 
the  present  political  excitement  as  it  was  to  the  fever  of  embargo  and 
non-intercourse,  forty-two  years  ago  ;  "  There  is,  indeed,  no  diversity 
of  interest  between  the  people  of  the  north  and  the  people  of  the  south; 
and  they  are  no  friends  to  either  who  endeavor  to  stimulate  and  embit- 
ter the  one  against  the  other.  What  if  the  sons  of  Massachusetts 
rank  high  on  the  roll  of  Revolutionary  fame  ?  The  wisdom  and  hero- 
ism for  which  they  have  been  distinguished  will  never  permit  them  to 
indulge  an  inglorious  boast.  The  independence  and  liberty  we  possess 
are  'the  result  of  joint  counsels  and  joint  efforts, —  of  common  dan- 
gers, sufferings  and  successes ; '  and  God  forbid  that  those  who  have 
every  motive  of  sympathy  and  interest  to  act  in  concert  should  ever 
become  the  prey  of  party  bickerings  among  themselves." 

For  several  years  during  the  period  of  1806,  and  excepting  one  year, 
until  1813,  Mr.  Sumner  was  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
when  Perez  Morton  and  Joseph  Story  were  speakers,  and  Marcus 
Morton,  afterwards  governor,  was  clerk  of  the  Senate.  In  1810  Mr. 
Sumner  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Boston  regiment,  and  his  punctilious 
observance  of  military  etiquette  is  in  the  memory  of  old  men  among 
us.  Mr;  Sumner  did  not  long  actively  engage  in  political  matters. 
The  care  of  a  large  family  occupied  much  of  his  time.  He  was  mar- 
ried, April  25,  1810,  to  Miss  Relief  Jacob,  of  a  respectable  family,  in 
Hanover,  Plymouth  county,  and  had  nine  children ;  of  these,  only  five 
survive.  Mrs.  Sumner  has  been  a  lovely,  devoted  mother,  who  has 
largely  contributed  to  the  formation  of  their  character.  Mr.  Sumner 
was  a  well-read  lawyer,  and  faithful  in  all  that  he  undertook.  He  was 
peculiarly  fortunate  in  the  intimate  regard  of  the  members  of  the  bar, 
38* 


660  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

and  especially  that  of  Chief  Justice  Parker ;  but  he  never  engaged  in 
extensive  practice. 

In  1825  ]\Ir.  Sumner  vras  appointed  by  Gov.  Lincoln  to  the  elevated 
station  of  sheriff  of  the  county  of  Suffolk.  This  office  he  retained,  by 
successive  appointments,  down  to  the  time  of  his  decease,  in  April  24, 
1839.  Perhaps  no  incumbent  has  ever  filled  that  office  in  this  county 
who  made  its  duties  the  subject  of  more  careful  study.  He  explored 
the  history  and  origin  of  the  office  in  the  English  law,  and  its  intro- 
duction into  Massachusetts.  Peculiar  evidence  of  this  appears  in  the 
discourse  which  he  delivered  before  the  court  and  bar,  in  the  court- 
house, Boston,  June,  1829,  on  some  points  of  difference  between  the 
sheriff's  office  in  Massachusetts  and  in  England.  This  was  published 
in  the  American  Jurist  for  July,  1829,  vol.  2.  It  was  also  published 
in  a  pamphlet.  It  is  a  valuable  production,  both  in  a  historical  and 
judicial  point.  It  concludes  with  personal  sketches  of  his  predecessors 
in  office.  He  relates  of  Jeremiah  Allen,  the  earliest  sheriff  whom  he 
ever  saw,  that  he  was  a  rich  and  a  moral  old  bachelor,  of  whom  it  was 
once  jocularly  said,  in  his  presence  and  hearing,  that  "  the  sheriff  knew 
very  well  how  to  arrest  men  and  to  attach  women ; "  a  piece  of  humor 
well  intended  and  well  received,  and 

"Praise  enough 
To  fill  the  ambition  of  a  private  man." 

Mr.  Sumner,  through  hfe,  was  remarkable  for  his  strict  and  most 
conscientious  integrity.  More  than  one  person  remarked  of  him,  that 
he  would  trust  his  whole  fortune  to  him,  without  bond  or  security  of 
any  kind.  He  felt  keenly  the  responsibilities  of  his  office  ;  and,  at 
times,  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  talked  of  resigning,  that  he  might  be 
relieved  from  their  anxieties.  He  always  preserved  his  interest  in  lit- 
erature, especially  in  history  and  poetry ;  and,  in  advanced  hfe,  he 
joined  in  the  classical  studies  of  his  children.  Though  at  times  aus- 
tere and  reserved,  his  general  manners  were  simple,  easy,  flowing,  and 
affable.  He  has  been  characterized  as  ' '  the  best-mannered  man  in 
J3oston;"  and,  to  show  how  near  his  heart  was  such  a  habit,  we  will 
cite  the  sentiment  given  in  Faneuil  Hall,  August,  1827,  at  the  festival 
after  the  annual  exhibition  of  the  pubhc  schools  :  '^  Good  learning  and 
good  manners :  Two  good  companions.  Happy  when  they  meet,  they 
ought  never  to  part."  Sheriff  Sumner  was  small  of  stature,  an  ema- 
ciated, attenuated  figure,  and  a  remarkable  contrast  to  Stephen  Badlam, 


CHARLES   PINCKNEY   SUMNER.  331 

the  jailer  of  SufFolk,  the  most  rotund,  ponderous  man  in  Boston,  and 
the  Lambert  of  New  England. 

There  are  several  occasional  poems  of  his  which  are  still  preserved, 
particularly  odes  and  songs  for  charitable  and  political  festivals.  Among 
his  publications  was  a  lett*  in  reply  to  one  from  the  Anti-masonic  com- 
mittee for  the.  county  of  Suffolk,  dated  Oct.  19,  1829,  in  Avhich  he 
exposed,  in  temperate  language,  the  character  and  pretensions  of  the 
Masonic  institution.  This  was  published  in  a  pamphlet,  and  exten- 
sively circulated.  It  is  a  document  marked  by  great  gentleness  and 
forbearance,  and  some  refinement  of  taste.  A  published  collection  of 
his  fugitive  pieces  would  be  a  memorial  of  his  patriotic  spirit. 

In  giving  toasts  at  public  festivals,  he  was  often  called  upon,  and 
not  unfrequently  expressed  himself  in  verse.  Some  of  these  are  very 
felicitous.  The  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  our  model  mayor,  in  calling  upon 
him  once,  gave  as  a  toast :  "  The  Sheriff  of  Suffolk  :  The  only  sheriff, 
except  Walter  Scott,  born  on  Parnassus."  The  following  toasts,  given 
July  4,  1826,  might  well  vindicate  this  compliment:  "The  United 
States  :    One  and  indivisible. 

"  Firm  like  the  oak  may  our  blest  Union  rise, 
No  less  distinguished  for  its  strength  and  size  ; 
The  unequal  branches  emulous  unite 
To  shield  and  grace  the  trunk's  majestic  height ; 
Through  long  succeeding  yeai'S  and  centuries  live, 
No  Yigor  losing  from  the  aid  they  give. ' ' 

We  cite  another  toast,  given  July  4, 1828,  which  gives  a  just  tribute 
to  agriculture,  and  a  skilful  compliment  to  Gov.  Lincoln,  who,  like  Cin- 
cinnatus,  though  at  the  head  of  the  commonwealth,  was  a  practical 
farmer :    ' '  Agriculture  : 

"  In  China's  realms,  from  earliest  days  till  now, 
Tlie  well-loved  emperor  annual  holds  the  plough  ; 
Here,  too,  our  worthiest  candidates  for  fame, 
With  unsoiled  honor,  sometimes  do  the  same. 
Upholding  such,  our  yeomen's  generous  hearts 
Show  a  just  reverence  to  tlie  first  of  arts. ' ' 

In  the  latter  days  of  his  life  he  rarely  voted,  and  was  reluctant 
to  be  called  of  any  particular  party;  but  he  always  remembered, 
with  satisfaction,  his  early  connection  with  the  old  Republican  party, 
and  with  many  of  the  leaders  of  the  old  Federal  party  he  was  on 


332  THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS. 

friendly  terms.  He  •R'as  invited  to  be  the  Anti-masonic  candidate  for 
Governor  of  the  State,  vrhich  he  declined.  He  was  also  urged  to  he  a 
candidate  for  the  mayoralty  of  Boston,  at  the  time  when  Quincy  finally 
lost  his  election.  But  he  resolutely  declined,  preferring  the  office  he 
held ;  but  adding,  with  expressive  warmth,  tnat  he  could  never  consent 
to  be  a  candidate  against  his  early  friend. 

His  memory  will  be  venerated,  in  his  descendants,  long  as  elo- 
quence, literature,  science  and  purity,  are  recognized  in  sons  such  as 
Charles,  George  and  Horace  Sumner,  the  second  of  whom  is  widely 
known  as  a  traveller,  and  by  the  accuracy  and  extent  of  his  attain- 
ments. He  was  born  Feb.  5,  181T.  He  was  educated  in  the  Boston 
High  School ;  visited  Europe  in  1838,  and  has  remained  there  to  this 
period.  While  in  Russia  he  enjoyed  the  pecuhar  favor  of  the  Empe- 
ror Nicholas,  and  has  travelled  some  time  as  liis  guest.  Nicholas 
reposed  more  confidence  in  him,  for  information  on  this  country,  than 
on  any  other  American.  He  made  a  voyage  round  the  Black  Sea. 
with  the  Russian  fleet,  and  also  an  excursion  to  the  Caucasus.  Here 
he  visited  and  made  observations  on  mud  volcanoes,  not  described  before 
since  Marco  Polo ;  visited  Constantinople,  Syria,  the  Holy  Land, 
Egypt,  and  Greece.  In  the  latter  country  he  wrote  an  elaborate  letter 
on  its  condition,  which  was  published  in  the  Democratic  Re^dew.  He 
then  passed  a  year  in  Italy,  Sicily, — ascending  Mount -^tna, —  and 
next  visited  Germany,  Hungary,  Holland,  Belgium,  and  France.  At 
Leyden  he  made  curious  investigations  into  the  history  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  especially  of  John  Robinson,'"  published  in  the  Collections  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  He  then  proceeded  to  England, 
and  from  thence  to  Spain,  where  he  passed  a  year.  Since  his  return 
from  Spain,  he  has  resided  in  Paris,  with  an  occasional  visit  to  England 
and  Germany.  In  all  these  countries  he  has  become  personally 
acquainted  with  those  who  are  most  eminent  in  science,  hterature,  and 
pohtics.  In  Hungary,  several  years  before  its  unsuccessful  attempts 
at  revolution,  he  formed  a  personal  acquaintance  with  Kossuth.  He 
has  for  years  enjoyed  an  intimacy  with  the  great  Humboldt,  who  has 
expressed  a  great  interest  in  his  conversation  and  opinions.  He  was 
familiarly  acquainted  with  Lamartine  and  De  Tocqueville,  in  France. 
The  latter,  in  a  recent  letter  to  Gen.  Cavaignac,  has  characterized  him 
as  follows:  "Mr.  Sumner  is  a  man  of  superior  intelhgence,  very 
accomplished,  perfectly  familiar  with  all  European  afiiiirs,  and  knowing 


WILLIAM  TUDOR.  333 

the  different  parties  and  politics  of  Europe  much  better  than  any 
European."     He  is  a  member  of  several  learned  societies  of  Europe. 

The  youngest  son  of  Mr.  Sumner,  Horace,  born  Dec.  25,  1824, 
and  educated  in  the  Boston  High  School,  perished  in  the  wreck  of  the 
ship  Ehzabeth,  on  Fire  Island,  near  New  York  city,  July  18,  1850. 
He  was  an  invalid,  returning  from  a  year  in  Italy,  whither  he  had 
been  in  pursuit  of  health.  Among  his  companions  in  misfortune  was 
the  Marchioness  Fuller  Ossoli,  her  husband  and  child ;  but  her  lofty 
intellectual  character  did  not  excite  a  stronger  interest  than  the 
moral  excellences  of  young  Sumner.  This  lady  was  the  daughter  of 
Hon.  Timothy  Fuller,  whom  we  have  sketched  as  an  orator  for  July, 
1881.  The  Christian  Register  for  July  27,  1850,  states  that  "In 
the  same  ship  was  a  young  man  of  the  most  pure,  unambitious,  loving 
and  gentle  life,  whose  quiet  virtues  had  singularly  endeared  him  to  the 
few  who  knew  him,  and  whose  death  at  any  time  could  only  be 
regarded  as  a  blessed  dispensation  to  him,  however  severe  it  might  be 
to  his  friends."  Horace  Sumner,  says  the  Register,  was  retiring  in 
his  habits  and  tastes,  but  his  memory  will  long  be  cherished  by  his 
friends  with  peculiar  interest  and  affection. 


WILLIAM   TUDOR. 

JULY  4,  1809.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  in  Boston,  Jan.  28,  1779,  and  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Judge 
Tudor ;  was  educated  at  Phillips'  Academy,  Andover ;  and  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1796,  at  which  time  he  engaged  in  a  dialogue 
on  the  Advantages  of  Public  Education.  Having  an  ambition  for 
mercantile  pursuits,  he  entered  the  counting-room  of  John  Codman, 
an  eminent  merchant,  who  early  sent  him  to  Paris  as  his  confidential 
agent;  and,  after  his  return  to  Boston,  he  sailed  for  Leghorn,  and 
made  the  tour  of  Europe,  cultivating  his  natural  taste  for  literature 
and  hterary  men  wherever  he  went.  In  1805  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Literary  Anthology  Club,  the  most  delightful  literary 
and  social  institution  ever  formed  in  Boston  ;  and  in  November  of  this 


334  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

year  embarked  for  the  West  Indies,  in  company  "witli  James  Savage, 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  new  object  of  commerce,  by  the  trans- 
portation of  ice  to  tropical  climates,  and  the  erection  of  ice-houses  as 
places  of  deposit.  He  founded  the  traffic,  as  agent  of  Frederic  Tudor, 
his  brother,  to  his  entire  approbation.  He  was  a  State  representative 
for  Boston ;  and  clerk  of  Suffolk  County  Courts,  in  1816,  and  a 
counsellor-at-law.  In  1810  he  published  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration, 
the  delivery  of  which  was  prevented  by  his  departure  for  Europe, 
when  he  became  agent  for  Stephen  Higginson,  Esq.,  in  an  endeavor 
to  introduce  large  quantities  of  English  manufactures  into  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  contrary  to  the  hostile  decrees  of  Napoleon  against  the 
rights  of  neutrals. 

In  1815  Mr.  Tudor  delivered  an  address  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society,  the  object  of  which  was  to  refute  the  opinion,  that  one  reason 
why  we  have  not  produced  more  good  poems  was  owing  to  the  want 
of  subjects, —  that  the  appropriate  themes  of  other  countries  had  been 
exhausted  by  their  own  poets,  and  that  none  existed  in  ours.  In  this 
admirable  performance,  he  makes  it  evident  that  the  scenery  and  history 
of  our  country  afford  abundant  material  to  the  man  of  genius.  His 
concluding  sentence  is  as  follows :  "  The  same  block  of  marble  which, 
in  the  hands  of  an  artisan,  might  only  have  formed  a  step  for  the 
meanest  feet  to  trample  on,  under  the  touch  of  genius  unfolded  the 
Belvidere  Apollo,  glowing  with  divine  beauty  and  immortal  youth, 
the  destroyer  of  the  Python,  the  companion  of  the  Muses,  the  majes- 
tic god  of  eloquence  and  poetry." 

In  allusion  to  the  novel  enterprise  of  transporting  ice  to  tropical 
climates,  originated  by  the  Tudors,  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett  renders 
the  following  beautiful  and  emphatic  tribute  : 

"  The  gold  expended  by  this  gentleman  at  Nahant," — Mr.  Frederick 
Tudor, — "whether  it  is  httle  or  much,  was  originally  derived,  not  from 
California,  but  from  the  ice  of  our  own  Fresh  Pond.  It  is  all  Middlesex 
gold,  every  pennyweight  of  it.  The  sparkling  surface  of  our  beautiful 
ponds,  restored  by  the  kindly  hand  of  nature  as  often  as  it  is  removed, 
has  yielded  and  will  continue  to  yield,  ages  after  the  wet  diggings 
and  the  dry  diggings  of  the  Sacramento  and  the  Feather  rivers  are 
exhausted,  a  perpetual  reward  to  the  industry  bestowed  upon  them. 
The  sallow  Genius  of  the  mine  creates  but  once ;  when  rifled  by  man, 
the  glittering  prize  is  gone  forever.     Not  so  with  our  pure  crystal 


WILLIAM  TUDOR.  335 

lakes.     Them,  -witli  each  returning  winter,  the  austere  but  healthful 
spirit  of  the  North, 

' With  mace  petrific,  cold  and  dry, 

As  Tvitli  a  trident  smites,  and  fixes  firm 
As  Delos  floating  once.' 

"  This  is  a  branch  of  Middlesex  industry  that  we  have  a  right  to  be 

proud  of.     I  do  not  think  we  have  yet  done  justice  to  it ;  and  I  look 

upon  Mr.  Tudor,  the  first  person  who  took  up  this  business  on  a  large 

scale,  as  a  great  public  benefactor.     He  has  carried  comfort,  in  its 

most  inoffensive  and  salutary  form,  not  only  to  the  dairies  and  tables 

of  our  own  community,  but  to  those  of  other  regions,  throughout  the 

tropics,  to  the  furthest  east.     If  merit  and  benefits  conferred  gave 

power,  it  might  be  said  of  him,  with  more  truth  than  of  any  prince  or 

ruler  living, 

' super  et  Garamantas  et  Indos 

Proferet  imperium.' 

"When  I  had  the  honor  to  represent  the  country  at  London,  I  was 
a  little  struck,  one  day,  at  the  royal  drawing-room,  to  see  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Control  (the  board  charged  with  the  supervision  of  the 
government  of  India)  approaching  me  with  a  stranger,  at  that  time 
much  talked  of  in  London, —  the  Babu  Dwarkanauth  Tagore.  This 
person,  who  is  not  now  living,  was  a  Hindoo  of  great  wealth,  liberality 
and  intelligence.  He  was  dressed  with  oriental  magnificence  ;  —  he 
had  on  his  head,  by  way  of  turban,  a  rich  cashmere  shawl,  held 
together  by  a  large  diamond  broach;  another  cashmere  around  his 
body ;  his  countenance  and  manners  were  those  of  a  highly  intelligent 
and  remarkable  person,  as  he  was.  After  the  ceremony  of  introduc- 
tion was  over,  he  said  he  wished  to  make  his  acknowledgments  to  me, 
as  the  American  minister,  for  the  benefits  which  my  countrymen  had 
conferred  on  his  countrymen.  I  did  not  at  first  know  what  he  referred 
to ;  I  thought  he  might  have  in  view  the  mission  schools,  knowing  as 
I  did  that  he  himself  had  done  a  great  deal  for  education.  He  imme- 
diately said  that  he  referred  to  the  cargoes  of  ice  sent  from  America  to 
India,  conducing  not  only  to  comfort,  but  health ;  adding,  that  numer- 
ous lives  were  saved  every  year,  by  applying  lumps  of  American  ice 
to  the  head  of  the  patient,  in  cases  of  high  fever.  He  asked  me  if  I 
knew  from  what  part  of  America  it  came.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure 
to  tell  him  that  I  lived,  when  at  home,  within  a  very  short  distance  of 


33G  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

the  spot  from  which  it  was  brought.  It  was  a  most  agreeable  circum- 
stance to  hear,  in  tliis  authentic  way,  that  the  sagacity  and  enterprise 
of  my  friend  and  neighbor  had  converted  the  pure  waters  of  our  lakes 
into  the  means,  not  only  of  promoting  health,  but  saving  life,  at  the 
antipodes.  I  must  say  I  almost  envied  Mr.  Tudor  the  honest  satis- 
faction which  he  could  not  but  feel,  in  reflecting  that  he  had  been  able 
to  stretch  out  an  arm  of  benevolence  from  the  other  side  of  the  globe, 
by  which  he  was  every  year  raising  up  his  fellow-men  from  the  verge 
of  the  grave.  How  few  of  all  the  foreigners  who  have  entered  India, 
from  the  time  of  Sesostris,  or  Alexander  the  Great,  to  the  present 
time,  can  say  as  much  !  Others,  at  best,  have  gone  to  govern,  too 
often  to  plunder  and  to  slay ;  —  our  countryman  has  gone  there,  not  to 
destroy  life,  but  to  save  it, —  to  benefit  them,  while  he  reaps  a  well- 
earned  harvest  himself" 

Mr.  Tudor  originated  the  North  American  Review,  in  1815,  and  the 
first  four  volumes  of  this  national  repository  of  literature,  politics  and 
science,  are  almost  entirely  from  his  own  hand ;  and  this  journal  soon 
exercised  an  unbounded  influence  over  the  American  mind.  His 
Letters  on  the  Eastern  States,  published  in  1819,  and  his  volume  of 
collected  miscellanies,  mark  him  as  one  of  the  ripest  scholars  of  New 
England.  Mr.  Tudor  pubhshed  the  "  Life  of  James  Otis,"  in  1823, 
of  which  it  has  been  remarked  that  Tudor  exhibits  Otis,  not  in  a 
solitary  portrait,  but,  like  Napoleon  on  his  brazen  column,  or  Wel- 
lington in  his  silver  shield,  as  the  prominent  figure  in  a  variety  of 
interesting  scenes,  the  head  of  an  illustrious  group.  Mr.  Tudor  was 
the  originator  of  the  present  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  It  came  to  his 
knowledge  accidentally  that  a  part  of  Bunker  Hill  was  for  sale  ;  and 
he  ascertained,  on  inquiry,  that  the  residue  embraced  the  spot  on 
which  the  American  redoubt  had  been  raised,  and  where  Warren  fell, 
and  that  this  might  probably  be  purchased  at  that  period.  Mr.  Tudor, 
in  the  year  1822,  expressed  a  desire  to  see  on  the  battle-ground  "  the 
noblest  column  in  the  world ;  "  and  witnessed  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone by  the  noble  Lafayette,  June  17,  1825.  He  died  before  its 
completion,  which  was  not  effected  until  July,  1842. 

Mr.  Tudor  was  the  secretary  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Asso- 
ciation, instituted  June  17,  1823,  of  which  John  Brooks  was  its  first 
president,  and  Daniel  Webster  was  the  first  orator,  June  17,  1825. 
Mr.  Tudor  has  the  reputation  of  conceiving  and  originating  the  city 


DAVID   EVERETT.  337 

charter  of  his  native  city,  in  1822,  Avhich  was  matured  and  drawn  up 
by  the  Hon.  Lemuel  Shaw. 

Mr.  Tudor,  in  the  next  year,  was  appointed  consul  for  the  United 
States  at  Lima  and  the  ports  of  Peru,  and  again  set  sail  from  his 
native  city  in  Nov.  1823,  after  which  he  never  returned  to  his  beloved 
country.  In  1827  he  was  appointed  Charge  d' Affaires  of  the  United 
States  at  Rio  Janeiro ;  and,  while  resident  in  that  place,  Mr.  Tudor 
wrote  a  work  of  imagination,  entitled  "Gebel  Teir,"  the  name  of  a 
mountain  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile,  on  which,  according  to  an 
Arabian  legend,  the  birds  from  all  countries  of  the  world  annually 
assemble  for  the  purpose  of  counsel  and  debate, —  on  which  he  con- 
structed an  allegory,  by  way  of  report  to  this  supposed  assembly  of 
birds,  showing  his  views  and  opinions  on  the  condition  and  policy  of 
this  country  and  the  nations  of  Europe.  While  Mr.  Tudor  was  in 
Brazil,  the  Rev.  C.  S.  Stewart,  a  chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy, 
who  visited  him  at  the  Praya  de  Flamengo,  relates  that  he  was  received 
by  Mr.  Tudor  with  the  cordiality  of  a  brother,  and  was  admitted  at  once 
to  the  confidence  of  his  bosom.  He  discovered  in  him  traits  truly 
noble  and  fascinating,  which  excited  an  admiration  and  an  attachment 
never  to  be  forgotten. 

The  treaty  of  Mr.  Tudor  with  the  court  of  Rio  Janeiro  was  the  last 
public  service  he  was  permitted  to  render  his  country.  On  the  9th 
March,  1830,  he  died  of  a  fever  incident  to  the  climate.  Mr.  Tudor 
left  many  manuscripts  regarding  the  countries  in  which  he  resided, 
some  of  them  nearly  completed.  His  official  correspondence  is  also 
preserved ;  and  it  is  hoped  that  all  his  productions  will  be  pubhshed  in 
a  connected  form,  as  they  are  an  honor  to  the  literature  of  this  nation. 


DAVID  EVERETT. 

JULY  4,  1809.    FOE,  THE  BUNKER  HILL  ASSOCIATION. 

Mr.  Everett  delivered  an  oration  at  Amherst,  July  4, 1804,  which 

is  one  of  his  best  productions,  when  he  remarked :    "It  was  from  the 

assiduous  care  of  our  forefathers  to  make  good  citizens,  their  habitual 

and  exalted  virtues  as  such,  that  our  country's  prosperity  increased  by 

29 


338  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

sure  and  progressive  steps,  that  the  sturdy  roots  of  independence  shot 
deep  and  spread  wide  before  its  branches  scarcely  appeared,  and  long 
before  its  fruit  was  anticipated  by  the  imagination.  This  tree,  which 
may  yet  prove  the  tree  of  life  to  America,  or  the  upas  of  her  dissolu- 
tion, has  been  protected  by  the  memorable  heroism  of  the  veterans  of 
our  Revolutionary  war.  From  that  struggle,  its  branches  have  sprung 
up  to  luxuriance,  and  its  exuberant  fruit  clustered  on  every  bough. 
We  vainly  call  it  the  work  of  our  own  hands,  and  are  elated  at  the 
sight  of  the  gorgeous  Avonder.  Ambitious  to  ascend  and  enjoy  the 
fruit,  we  neglect  to  prune  its  branches  and  cultivate  its  roots.  Heed- 
less of  the  annoying  insect  and  insidious  worm  which  devour,  we  imag- 
ine our  toils  are  ended,  and  the  blessing  secure.  But  as  this  blessing 
was  growing  to  our  hands  before  we  sought  it,  ere  we  are  aware  it  may 
be  taken  from  us.  Common  observation  shows  that  we  may  soon  lose, 
by  neglect,  what  has  been  acquired  by  the  prudence  of  years ;  and 
that  precipitate  folly  may  destroy,  in  an  hour,  what  has  been  accumu- 
lated by  the  wisdom  of  ages.  It  is  to  stimulate,  not  to  discourage,  our 
exertion,  that  all  which  most  adorns  private  life  and  sheds  lasting  lustre 
on  a  nation  is  acquired  by  assiduous  efforts,  and  maintained  by  con- 
stant care.  It  is  not  enough,  therefore,  that  our  ancestors  were  "virtuous 
and  brave, —  that  they  were  exemplary  in  private  life,  and  conspicuous 
for  their  devotion  to  the  common  good  of  their  country.  The  spirit 
of  gratitude  and  a  laudable  pride  require  that  we  should  commemorate 
their  characters  wjth  filial  reverence.  Our  duty  to  ourselves,  our 
country,  and  our  God,  demand  more  than  the  empty  homage  of  the 
tongue.  They  urge  us  to  revere  their  example ;  to  make  their  correct 
habits  and  wholesome  precepts  famihar  to  ourselves  and  our  childi-en ; 
to  view  wealth  as  useless  lumber,  without  the  former,  and  knowledge 
as  worse  than  vain,  without  the  latter.  Pursuing  their  well-known 
track,  we  cannot  essentially  err.  It  has  '  line  upon  line,  and  precept 
upon  precept,'  for  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life,  from  the  pure  and  simple 
lesson  that  falls  on  the  listening  infant's  ear  from  the  lips  of  the  affec- 
tionate mother,  to  those  sublime  truths  which  awe  our  reason,  and 
point  the  way  to  heaven.  With  these  sure  guides,  we  have  it  in  our 
power  to  convince  the  doubting  world  that  a  republican  government  is 
not  an  idle  theory, —  that  its  strength  is  the  union  of  its  citizens,  its 
wealth  their  pubhc  spirit,  its  stability  their  virtue,  its  independence  the 
result  of  all,  and  its  only  mystery  the  simplicity  of  its  principles,  exhib- 
iting, in  obvious  social  duties,  the  whole  theory  of  its  policy." 


DAVID    EVERETT.  339 

David  Everett  was  born  at  Princeton,  Mass.,  in  1769,  and  was  early 
left  an  orphan,  his  father  having  fallen  in  military  service  in  the  Avar 
of  the  Revolution.  He  lived  and  was  under  the  guardian  care  of  rel- 
atives at  Wrentham,  whence  he  went  to  the  New  Ipswich  Academy  at 
about  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1795,  and  on  that  occasion  had  the  honor  of  the  valedictory  poem,  in 
which  he  predicted  of  our  country  as  follows : 

"  The  Muse  prophetic  views  the  coming  day, 
When  federal  laws  beyond  the  line  shall  sway  ; 
Where  Spanish  indolence  inactive  lies, 
And  every  art  and  every  virtue  dies,  — 
Where  pride  and  avarice  their  empire  hold. 
Ignobly  great,  and  poor  amid  their  gold,  — 
Columbia's  genius  shall  the  mind  inspire. 
And  fill  each  breast  with  patriotic  fire. 
Nor  east  nor  western  oceans  shall  confine 
The  generous  tlame  that  dignifies  the  mind  ; 
O'er  all  the  earth  shall  Fi-eedom's  banner  wave. 
The  tyrant  blast,  and  liberate  the  slave  ; 
Plenty  and  peace  shall  spread  from  pole  to  pole, 
Till  earth's  grand  family  possess  one  soul." 

Having  studied  law  with  John  M.  Forbes,  he  entered  the  bar  in 
Boston,  and  had  an  office  in  Court-street,  in  company  with  the  noted 
Thomas  0.  Selfridge,  who  killed  Charles  Austin,  in  State-street ;  in 

1801  was  poet  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  celebration  at  Cambridge ;  in 

1802  he  removed  to  Amherst,  N.  H.,  and  remained  in  that  town  until 
1807,  when  he  returned  to  Boston,  and  estabhshed  the  Boston  Patriot 
in  1809,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Democratic  party.  It  was  in 
the  paper  that  President  John  Adams,  who  had  become  disaffected 
towards  the  Federal  party,  wrote  historical  reminiscences  and  political 
essays. 

Mr.  Everett  was  author  of  a  very  agreeable  little  work,  entitled 
"Common  Sense  in  Dishabille,"  written  after  the  manner  of  Noah 
Webster's  "  Prompter,"  wliich  should  be  pubhshed  in  a  tasteful  form, 
and  widely  scattered.  He  wrote  dramatic  pieces,  one  of  which  —  ' '  Da- 
ranziel,  or  the  Persian  Patriot" — was  performed  in  1800  at  the  Fed- 
eral-street Theatre.  Mr.  Everett  early  engaged  in  politics,  and  wrote 
in  the  Boston  Gazette  over  the  signature  of  "  Junius  Americanus." 
He  was  at  this  period  warm  in  the  interests  of  the  Federal  party ;  but 
he  took  sides,  in  the  great  division  of  the  party  between  President 


340  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Adams,  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  section  of  the  Federal  party  known 
as  the  Essex  junto,  and  inclined  in  opposition  to  the  latter.  Mr.  Ever- 
ett married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Dea.  Isaac  Appleton,  Dec.  29, 1799, 
who  was  sister  of  the  eminent  Appletons  of  Boston.  In  1811  Mr. 
Everett  pubhshed  the  first  number  of  a  Demonstration  on  the  Divinity 
of  the  Scriptures  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  Prophecies,  being  a  series  of 
essays,  in  which  he  writes:  "  I  have  endeavored  to  prove  that  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  of  America  are  distinctly  alluded  to  and  char- 
acterized by  the  inspired  writers,  Daniel  and  St.  John :  in  one,  by  the 
stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain,  without  hands ;  in  the  other,  by  the 
man-child  of  the  church  militant.  We  have  seen  that  those  symbols 
must,  upon  every  principle  of  analogy  and  sound  reasoning,  necessarily 
represent  some  new  character  in  the  prophetic  drama,  at  or  before  its 
grand  catastrophe ;  and  that  the  subject  represented  must,  upon  the 
same  principles,  be  a  people  or  nation  deriving  their  origin  from  Chris- 
tendom. Such  are  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Their  origin  was 
the  result  of  no  edict  or  formal  act  of  secular  power,  as  signified  by 
the  figurative  expression  in  Daniel.  They  are  the  oifspring  of  the  per- 
secuted and  reforming  church,  as  designated  by  St.  John.  They  have 
been  the  peculiar  subjects  of  that  protecting  care  of  Divine  Providence, 
so  strongly  intimated  by  those  striking  symbols  which  appear  to  give 
the  first  distinct  view  of  them,  and  so  clearly  expressed  in  the  further 
development  of  their  history  and  character  by  both  these  prophets. 
They  have  also  attained  their  national  independence,  as  evidently  rep- 
resented by  their  being  caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God,  the  manifest 
emblem  of  sovereign  power,  and  perhaps  of  the  excellence  of  its  form 
of  government."  We  do  not  discover  that  this  production  ever 
extended  to  another  number.  It  comprises  forty  pages  in  octavo, 
and  displays  great  ingenuity  of  argument.  In  1812  Mr.  Everett 
espoused  the  cause  of  De  Witt  Clinton  for  the  presidency,  in  oppo- 
sition to  James  INIachson,  thus  returning  to  the  Federal  party.  He 
conducted,  also,  "The  Yankee,"  and  engaged  in  "The  Pilot,"  which 
survived  but  a  brief  period.  In  1813  he  removed  to  Marietta,  Ohio, 
where,  before  succeeding  in  establisliing  a  proposed  newspaper,  he  died, 
Dec.  21,  1813,  aged  forty-four  years. 

Mr.  Everett  had  a  sprightliness  of  mind,  with  a  liberal  share  of  wit ; 
rare  poetic  -taste,  as  his  poems  show ;  and  was  a  racy,  pungent  wi'iter, 
admirably  fitted  for  popular  eflect.  Mr.  Everett,  in  the  winter  pre- 
vious to  entering  Dartmouth  College,  in  1791,  when  ar  teacher  in  the 


DAVID    EVERETT.  341 

grammar  school,  at  New  Ipswich,  prepared  a  little  poem  to  be  recitecl 
at  an  exhibition  got  up  in  the  academic  style,  composed  expressly  for 
Ephraim  H.  Farrar,  to  be  spoken  by  him  on  the  occasion,  when  only 
seven  years  of  age.  We  quote  this  curiosity,  as  it  appears  in  Bing- 
ham's Columbian  Orator.  It  is  a  rare  sample  of  juvenile  wit,  and  will 
be  famous  so  long  as  a  youthful  orator  appears  on  the  floor  of  a  school 
or  an  academy:  —  written  at  the  birthplace  of  Samuel  Appleton. 

"  You  'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage  ; 
And  if  I  chance  to  fall  below 
Demosthenes  or  Cicero, 
Don't  view  me  with  a  critic's  eye, 
But  pass  my  imperfections  by: 
Large  streams  from  little  fountains  flow  ; 
Tall  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow  ; 
And  though  I  now  am  small  and  young, 
Of  judgment  weak,  and  feeble  tongue, 
Yet  all  great  learned  men,  like  me. 
Once  learned  to  read  their  A,  B,  C. 
But  why  may  not  Columbia's  soil 
Rear  men  as  great  as  Britain's  Isle,  — 
Exceed  what  Greece  and  Rome  have  done. 
Or  any  land  beneath  the  sun  ? 
May  n't  Massachusetts  boast  as  great 
As  any  other  sister  State  ? 
Or  where  's  the  town,  go  far  and  near, 
That  does  not  find  a  rival  here  ? 
Or  where  's  the  boy,  but  three  feet  high, 
Who 's  made  improvement  more  than  I  ? 
These  thoughts  inspire  my  youthful  mind 
To  be  the  greatest  of  mankind  :  — 
Great,  not  like  Ccesar,  stained  with  blood, 
But  only  great  as  I  am  good." 

It  having  been  a  question  of  contest,  for  more  than  half  a  centurj, 
as  to  whom  this  little  poem  may  be  ascribed,  and  for  whom  it  was 
written, —  the  prevaihng  opinion  being  that  it  was  prepared  for  Edward 
Everett, —  we  find  in  a  speech  of  this  gentleman,  delivered  at  Cam- 
bridge, after  the  public  school  examination  in  the  High  School,  July 
23,  1850,  his  own  declaration  to  the  contrary.  After  being  called  on 
by  the  mayor  to  address  the  company,  Mr.  Everett,  in  the  exordium, 
remarked  :  "  May  it  please  your  honor,  I  cheerfully  comply  with  your 
request  that  I  would  say  a  few  words  on  the  present  occasion,  although 
I  am  aware  that  this  respectable  company  is  not  assembled  to  hear  me. 
29* 


842  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

I  may,  in  fact,  with  propriety,  use  the  words  of  a  favorite  little  poem, 
which  many  persons  have  done  me  the  honor  to  ascribe  to  me,  but 
which  was,  in  reality,  written  by  a  distant  relative  and  namesake  of 
mine, —  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  before  I  was  born.     It  begins  — 

'  You  'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage.' 

This  place  and  the  day  belong  to  the  young ;  and,  after  what  we  have 
heard  from  them,  I  need  not  say  that  they  need  no  assistance  from  their 
seniors  to  give  interest  to  the  occasion."  And,  in  the  conclusion  of  an 
extended  speech  on  popular  education,  Mr.  Everett  cautions  the  scholars 
against  studying  too  hard  in  vacation,  and  advises  them,  after  the 
fatigues  of  three  months  at  school,  not  to  engage  in  work  for  eight  or 
ten  hours  a  day  at  home.  "  I  hope  your  fathers  and  mothers  will  not 
permit  it,"  says  Everett.  "If  you  insist  upon  a  half  an  hour  or  so 
in  the  morning,  and  as  much  more  in  the  afternoon  and  evening,  by 
way  of  amusement,  I  do  not  know  that  I  should  greatly  object ;  but 
take  care  to  have  a  right  good  time,  and  come  back  at  the  end  of  the 
holidays  with  rosy  cheeks  and  bright  eyes,  ready  to  engage  with  eager- 
ness in  the  duties  of  the  new  term." 

In  our  outline  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett  appears  a  choice  little 
poem,  written  for  him,  and  spoken  by  him  at  a  school  exhibition  in  his 
native  town  of  Dorchester.  The  boy  who  spoke  the  simple  speech 
written  by  David  Everett,  whose  name  was  Ephraim  Hartwell  Farrar, 
was  writing-master,  in  1813,  in  the  elementary  school  of  Lawson  Lyon, 
located  on  the  north  side  of  Dr.  Channing's  church,  in  Boston,  where 
sons  of  our  most  distinguished  families  were  educated  ;  among  whom 
were  boys  who  have  risen  to  eminence  in  public  life,  such  as  Rev. 
Stephen  H.  Tyng,  and  Rev.  William  Furness,  of  Philadelphia ;  Alex- 
ander Young,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Samuel  J.  May,  Rev.  Ralph  Waldo  Emer- 
son, Rev.  Wm.  P.  Lunt,  William  H.  Gardiner,  John  Everett,  William 
Parsons,  son  of  the  late  chief-justice,  and  the  Gilberts,  brokers,  in  State- 
street.  Master  Farrar  was  remarkable  for  a  mild  and  even  temper. 
A  gentler  soul  never  breathed,  and  his  benignant  light  stroke  of  the 
rattan  was  a  striking  contrast  to  the  eight  severe  blows  of  the  button- 
wood  ferule  vigorously  applied  by  Master  Lyon,  the  terror  of  the 
school.  As  posterity  will  ever  desire  to  know  the  history  of  the  boy 
for  whom  the  inimitable  speech  was  written,  we  will  relate  that  he  was 
the  youngest  son  of  Rev.  Stephen  Farrar,  the  fii'st  minister  of  New 


DAVID   EVERETT.  843 

Ipswich,  who  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  1755,  lie  was  born 
Dec.  8,  1783,  and  married  Phebe  Parker  in  1825,  widow  of  Jonas  0. 
Champnej,  bj  whom  he  had  one  daughter.  His  wife  died  in  1848  ; 
and  Master  Farrar  died  in  New  Ipswich,  Jan.  8,  1851.  After  being 
many  years  a  teacher  in  Boston,  he  became  a  partner  in  trade  wnth  a 
Mr.  Carleton;  and,  on  returning  to  his  native  town,  he  became  the 
town-clerk,  w'hich  station  he  occupied  until  his  decease.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  New  Ipswich  Academy ;  and  it  was  at  one  of  the  annual 
exhi})itions  of  that  institution  when  he  was  called  on  to  recite  this 
beautiful  poem.  It  is  interesting  to  remark,  that  at  the  centennial 
celebration  in  that  town,  September,  1850,  when  he  was  an  old  man, 
he  was  called  out  again  to  personate  the  youth  for  whom  that  eflfusion 
was  written ;   and,  immediately  rising,  merely  repeated  the  first  two 

lines : 

"  You  'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage," 

which  excited  the  risibles  of  the  audience. 

We  cannot  be  parted  from  these  pleasant  reminiscences  without 
introducing  Master  Farrar' s  own  criticisms  on  the  subject.  In  writing 
from  New  Ipswich,  under  date  of  July  27,  1849,  he  relates  that  Mr. 
Everett  kept  the  grammar  school  in  the  centre  of  this  town,  and  got 
up  an  exhibition  in  the  academic  style,  and  at  this  time  wrote  the  lines 
expressly  for  and  to  be  spoken  by  the  writer  of  this  communication, 
then  a  httle  boy  seven  years  of  age.  "  The  '  Lines  '  were  handed  to 
me  in  manuscript.  After  they  had  been  given  to  me,  I  had  always 
considered  them  as  in  a  sense  belonging  to  me,  to  my  native  state,  my 
native  town.  "V^Tien,  therefore,  I  saw,  in  the  printed  copy,  the  substi- 
tution of  two  words  for  two  in  the  original,  namely,  '  Massachusetts  ' 
and  '  sister,'  for  '  New  Hampshire '  and  '  Federal,'  I  thought  there 
was  either  a  gross  mistake  in  the  printer,  or  an  infringement  upon  my 
rights ;  this  changing  the  place  broke  up  all  my  former  associations, 
and  entirely  destroyed  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  piece.  Whether  this 
was  done  by  the  author  or  not,  I  am  not  able  to  say.  I  am  rather 
inchned  to  think  the  latter  wa^ ;  for  he  afterwards  became  a  politician 
of  the  Jefferson  school,  edited  a  paper  called  '  The  Patriot,'  and  the 
word  '  Federal '  became  extremely  obnoxious  to  many  of  that  party. 
This,  however,  I  never  quarrelled  much  about.  But  that  my  native 
State  should  receive  such  an  insult,  I  felt  very  indignant.  It  seemed 
to  my  youthful  heart  to  say,  there  was  one  man  who  might  possibly 


344  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

have  some  doubts  whether  New  Hampshire  could  boast  as  great  as  any 
other  federal  State,  —  so,  to  end  all  dispute  everywhere,  he  would  put 
in  Massachusetts ;  but,  after  a  residence  of  several  years  in  the  very 
heart  of  that  State,  thus  becoming  more  expatriated  from  the  one,  and 
naturahzed  to  the  other,  and  seeing,  also,  that  every  little  boy  read 
the  piece  just  as  if  it  were  his  o\\-n,  I  gave  over  the  contest,  and 
became  reconciled  to  the  change,  with  this  proviso,  that,  from  that 
time,  every  boy  who  should  speak  the  piece  should  have  the  hberty  to 
substitute  his  own  State." 


WILLIAM    CHARLES  WHITE. 

JULY  4,  1809.    FOR  THE  BUNKER  HILL  ASSOCIATION. 

On  this  occasion,  Mr.  White  pronounced  a  brief  oration,  after  which, 
another  was  given,  by  David  Everett.  "We  glean  two  eloquent  pas- 
sages from  his  oration  at  "Worcester,  which  indicate  marks  of  a  power- 
ful imagination  :  "  The  liberty  of  the  press  forms  the  broad  basis  of 
that  pyramid  of  freedom  which  rises  in  awful  grandeur  to  the  heavens, 
the  majestic  monument  of  our  glory.  Tear  away  this,  and  that  super- 
structure, now  the  envy  and  the  glory  of  the  world,  must  fall,  a  heap 
of  ruins,  to  the  earth.  Be  it  remembered,  my  countrymen,  that 
against  this  right  the  tyrant  has  ever  directed  his  eye,  with  jealous 
vigilance.  The  slavery  of  the  mind  forms  the  blackest  preface  to  his 
voluminous  despotism.  So  long  as  this  remains,  so  long  may  he 
securely  riot  in  the  miseries  of  his  subjects.  He  may  steep  them  in 
poverty  to  the  very  lips,  and  bend  and  chain  down  their  captive  and 
servile  spirits  to  the  lowest  deep  of  debasement.  Yet  how  often  have 
we  been  told  of  the  kingly  benefactions  to  which  literature  is  indebted  ! 
How  often  has  it  been  vociferated  in  our  ears  that  the  soil  of  a  repubhc 
is  unfriendly  to  the  growth  of  the  fine  arts  !  This  is  a  theme  upon 
which  many  of  our  scholars  have  dwelt  with  proud  satisfaction.  They 
are  welcome  to  the  peevish  pleasure  of  such  paltry  prejudices.  Have 
these  men  forgotten  that  every  Athenian  was  a  critic  in  eloquence  ? 
and  that  a  Roman  populace  has   often  been  alternately  soothed  and 


WILLIAM   CHARLES  WHITE.  345 

inflamed  by  the  fire  and  pathos  of  Cicero  1  Let  it  not  be  said  that  the 
two  repubUcs  were  inauspicious  to  the  fine  arts.  Were  not  the  Muses 
passionately  wooed  by  the  favorite  votaries  ?  Did  not  the  canvas  glow 
with  mimic  life  7  and  the  marble  emulate  the  noble  exterior  of 
humanity?  " 

Here  we  have  an  eulogium  of  Washington,  in  a  highly  poetic  strain  : 
"  How  do  your  finest  heart-strings  tremble  and  vibrate  at  the  mention 
of  Washington  !  He  smiled  at  the  tempest ;  he  defied  the  storm  con- 
jured up  by  the  black  incantations  of  ministerial  witchcraft,  and  hurled 
upon  our  devoted  country  by  the  dreadful  machinery  of  parliamentary 
furies  !  No  proud  abbey  boasts  the  exclusive  honor  of  his  precious 
relics.  His  solitary  grave  is  hallowed  from  the  profane  tread  of  curi- 
ous and  crowding  spectators.  In  this  consecrated  spot  the  poppy 
shall  never  fix  its  downy  root,  nor  the  wormwood  thrive,  nor  the  thistle 
shoot  its  bearded  and  unsalutary  stalk.  No ;  this  holy  soil  is  con- 
genial only  to  those  eternal  laurels  that  there  spring  up,  and  bloom, 
and  flourish,  in  thick  and  emulating  clusters  !  There  genius  has  often 
knelt  in  humble  and  fervent  devotion,  and  rendered  up  his  varied  and 
rival  ofierings.  But,  how  imperfect,  how  unworthy,  how  vain,  are 
his  best  and  brightest  gifts  !  The  historian  has  sat  down  to  his  record, 
—  but  how  cold  are  his  facts,  how  inanimate  his  reflections !  The 
sculptor  has  plied  his  chisel, —  but  what  art  can  mould  the  reluctant 
marble  into  the  representative  of  that  form  and  those  features  where 
every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal  ?  The  painter  has  spread  his  can- 
vas, —  but,  how  faint  the  resemblance  !  what  an  awkward  mimicry  of 
the  original !  So  would  it  still  have  been,  though  a  Raphael  had 
sketched  the  design,  a  Titian  had  shed  his  colors,  a  Guido  had  lavished 
his  graces,  a  Salvator  had  accumulated  his  sublimities  !  The  poet  has 
poured  his  verse, —  but  how  far  below  the  subject  would  have  been 
even  their  powers,  though  a  Pindar  had  thrown  his  bold  and  heedless 
hand  amidst  the  strings,  or  the  pathetic  Muse  had  trembled  out  the 
tenderest  note  that  ever  faltered  from  her  melancholy  lyre  !  " 

William  Charles  White  was  born  in  Boston  in  1777,  and  the  son  of 
William  White,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  who  apprenticed  him  to  Joseph 
Coohdge,  an  importing  Boston  merchant,  in  whose  employ  he  con- 
tinued for  a  few  years.  A  taste  for  polite  literature  soon  rendered  the 
journal  and  the  ledger  irksome  to  his  mind.  In  1796,  William  had 
written  "Orlando,"  a  tragedy,  afterwards  printed,  with  a  likeness  of 
the  author.     In  the  winter  of  this  year,  his  father  visited  New  York 


346  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

city,  -where  lie  remained  during  a  long  period.  He  felt  an  abhorrence 
of  the  drama,  aaid  was  deeply  affected  to  find  his  son's  passion  for  it  so 
strong  that  reproof  made  him  almost  insane  : 

"  A  son  his  father's  spirit  doomed  to  cross, 
By  penning  stanzas  while  he  should  engross." 

His  father  -writes  to  a  friend  in  Boston  as  follows:  "Wilham  had 
for  some  time  discovered  his  propensity  for  theatric  exhibitions,  and  by 
all  opportunities.  I  discountenanced  in  him  this  inordinate  passion. 
During  my  absence  from  Boston  last  summer,  he  -wrote  a  play,  -which, 
on  my  return,  some  of  the  family  mentioned  to  me.  Although  I  was 
not  pleased  -with  his  study  and  -writings  in  this  style,  yet  I  supposed  it 
a  good  opportunity  to  turn  his  attention,  and  destroy  gradually  his  pre- 
dilection for  the  stage.  About  a  month  previous  to  my  lea-vang  Boston, 
he  gre-w  sick,  and  -was  apparently  in  a  decline.  I  -was  very  anxious, 
and  postponed  my  journey  for  some  time.  A  few  days  before  I  left 
home,  he  seemed  to  be  in  better  spirits,  and  declared  himself  to  feel 
essentially  better  than  he  had  been  ;  and  -R-hen  I  came  a-way,  opened 
himself  in  a  very  dutiful  and  respectful  manner,  by  observing  that  his 
illness  arose  from  his  insatiable  thirst  for  the  stage ;  but  that  his  reso- 
lution had  gained  the  ascendency  of  his  desires, —  and  entreated  me 
not  to  have  the  least  uneasiness  respecting  him  in  that  particular,  for 
he  had  determined  not  to  give  -way  to  that  inclination."  Ho-wever 
sincere  was  the  promise,  it  was  soon  broken.  The  conflict  of  filial 
duty  with  passionate  desire  was  so  violent  as  to  bring  its  -victim  to  the 
verge  of  distraction.  Unable  to  resist  his  dramatic  love,  he  made  his 
first  appearance  at  the  Federal-street  Theatre,  Dec.  14,  1796,  in  the 
character  of  Nerval,  in  the  tragedy  of  Douglas,  and  was  received  with 
great  applause.  In  a  letter  of  apology,  written  the  next  day  to  his 
father,  he  says  :  "  I  am  sorry  I  was  compelled  by  -violence  of  inclina- 
tion to  deviate  from  my  promises  to  you ;  but  Hfe  was  one  series  of 
vexations,  disappointment  and  wretchedness.  Pray  let  this  considera- 
tion have  some  weight  with  you.  But,  for  Heaven's  sake,  for  your 
own  sake,  and  for  my  own  sake,  do  not  tear  me  from  a  profession  which, 
if  I  am  deprived  of,  will  be  attended  with  fatal  consequences  ! "  Never 
did  parent  mourn  more  inconsolably  for  the  worst  folhes  or  darkest 
crimes  of  his  offspring,  than  did  the  father  of  the  actor  over  this 
example  of  perversity  in  his  family.  His  epistles  are  filled  with 
expressions  of  distress  so  extravagant  that  they  are  only  redeemed  from 


WILLIAM   CHARLES  WHITE.  347 

being  ludicrous  by  tbe  deep  sorrow  they  breathe.  He  thus  addresses 
the  tragedian:  "Dear  William, —  for  so  I  will  still  call  you, —  my 
beloved  son !  stain  not  the  memory  of  your  amiable  and  tender  mother 
by  your  folly ;  break  not  the  heart  of  your  father, —  bring  not  down 
his  gi-ay  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave,  but  rouse  yourself  from  this 
seeming  state  of  insanity  !  Your  youth  will  excuse  you,  for  once. 
But,  for  God's  sake,  and  everything  you  hold  dear,  I  pray  you  to 
refrain,  and  be  not  again  seen  on  a  common  stage  !  "  The  temporary 
success  of  the  aspirant  for  theatric  fame  alleviated  the  sufferings  of  the 
distressed  parent,  and  he  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  advice  of  friends, 
and  consented  that  William  might  occasionally  tread  the  boards,  but 
only  in  the  elevated  walks  of  tragedy.  "  Let  me  enjoin  it  upon  you," 
he  writes,  "  never  to  appear, —  no,  not  for  once, —  in  any  comic  act, 
where  the  mimic  tricks  of  a  monkey  are  better  fitted  to  excite  laugh- 
ter, and  where  dancing,  singing  and  kissing,  may  be  thought  amuse- 
ment enough  for  a  dollar.  No,  William  ;  I  had,  much  as  I  love  you, 
rather  follow  you  to  the  grave,  than  to  see  you,  and  myself,  and  my 
family,  so  disgraced." 

He  appeared  as  Orlando  in  his  own  tragedy,  Dezio ;  as  Tancred,  in 
Thompson's  Tancred  and  Sigismundi,  Jan.  2,  1797.  He  personated 
Romeo,  and  Octavian,  in  the  Mountaineers,  also,  on  the  Boston  stage. 
The  tide  of  popular  favor  effected  v/hat  parental  admonition  and 
entreaty  failed  to  accomplish.  Controversy  with  the  manager  arose, — 
the  applause  which  followed  his  first  efforts  grew  fainter, —  the  fit  of 
romantic  enthusiasm  exhausted  itself, —  and  the  earliest  exertion  of 
reflection  resulted  in  the  determination  to  adopt  the  profession  of  the 
law.  In  July,  1797,  he  entered  the  ofiice  of  Levi  Lincoln,  in  Wor- 
cester, as  a  student.  In  July,  1800,  he  removed  to  Providence, 
where  he  completed  his  studies,  under  Judge  Howell,  and  opened  an 
office  in  that  city.  In  1804  Mr.  White  delivered  an  oration  on  the 
national  independence,  at  Worcester.  Not  finding  business,  and  being 
embarrassed  for  funds,  he  again  resorted  to  the  stage.  Dunlap 
relates,  in  his  History  of  the  American  Theatre,  that,  "  On  the  19th 
of  January  a  young  man  from  Worcester,  Mass.,  was  brought  out  with 
some  promise  of  success,  in  young  Nerval.  Curiosity  was  excited, 
and  a  house  of  six  hundred  and  fourteen  dollars  obtained.  He  had 
performed  in  Boston,  when  quite  a  boy,  with  that  applause  so 
freely  and  often  so  industriously  bestowed  on  such  efforts ;  had  since 
studied  law,  and  was  at  this  time  a  tall,  handsome  youth,  but  not 


348  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

destined  by  nature  to  shine.  He  attempted  Romeo,  and  gave  hopes  of 
improvement ;  but  much  improvement  was  -wanting  to  constitute  him 
an  artist."  He  played  Alonzo,  in  Columbus;  Aimwell,  in  the  Beaux 
Stratagem;  Theodore,  in  the  Court  of  Narbonne;  Elvira,  in  the 
Christian  Suitor ;  and  Altamont,  in  the  Fair  Penitent.  In  the  play 
of  the  Abbe  de  I'Epee  he  failed  altogether  in  the  part  of  St.  Alme, 
■was  hissed,  and  withdrawn  by  his  own  consent, —  as  it  was  announced 
to  the  public,  "  on  finding  the  character  too  diflBcult."  About  this 
time  was  begun,  and  nearly  completed,  a  drama,  with  the  title,  "  The 
Conflict  of  Love  and  Patriotism,  or  the  Afflicted  Queen,"  still  pre- 
served in  manuscript,  and  never  finished.  A  visit  to  Richmond,  Va., 
where  he  performed  a  few  nights,  was  crowned  with  success,  and  he 
designed  to  devote  his  hfe  to  the  stage.  The  reverse  of  fortune  in 
some  of  his  efforts  again  cured  the  dramatic  mania.  In  the  summer 
of  1801  he  returned  to  the  bar,  and  established  himself  at  Rutland, 
Worcester  county,  where  some  of  his  relatives  then  resided,  and  where 
his  father,  who  had  become  unfortunate  in  business,  soon  after  removed. 
He  was  married  to  Tamar  Smith,  the  daughter  of  a  respectable  farmer 
of  Rutland.  The  degree  of  eminence  and  emolument  he  attained  as 
counsellor  did  not  satisfy  his  ambition,  and  he  sought  a  wider  field. 
He  delivered  a  patriotic  oration  at  Rutland,  July  4,  1802.  In  May, 
1809,  he  prepared  to  publish  a  Compendium  of  the  Laws  of  Massa- 
chusetts, printed  in  that  year  and  in  1810, —  a  work  useful  in  that 
period,  but  soon  superseded  by  a  revision  of  the  statutes, —  and  its 
pubhcation  was  attended  with  great  loss  of  money.  The  severe  but 
witty  comment  of  an  eminent  jurist  on  this  work  was,  that  it  resem- 
bled the  tessellated  pavement  in  Burke's  description,  "  here  a  little 
Blackstone,  there  a  little  White."  To  superintend  the  printing  of 
this  work,  ISIr.  White  removed  to  Boston  in  1810,  and  formed  a  pro- 
fessional engagement  with  David  Everett,  Esq.,  of  brief  continuance. 
It  was  in  the  year  previous  that  Mr.  White  dehvered  in  Boston  the 
oration  named  at  the  head  of  this  article,  on  which  occasion,  in  the  pro- 
cession, appeared  the  ship  United  States,  full  rigged,  drawn  by  thirteen 
white  horses,  with  mounted  guns,  and  eight  artillery-men  on  each 
side.  In  1810  Mr.  White  pronounced  another  oration  on  the  national 
independence,  at  Hubbardston.  On  the  resignation  of  Judge  Bangs 
in  1811,  he  was  appointed  County  Attorney,  which  station  he  retained 
until  his  death.  In  1812  he  removed  to  Grafton,  and  in  1813  resided 
at  Worcester,  when  he  pubhshed  the  Avowals  of  a  Republican,  being 


ALEXANDEK  TOWNSEND.  349 

a  vindication  repelling  the  charge  of  apostasy  from  democratic  princi- 
ples, comprised  in  forty-eight  octavo  pages.  In  1814  Mr.  White 
removed  to  Sutton,  -where  he  married  a  second  -wife,  Susan  Johonnot, 
a  daughter  of  Dr.  Stephen  Monroe,  Aug.  13,  1815.  He  returned  to 
Worcester  in  1816,  and,  during  the  last  years  of  his  life,  owing  to  an 
organic  disease, —  the  dropsy, —  a  mortal  paleness  overspread  his 
countenance,  and  he  died  May  2,  1818,  aged  41. 

Through  the  whole  of  his  active  and  singular  career,  the  irrepress- 
ible love  of  the  drama  was  his  ruling  passion.  The  Clergyman's 
Daughter,  by  Mr.  White,  a  play  founded  on  McKenzie's  Man  of  the 
World,  was  first  acted  on  the  Boston  stage  Jan.  1,  1810,  was  pub- 
lished, and  received  with  great  favor.  In  December  of  that  year  Mr. 
White  produced  The  Poor  Lodger,  a  comedy  (adopting  the  incidents 
of  Evehna,  an  exquisite  tale  by  Miss  Burney),  which  was  also  pub- 
lished.    He  was  an  editor  of  the  National  ^gis. 

Mr.  Lincoln  remarks  of  him,  in  the  History  of  Worcester,  from 
which  a  large  portion  of  this  sketch  is  condensed,  that  he  possessed  a 
high  grade  of  talent  which  is  called  genius.  In  Mr.  White's  addresses 
at  the  bar,  there  were  splendid  passages  of  eloquence ;  but  they  were 
unequal, —  although  parts  were  strong,  they  were  not  connected,  with 
logical  method  and  clearness.  His  taste  was  refined  and  correct. 
Greater  constancy  and  perseverance  might  have  raised  him  to  high 
rank  in  many  of  the  departments  of  forensic  exertion,  literary  effort,  or 
dramatic  exhibition. 


ALEXANDER  TOWNSEND. 

JULY  i,  181/J     FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  oration  of  Mr.  Townsend,  we  find  a  happy  allusion  to  a  pre- 
diction advanced  in  Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations:  "  The  tree  of  our 
republican  liberty,  like  the  fabled  myrtle  of  ^neas,  sinks  its  roots  in 
blood.  To  agitate  it  extremely,  might  disturb  the  repose  of  our 
fathers.     Like  Polydore,  they  would  cry  to  us  from  the  ground, 

•  That  every  drop  this  living  tree  contains 
Is  kindred  Ijlood,  and  ran  in  patriotic  veins.' 

30 


350  THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS. 

Let  US  rally  under  its  branches.  Its  leaves  are  healing  to  the  taste. 
Transatlantic  genius  long  since  predicted,  when  we  were  one  in  govern- 
ment with  Britain,  that  in  little  more  than  a  century,  perhaps,  Amer- 
ican taxation  would  be  more  productive  than  British,  and  the  seat  of 
empire  change." 

"  Riot  robbed  glory  of  scarcely  a  life,"  says  Mr.  Townsend.  "  Not 
a  drop  of  the  blood  that  was  poured  out  for  hberty  could  be  spared  for 
licentiousness.  Little  mob  \iolence  disgraced  our  proceedings.  The 
din  of  arms  could  not  drown  the  voice  of  law.  Men,  hurrying  on  to 
liberty,  still  stopped  to  do  homage  to  justice.  The  fifth  of  March, 
1770,  while  it  did  much  to  estabhsh  our  independence,  did  more  to 
prove  we  were  worthy  of  it.  The  very  soldiers,  viewed  in  the  most 
odious  light,  as  members  of  a  standing  army  quartered  upon  us  in 
time  of  peace,  whose  firing  upon  the  populace  produced  death  and 
liberty,  were  almost  immediately,  by  that  populace,  and  for  that  firing, 
solemnly,  dehberately  and  righteously,  acquitted  of  murder.  My 
friends,  this  is  the  greatest  glory  in  our  history,  the  brightest  gem  in 
our  national  diadem.  Brutes  have  passions ;  men  should  govern  them. 
We  have  another  instance.  Li  the  temple  of  justice  a  voice  was  after- 
wards heard :  '  I  will  this  day  die  soldier,  or  sit  judge ; '  and  then  was 
suddenly  expressed  what  since,  thank  God,  has  proved  a  permanent 
feature  of  the  New  England  judiciary." 

Alexander  Townsend  was  born  in  Boston,  and  son  of  David  Towns- 
end,  formerly  a  watch-maker  in  State-street.  He  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College  in  1802,  read  law  under  the  eminent  Samuel  Dexter, 
was  an  attorney  of  Suffolk  bar  in  1806,  and  sorn  became  a  counsellor- 
at-law.  He  was  an  unmarried  man.  After  the  delivery  of  the  oration 
at  the  head  of  this  article,  the  following  sentiment  was  given  for  the 
orator  of  the  day,  by  the  president,  at  the  dinner  in  Faneuil  Hall : 
"  May  the  principles  he  has  this  day  eulogized  long  have  the  support 
of  his  talents  and  his  eloquence."  Mr.  Townsend  gave,  on  this  occa- 
sion, "Faneuil  Hall:  May  it  never  rock  to  sleep  the  independence  it 
created." 

Mr.  Townsend  was  a  large  owner  of  real  estate  in  Boston  ;  and  was 
proprietor  of  the  INIarlboro'  Hotel,  originally  a  dark,  unsightly  build- 
ing, which  he  remodelled  in  handsome  style ;  and,  when  advertising 
the  edifice  to  let,  informed  those  who  complained  that  the  building 
was  deficient  in  light  that  they  had  better  blame  their  eyes  than  the 
edifice.     Mr.  Townsend  was  warmly  interested  in  the  political  topics 


DANIEL  WALDO   LINCOLN.  351 

of  the  day,  and  frequently  engaged  in  active  debate  at  Faneuil  Hall ; 
but  was  not  a  popular  speaker,  more  because  of  his  uncouth,  declama- 
tory manner,  than  for  want  of  forcible  argument.  He  died  in  Bos- 
ton, April  13,  1835,  aged  51  years. 


DANIEL  WALDO  LINCOLN. 

JULY  4,  1810.    FOR  THE  BUNKER  HILL  ASSOCIATION. 

Was  son  of  Levi  Lincoln,  and  born  in  Worcester,  March  2,  1784 ; 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1803,  on  which  occasion  he  delivered 
a  poem  on  "Benevolence."  He  studied  law  with  his  father,  settled 
in  Portland,  Me.,  and  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Sullivan  the  county 
attorney  of  Cumberland ;  he  removed  to  Boston  in  1810,  and  returned 
to  Portland  in  1813.  The  early  decease  of  the  beautiful  Miss  Cald- 
well, of  AYorcester,  to  whom  he  was  engaged,  shortened  his  days.  He 
was. a  brother  of  Governor  Lincoln.     He  died  April  17,  1815. 

The  Bunker  Hill  Association  was  originated  on  the  brow  of  the 
battle-field,  in  Charlestown,  July  4,  1808,  in  consequence,  probably, 
of  the  refusal  of  the  Federal  selectmen  of  Boston  to  permit  the  Repub- 
lican party  the  use  of  Faneuil  Hall,  for  the  celebration  of  our  national 
independence,  thus  subjecting  them  to  the  necessity  of  obtaining  a 
church,  or  public  hail,  for  several  years;  which  elicited  the  forth- 
coming sentiment  at  the  pubhc  festival,  July  4,  1810,  after  the  dehv- 
ery  of  the  oration  by  D.  W.  Lincoln  :  "  The  Republican  Orator  of  the 
Day :  Well  might  his  enemies  endeavor  to  obstruct  his  passage  to  a 
rostrum ;  the  name  of  Cicero  was  not  more  dreadful  to  the  Catilines  of 
Rome  than  is  that  of  Lincoln  to  the  Essex  Junto." 

The  oration  pronounced  this  day,  and  another,  delivered  at  Worces- 
ter, July  4,  1808,  are  the  only  printed  memorials  of  this  writer  of  fine 
rhetorical  power.  "  Tyrants,  beware  !  "  commences  our  orator,  in  the 
peroration.  ' '  Dare  not  to  invade  the  sacred  rights  chartered  to 
nature's  children  by  nature's  God  !  Dare  not  to  provoke  the  ven- 
geance of  valor,  the  indignation  of  virtue,  the  anathema  of  Heaven ! 
Restrain  the  savage  myrmidons  of  thy  power  from  the  sacrilegious 
violation  of  peace,  the  prostration  of  law,  the  destruction  of  estate,  and 


852  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

the  sacrifice  of  life  !  Sucli  were  the  dictates  of  reason,  ere  usurping 
pride  trampled  on  the  prerogatives  and  immunities  of  freemen.  Such 
■were  the  arguments  of  justice,  ere  legislative  voracity  wrested  from 
the  stubborn  hand  of  labor  the  wages  of  toilsome  industry.  Such 
were  the  petitions  of  loyalty,  ere  wanton  cruelty  had  curdled  the 
mantling  blood  of  kindred  affection,  or  annulled  the  hallowed  obligation 
of  filial  submission.  Such  were  the  entreaties  of  humanity,  ere  the 
ministers  of  royal  barbarity  were  unleashed,  ere  ruin  revelled  at  his 
harvest  home,  or  death  celebrated  his  carnival."  There  were  present  at 
its  delivery  John  Adams,  Robert  Treat  Paine,  and  Governor  Gerry, 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  H.  G.  Otis,  President  of 
the  Senate,  and  Perez  Morton,  Speaker  of  the  House.  Without 
doubt,  the  abrupt  outbreak  of  the  orator  prompted  the  men  of  power 
to  gaze  at  him,  as  the  audience  involuntarily  cast  their  eyes  upon 
them,  desiring  to  know  who  were  rebuked.  We  will  cite  another 
passage  from  the  one  at  this  date,  in  which  our  orator  enlarges  on  the 
direful  effects  of  party  strife :  "  Like  the  enchantment  of  Circe's  bale- 
ful cup,  party  spirit  has  transformed  mankind,  unmoulding  reason's 
mintage.  It  has  frozen  the  current  of  the  heart,  and  paralyzed  the 
pulses  of  love.  Friendship  meets  a  stranger  in  forgotten  sympathy ; 
fraternity  turns  aside  from  alienated  affection ;  and  parental  tenderness 
petrifies  in  filial  estrangement.  The  demon  of  party  spirit  has  per- 
vaded even  to  the  penetralia,  and  subverted  the  altars  of  the  Penates, 
while,  enthroned  on  the  ruins,  he  triumphs  in  domestic  discord.  Party 
spirit  has  invaded  places  most  sacred,  reverend  and  holy;  has  pol- 
luted the  judgment-seat,  and  profaned  the  temples  of  the  Most  High. 
History  points  to  her  sanguine  leaf,  the  mournful  memorial  of  party 
rage.  See  Marius'  spear  reeking  with  gore  !  Behold,  expiring  breath 
lingers  on  Sylla's  blade  !  Can  the  drops  be  numbered  that  fall  from 
Julius'  sword?  Can  the  stains  be  scoured  from  Antonius'  helm? 
Mark  the  rose  dripping  with  blood,  where  brother  falls  beneath  a 
brother's  hand,  where  man  is  unhumanized,  and  the  savage  is  fleshed 
in  kindred  carnage  !  Father  of  mercies  !  let  not  such  be  the  destiny 
of  my  country  !  Let  not  the  evening  star  go  down  in  blood  !  Educa- 
tion can  unlock  the  clasping  charm,  and  thaw  the  murmuring  spell  of 
party  spirit.  By  informing  man  how  little  man  can  know,  it  will 
relax  the  dogmatical  pertinacity  of  ignorance,  and  infuse  a  temper  of 
candor  and  kind  concihation ;  not  the  obsequious  conciliation  which 
receives  and  adopts  errors,  but  that  which  forgives  them." 


JAMES  SAVAGE.  358 

JAMES   SAVAGE. 

JULY  i,  1811.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  peroration  of  the  eloquent  performance  of  Mr.  Savage,  we 
have  a  remonstrance  against  the  commercial  encroachments  of  Napo- 
leon, at  the  verj  period  when  he  was  the  most  powerful  despot  in  the 
world,  which  evinces  a  manly  and  patriotic  spirit. 

"Can  we  be  deluded,  my  countrymien,"  says  Mr.  Savage,  "out  of 
our  liberties  by  him  Avho  announces  that  '  the  Americans  cannot  hes- 
itate as  to  the  part  which  they  are  to  take ; '  who  declares  that  '  we 
ought  either  to  tear  to  pieces  the  act  of  our  independence,'  or  coincide 
with  his  plans ;  who  implicitly  calls  our  administration  '  men  with- 
out just  pohtical  views,  without  honor,  without  energy;'  and  who 
threatens  them  '  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  fight  for  interest,  after 
having  refused  to  fight  for  honor '  ?  Shall  the  emperor,  wh6  is  no  less 
versed  in  the  tactics  of  desolation  than  in  the  vocabulary  of  insult  and 
the  promises  of  perfidy,  deceive  our  government  by  assertions  that '  His 
Majesty  loves  the  Americans,' — their  prosperity  and  their  commerce 
are  within  the  scope  of  his  policy  ?  We  knew  before  that  his  political 
magazine  contains  rattles  for  babies,  as  well  as  whips  for  cowards. 
Our  commerce  has,  indeed,  long  been  within  the  scope  of  his  policy,  as 
our  merchants  and  mariners  will  forever  remember.  His  Majesty,  no 
doubt,  does  love  the  Americans,  as  the  butcher  delights  in  the  lamb  he 
is  about  to  slaughter,  as  the  tiger  courts  the  kid  he  would  mangle  and 
devour.  For  such  promises,  the  sacrifice  of  honor,  of  interest,  of 
peace,  of  liberty,  and  of  hope,  is  required.  For  such  promises,  some 
are  willing  to  stir  up  former  national  antipathies,  and,  when  these  are 
too  weak  for  their  purpose,  to  employ  new  artifices  of  treachery,  to 
excite  the  passions  of  those  who  are  slow  to  reason ;  while  others  pro- 
mote the  design  by  reproaching  opponents  with  idle  words,  and  threat- 
ening them  with  empty  menaces.  If  Heaven  has  abandoned  us  to  be 
so  deceived  into  ruin,  on  some  future  anniversary  of  our  national  exist- 
ence we  may  exclaim,  with  Antony,  in  the  bitterness  of  despair : 

'  They  tell  us  't  is  our  birthday,  and  we  '11  keep  it 
With  double  pomp  of  sadness  ; 
'T  is  what  the  day  deserves  that  gave  us  breath. 
Why  were  we  raised  the  meteor  of  the  world, 

30* 


3^  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Hung  in  the  skies,  and  blazing  as  we  travelled. 

Till  all  our  fires  were  spent,  and  then  cast  downwards 

To  be  trod  out  by  Ccesar  ? ' 

"Without  adverting  to  the  political  questions  of  our  own  govern- 
ment, we  have,  my  fellow-citizens,  a  criterion  by  which  to  distinguish 
the  supporters  of  American  independence.  They  who  behold  with 
indifference  the  freedom  of  other  nations  prostrated  are  no  friends  of 
our  own.  One  country  after  another,  in  melancholy  and  rapid  suc- 
cession, is  absorbed  in  the  imperial  vortex ;  and  some  of  our  citizens 
are  led,  by  the  enmity  against  England  which  they  are  instructed  to 
cherish,  to  exult  in  these  forewarnings  of  our  destruction.  Shall  the 
delusion  be  corrected  7  Shall  we  feel  that  our  own  existence  is  haz- 
arded, when  Holland,  and  Switzerland,  and  Naples,  and  Spain,  dissolve 
into  the  heated  mass  of  French  power,  like  the  towering  ice-mountains 
of  the  pole,  as  they  float  towards  the  south  7  Shall  our  rulers  '  suffer 
scorn  till  they  merit  it,'  and  lose  the  inheritance  of  valor  by  the  expe- 
dients of  imbecility  ?  Shall  they  adhere  to  error  till  it  becomes  trea- 
son ?  Ardent  as  is  my  execration  of  the  cowardly  policy  that  submits 
without  resistance  to  degradation,  I  should  more  earnestly  abhor  the 
alliance  in  which  many  apprehend  that  we  are  irrevocably  bound. 
Every  part  of  our  body  that  was  sensible  to  pain  has  smarted  with  the 
lash  of  French  enmity ;  but  the  sighs  and  groans  of  Europe,  from  the 
Baltic  to  the  Hellespont,  witness  the  exquisite  torments  inflicted  by 
their  friendship.  Let  the  spirit  of  our  fathers  be  evoked  from  their 
tombs,  to  recall  their  posterity  to  the  recollection  of  their  honorable 
origin,  to  the  vindication  of  their  ancient  glory.  There  is,  we  hope,  a 
redeeming  spirit  in  the  people,  which  will  restore  dignity  to  govern- 
ment and  prosperity  to  the  country, —  which  will  bring  us  back  to  the 
principles  of  better  times,  and  the  practice  of  Washington. —  which  will 
assert  our  independence  wherever  the  enterprise  of  our  commerce  has 
been  exhibited,  and  make  it  lasting  and  incorruptible  as  the  private 
virtues  of  our  countrymen." 

The  ancestor  of  James  Savage,  who  was  Maj.  Thomas  Savage,  came 
to  Boston  from  St.  Albans,  Hertfordshire,  April,  1635,  in  the  ship 
Planter,  Nic.  Trarice,  master  ;  was  one  of  the  Court  of  Assistants,  and 
a  founder  of  the  Old  South  Church.  He  was  one  of  those  who  under- 
took, in  1673,  to  erect  a  barricade  in  Boston  harbor,  for  security  against 
a  fleet  then  expected  from  Holland  ;  out  of  which  grew,  in  less  than 
forty  years,  the  Long  Wharf,  a  small  portion  of  which  has  continued 


JAMES   SAVAGE.  355 

ever  since,  the  property  of  some  of  his  descendants.  The  father  of 
James  Savage  was  Habijah,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  who  married  Ehz- 
abeth,  daughter  of  John  Tudor,  Avhose  residence  was  in  Winter-street, 
on  the  south  side,  opposite  the  Common,  where  the  subject  of  this  out- 
line was  born,  July  13.  1784.  His  mother  died  before  he  was  four 
years  of  age,  and  he  early  entered  Derby  Academy,  in  Hingham, 
under  the  tuition  of  Abncr  Lincoln,  and  Washington  Academy,  at 
Machias,  Me.,  under  Daniel  P.  Upton.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1803,  on  which  occasion  he  gave  an  oration  in  English  on 
the  Patronage  of  Genius.  Mr.  Savage  engaged  in  the  study  of  law 
under  the  late  Chief  Justice  Parker,  Samuel  Dexter,  and  William  Sul- 
livan, and  entered  Suffolk  bar,  January,  1807 ;  previous  to  which  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Boston  Anthology  Society,  and  was  its  secre- 
tary in  January  of  that  year ;  and  being,  previous  to  this  period,  in 
declining  health,  he  visited,  with  his  relative  and  devoted  friend,  Wil- 
liam Tudor,  Jr.,  in  1805,  the  islands  of  Martinique,  Dominique,  St. 
Thomas,  St.  Domingo,  and  Jamaica.  He  was  an  original  founder  and 
life-subscriber  of  the  Boston  Atheneeum,  in  the  same  year. 

Mr.  Savage  was,  during  a  period  of  five  years,  an  editor  of  the 
Monthly  Anthology,  which  was  the  first  purely  literary  periodical  in 
New  England,  conducted  by  members  of  the  Anthology  Society,  a  lit- 
erary club  of  many  of  our  finest  scholars,  which  met  at  private  dwell- 
ings, and  after  supper  devoted  their  time  to  hterary  criticisms  and 
general  discussions  on  polite  literature,  theology,  and  varied  contro- 
versy. When  this  periodical  was  discontinued,  in  1811,  New  England 
was  without  a  literary  review  of  like  character ;  and  it  was  not  until 
1815  that  the  North  American  Review,  like  a  phoenix,  arose  from  its 
ruins,  originated  by  such  scions  of  the  parent  club  as  William  Tudor 
and  William  S.  Shaw,  to  which  review  Mr.  Savage  was  a  contributor. 

There  is,  in  the  pages  of  the  Anthology,  a  curious  controversy 
between  Dr.  J.  S.  J.  Gardiner  and  Rev.  J.  S.  Buckminster,  on  the 
merits  of  Gray  as  a  poet.  This  dispute  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
discussions  between  the  romantic  and  classical  schools  in  literature,  says 
the  biographer  of  Buckminster.  Dr.  Gardiner  maintains,  with  dry 
reasoning,  that  Pope's  is  the  only  true  model  for  real  poetry.  The 
object  of  an  allusion  to  this  controversy  is  to  introduce  an  anecdote 
related  by  Mr.  Savage,  then  a  member  of  the  society.  ''  Controversy," 
said  he,  "  sprang  up  in  the  club,  on  the  literary  nature  of  Gray's  Odes ; 
and  the  war  began  with  a  burlesque  ode  to  Winter,  by  our  president,  Rev. 


S56  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

J.  S.  J.  Gardiner,  who  followed  it  up  witli  one  on  Summer,  also  in  the 
Anthology.  In  the  same  number,  Buckminster  gave  a  forcible  defence 
of  the  imagery  and  epithets  of  the  poet,  which  the  next  month  was 
replied  to  by  the  assailant,  and  in  the  following  number  was  strength- 
ened by  the  other  side ;  and  this  also  was  counteracted  by  another  par- 
ody of  the  lyric  inspiration,  in  which  Gray's  Odes  were  caricatured. 
A  fourth  attempt  at  the  ludicrous,  by  out  president,  contained  some- 
thing unguardedly  personal  from  the  satirist  to  his  antagonist,  which 
produced  strong  though  silent  emotions  of  sympathy  in  many  of  the 
party.  In  an  instant,  the  writer  threw  the  inconsiderate  effusion  into 
the  fire.  From  that  moment,  no  allusion  was  made  in  the  club  to 
Gray's  merits." 

In  1806,  when  Mr.  Savage  was  a  candidate  for  the  degree  of  IMiister 
of  Arts,  he  gave  an  oration  on  the  progress  and  advancement  of  com- 
merce; and  in  1812  he  pronounced  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration.  Mr. 
Savage  was  elected  a  State  representative  several  times,  first  in  1812  ; 
to  the  State  Senate,  first  in  1826 ;  to  the  Executive  Council,  first  in 
1830,  and  is  an  overseer  of  Harvard  College.  In  1819  Mr.  Savage 
visited  Demarara.  He  was  elected  to  the  Common  Council  first  in 
1823,  to  the  board  of  Aldermen,  first  in  1827,  and  to  the  school  com- 
mittee. In  April,  1823,  Mr.  Savage  married  Elizabeth  Otis,  widow 
of  James  Otis  Lincoln,  Esq.,  and  daughter  of  George  Stillman,  of 
Machias,  IMe.,  an  officer  of  the  Revolution ;  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
James,  and  three  daughters,  one  of  whom  married  Prof  Wilham  B, 
Rogers,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  1849 ;  another  daughter  married 
Amos  Binney,  of  Boston. 

Mr.  Savage  was  a  delegate  to  the  State  convention  on  the  re^^sion  of 
the  constitution  in  1820,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  debates.  In 
a  discussion  on  education,  he  remarked,  the  common  schools  are  the 
children  of  religion,  and  religion  not  the  child  of  town-schools.  He 
hoped  that  the  children  would  never  succeed  to  destroy  their  mother. 
An  abstract  of  his  excellent  speech  against  religious  tests  appears  in 
the  printed  journal  of  the  convention. 

Mr.  Savage  pubhshed,  in  the  year  1825,  The  History  of  New  Eng- 
land from  1630  to  1649,  by  John  Winthrop,  first  Governor  of  the  Col- 
ony of  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  his  original  manuscripts  :  with  Notes 
to  illustrate  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  concerns,  the  geography,  settle- 
ment, and  institutions  of  the  country,  and  the  lives  and  manners  of 
the  principal  planters.     The  learned  Notes  of  INIr.  Savage  to  this  work 


JAMES   SAVAGE.  357 

"will  ever  rank  him  among  the  most  profound  antiquaries  of  his  coun- 
try. But  would  it  detract  from  the  reputed  candor  of  Mr.  Savage, 
should  the  Notes  to  a  new  edition  of  this  work  be  entirely  divested  of 
his  own  expression  of  sectarian  feeling'?  Whenever  Mr.  Savage  has 
restored  the  true  reading,  he  has  accompanied  it  with  a  note  of  ref- 
erence to  the  corresponding  word  or  sentence  in  the  first  edition  as 
inserted  at  the  bottom  of  the  page.  ^Vlio  will  suppose  that  Gov.  Win- 
throp  could  say,  in  speaking  of  a  night  which  he  Avas  obliged  to  pass 
in  the  woods  in  consequence  of  losing  his  way,  that  it  was  through 
God's  mercy  a  weary  night,  instead  of  a  warm  night ;  or,  that  one 
Noddle,  an  honest  man  of  Salem,  was  drowned  while  running  wood  in 
a  canoe,  instead  of  carrying  wood ;  or,  lastly,  that  all  breeches  were 
made  up,  and  the  church  saved  from  ruin  beyond  all  expectation, 
instead  of  breaches?  The  good  sense  and  impartiality  of  Mr.  Savage's 
comments  form  a  singular  contrast  to  the  strong  and  unqualified  par- 
tiality too  often  extended  by  editors  towards  authors  whom  they  have 
labored  to  render  famous. 

The  last  days  of  James  Savage  are  devoted  to  antiquarian  research. 
"  During  the  summer  of  1842,"  says  he,  "  in  a  visit  to  England.  I  was 
chiefly  occupied  with  searching  for  materials  to  illustrate  our  early 
annals ;  and,  although  disappointment  was  a  natural  consequence  of 
some  sanguine  expectations,  yet  labor  Avas  followed  by  success  in  sev- 
eral. Accident  threw  in  my  way  richer  acquisitions,  which  Avere 
secured  Avith  diligence."  These  comprise  gleanings  from  New  Eng- 
land history,  extending  along  one  hundred  pages  in  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Collections,  of  names  of  early  settlers,  extracts  from  records, 
and  an  account  of  rare  books  and  tracts  written  in  New  England.  May 
the  shade  of  Prince  euAaron  our  antiquary !  His  last,  best  days  are 
intensely  devoted,  both  by  day  and  sometimes  to  the  last  hour  of  night, 
in  preparing  an  elaborate  work  exhibiting  the  early  genealogy  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Ncav  England ;  and  no  subtle  divine  or  civilian  ever 
followed  up  the  minutest  point  of  doubt  with  more  conscientious  regard 
to  accuracy,  which  will  render  him  the  most  eminent  genealogist  in 
America.  The  very  exordium  to  the  oration  of  Mr.  SaA'age,  at  the 
head  of  this  article,  exhibits  the  ruling  passion  of  his  mind ;  for  he 
says  :  "If  the  accidental  advantage  of  generous  birth  may  Avell  be  a 
cause  of  congi-atulation  to  an  indiA'idual,  how  greatly  ought  we  to 
exult,  my  countrymen,  on  a  review  of  our  national  origin  !  Descended 
from  the  only  people  to  Avhom  Heaven  has  afforded  the  enjoyment  of 


358  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

liberty,  Avith  a  •woll-balanced  government,  the  means  of  securing  its 
continuance  in  an  age  of  general  refinement,  in  a  season  of  universal 
peace,  our  fathers  began  the  controversy  which  ended  in  the  glorious 
event  that  we  this  day  celebrate." 

Mr.  Savage  published,  in  the  New  England  Magazine  for  1832,  a 
History  of  the  Adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  a  per- 
formance of  great  merit.  In  the  paragraph  on  popular  representation 
in  the  Legislature,  of  which  he  had  been  a  member,  he  remarks : 
"  Twenty  years  ago  I  had  a  right  to  a  seat  here,  when  the  representa- 
tives were  seven  hundred ;  and  one  town  favored  the  commonwealth 
with  its  delegate  whose  constituents  were  so  few  that,  had  an  equal  pro- 
portion through  the  State  been  allowed  to  show  equal  kindness,  the  num- 
ber would  have  exceeded  five  thousand  and  three  hundred.  A  stranger 
might  have  been  astonished  at  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Kuhn,  the 
doorkeeper,  performed  his  anxious  duty ;  and  he  would  perhaps  have 
irreverently  said,  that  the  members  had  been  subjected  to  the  treatment 
which  carcasses  undergo  from  the  inspector-general  of  provisions. 

"In  the  diminution  of  the  State,  by  the  loss  of  Maine,"  continues 
Mr.  Savage,  in  a  note,  ' '  the  relative  weight  of  Hull  has  increased. 
Instead  of  one  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  twentieth,  it  is  now 
one  three  thousand  and  eighteenth  of  the  whole.  But  it  has  had  no 
representative  since,  and  I  presume  never  had  before."  The  well- 
known  accuracy  of  Mr.  Savage  is  proverbial.  We  know  not  the  man 
of  more  scrupulous  nicety ;  but  in  this  point  of  Hull  he  is  ofi"  his 
guard.  The  editor  of  this  work,  being  descended  of  the  far-famed 
peninsula,  of  which  is  an  old  saying,  "As  goes  Hull,  so  goes  the 
State,"  feels  some  ambition  that  its  representation  be  accurately  stated. 
The  General  Court  records  show  that  Hull  sent  John  Loring  as  its  rep- 
resentative in  1692 ;  the  venerable  Benjamin  Cushing  in  1810 ;  and 
since  1812,  Samuel  Loring,  the  justice  of  Hull,  who  was  also  of  the 
house  in  the  two  years  previous.  The  facetious  editor  of  the  Boston 
Courier,  Mr.  Kettelle,  whose  sprightly  articles  over  the  signature  of 
Peeping  Tom  at  Hull  have  extended  its  fame,  said  of  this  watering- 
place  :  "  While  stands  the  Pickerelteum,  Hull  stands;  when  falls  the 
Pickerelseum,  Hull  falls ;  and  when  Hull  falls,  then  roof  and  rafter 
of  Boston  tovrn  come  tumbling  after." 

One  of  the  most  profound  instances  of  antiquarian  research  in  James 
Savage  appears  in  his  argument  on  ancient  and  modern  dating,  com- 
prising the  report  of  a  committee  of  the  Pilgrim  Society,  of  which  he  was 


JAMES   SAVAGE.  359 

chairman,  on  the  question  of  the  day  to  be  observed  as  that  of  the 
landing  of  the  Plymouth  Pilgrims.     It  has  been  stated  that  the  Hon. 
Judge  Davis  urged  an  attention  to  this  subject  in  the  year  1830,  being 
of  opinion  that  the  date  was  Dec.  21,  instead  of  the  day  usually  cele- 
brated.    Moreover,  it  is  stated  in  the  Perpetual  Calendar  for  Old  and 
New  Style,  prepared  by  Dr.  Nathaniel  B.  Shurtleff,  printed  in  1848  : 
"  Our  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  at  Plymouth  on  Monday,  the  11th  day 
of  December,  1620,  0.  S.     By  the  New  Style,  this  occurrence  would 
be  on  Monday,  Dec.  21, 1620,  and  not  on  Dec.  22,  as  was  erroneously 
adopted  at  Plymouth,  at  the  first  celebration  of  that  event.     This  error 
arose  by  adopting  the  correction  of  eleven  days,  in  use  after  the  year 
1700,  it  not  being  noticed  that  this  event  happened  in  the  previous  cen- 
tury, when  ten  days  only  were  required."     The  protracted  existing 
doubts  on  this  point  induced  the  Pilgrim  Society  of  Plymouth  to 
appoint  a  committee,  Dec.  15, 1849,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  cel- 
ebrating  in  future  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  on  the  21st  day  of 
December,  instead  of  the  22d  day.     The  learned  report,  prepared  by 
Mr.  Savage,  tending  to  establish  the  former  date,  was  unanimously 
accepted  by  the  committee ;    and  accepted  unanimously,  also,  by  the 
Pilgrim  Society,  May  27,  1850.     Mr.  Savage  enlarges,  moreover,  in 
this  document,  which  should  be  perpetuated  in  the  Collections  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  on  mistakes  in  relation  to  the  date  of 
the  surrender  of  Louisburg,  to  the  date  of  the  landing  of  Endicott,  in 
Salem,  of  the  landing  of  Winthrop  in  Charlestown,  of  the  naming  of 
Boston,  which  Judge  Davis  ascertained  in  1830,  and  to  the  mistake  of 
the  Historical  Society  regarding  the  period  of  the  confederation  of  the 
four  New  England  colonies.    And,  in  conclusion,  Mr.  Savage  very  pleas- 
antly remarks :  "  Why  should  we  celebrate  a  day  later,  for  that  of  our 
fathers'  landing  7     The  truth  should  be  good  enough  for  us  ;  and  that 
is  the  only  reason  for  preference  of  one  day  to  another.     When,  by 
habit,  the  right  day  has  become  the  day  of  reverence,  it  will  be  won- 
dered why  the  wrong  was  so  often  observed."     Indeed,  we  cannot  leave 
this  subject  without  noticing  an  error  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  alluded  to  in  the  Perpetual  Calendar,  in  adopting  Oct.  23, 
1492,  as  the  date  of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  for  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  society,  instead  of  Oct.  21,  which  was  the  actual 
date,  and  arising  from  the  same  cause  as  that  of  the  Pilgrim  Society. 
We  hope  this  investigation  will  prevent  the  recurrence  of  similar 
mistakes,  and,  with  Shakspeare, — 


860  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

"  Let 's  take  the  instant  by  the  forward  top  ; 
For  we  are  old,  and  on  our  quick'st  decrees 
The  inaudible  and  noiseless  foot  of  time 
Steals,  ere  we  can  effect  them." 

Mr.  Savage  is  a  man  of  untiring  industry.  He  prepared  the 
index  to  the  Ancient  Charter  and  Laws  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
revised  the  Avork  for  the  press,  pubhshed  in  1814.  He  edited  Paley's 
works,  and  the  press-work  of  American  State  papers,  in  ten  volumes, 
selected  by  John  Quincy  Adams.  He  is  president  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  and  editor  of  a  few  volumes  of  its  Historical 
Collections,  and  contributor  of  many  valuable  articles  in  that  work,  and 
in  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society ; 
and  is  a  vice-president,  and  has  been  treasurer,  of  the  Provident  Insti- 
tution for  Savings  in  Boston,  of  which  he  was  the  principal  originator, 
on  its  foundation,  in  1816.  He  originated,  also,  in  1817,  the  Boston 
primary  school  system. 


HENRY   ALEXANDER   SCAMMELL   DEARBORN. 

JULY  i,  1811.     FOR   THE   BUNKER  HILL  ASSOCIATION. 

In  this  performance  of  Gen.  Dearborn,  delivered  in  the  presence  also 
of  the  State  executive,  he  remarks  :  "  On  Bunker's  ever-memorable 
heights  was  first  displayed  the  lofty  spirit  of  invincible  patriotism  which 
impelled  the  adventurous  soldier  to  brave  the  severest  hardships  of  the 
tented  field,  and  endure  in  northern  climes  the  rugged  toils  of  war^ 
uncanopied  from  the  boreal  storm  and  rude  inclemencies  of  Canadian 
winters.  On  that  American  Thermopylae,  where,  wrapt  in  the  dim 
smoke  of  wanton  conflagration,  fought  the  assembled  sovereigns  of  their 
native  soil,  the  everlasting  bulwarks  of  freedom,  and  thrice  rolled  back 
the  ti'emcndous  tide  of  war,  was  evinced  that  unconquerable  intrepid- 
ity, that  national  ardor  and  meritorious  zeal,  which  secured  ^^ctory  on 
the  plains  of  Saratoga,  stormed  the  ramparts  of  Yorktown,  and  bore 
the  bannered  eagle  in  triumph  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the 
farthest  confines  of  the  wilderness. 

"  By  that  destructive  battle  were  awakened  the  most  exalted  facul- 
ties of  the  mind.     Reason,  unrestrained,  burst  forth  in  the  plenitude 


HENRY   ALEXANDER   SCAMMELL   DEARBORN.  361 

of  its  effulgence.  Man,  regenerated  and  disenthralled,  beat  down  the 
walls  of  slavish  incarceration,  and  trampled  on  the  broken  chains  of 
regal  bondage.  The  vast  resources  of  an  emancipated  people  were 
called  into  generous  exertion.  An  enthusiastic  spirit  of  independence 
glowed  in  every  breast,  and  spread  the  uncontaminated  sentiments  of 
emulative  freemen  over  the  broad  extent  of  an  exasperated  repubhc. 
The  united  energies  of  a  virtuous  people  were  strenuously  directed  to 
the  effectual  accomplishment  of  national  independence.  During  those 
portentous  times  were  achieved  the  most  honora^ble  deeds  which  are 
inscribed  on  the  ever-during  records  of  fame.  Stimulated  by  accumu- 
lating wrongs,  and  elated  by  the  purest  feeHngs  of  anticipated  success, 
no  disastrous  events  could  check  the  progress  of  their  arms,—  no  fas- 
cinating allurements  deflect  them  from  that  honorable  path  which  they 
had  sworn  to  pursue,  or  perish  in  the  hazardous  attempt.  Lispired  by 
the  guardian  genius  of  Liberty,  no  barriers  could  oppose  their  impet- 
uous career.  Like  the  '  Pontic  Sea,  Avhose  icy  current  and  compul- 
sive course  ne'er  feels  retiring  ebb,'  the  irrefluent  tide  of  freedom  rolls 
unrestrained.  By  the  courageous  virtue  of  our  illustrious  heroes  were 
secured  those  inestimable  blessings  which  we  have  since  enjoyed.  To 
the  warriors  and  statesmen  of  the  Revolution  are  we  indebted  for  all 
those  distinguished  privileges  which  place  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  beyond  the  predatory  vengeance  of  ruthless  oppression.  This 
invaluable  inheritance  is  the  prize  of  slaughter  acquired  by  the  lives 
of  contending  freemen,  secured  with  the  blood  of  battling  patriots." 

The  father  of  Gen.  Dearborn,  who  was  in  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  a  captain  in  Col.  Stark's  regiment,  relates  that,  being  desti- 
tute of  ammunition,  the  regiment  formed  in  front  of  a  house  occupied 
as  an  arsenal,  where  each  man  received  a  gill-cup  full  of  powder,  fifteen 
balls,  and  one  flint.  The  several  captains  were  then  ordered  to  march 
their  companies  to  their  respective  quarters,  and  make  up  their  powder 
and  ball  into  cartridges,  with  the  greatest  possible  despatch.  As  there 
were  scarcely  two  muskets  in  a  company  of  equal  calibre,  it  was  nec- 
essary to  reduce  the  size  of  the  balls  for  many  of  them ;  and  as  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  men  had  cartridge-boxes,  the  remainder  made 
use  of  powder-horns  and  ball-pouches.  Every  platoon- ofiicer  was 
engaged  in  discharging  his  own  musket,  and  left  his  men  to  fire  as 
they  pleased,  but  never  without  a  sure  aim  at  some  particular  object. 
He  did  not  see  a  man  quit  his  post  during  the  action ;  and  did  not 
believe  a  single  soldier  who  was  brought  into  the  field  fled  until  the 
31 


362  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

whole  army  was  obliged  to  retreat  for  want  of  powder  and  ball.  It  is 
a  most  extraordinary  fact,  that  the  British  did  not  make  a  single  charge 
during  the  battle ;  which,  if  attempted,  would  have  been  decisive  and 
fatal  to  the  Americans,  as  they  did  not  carry  into  the  field  fifty  bay- 
onets. In  his  company  there  was  but  one.  !Not  an  officer  or  sol- 
dier of  the  continental  troops  engaged  was  in  uniform,  but  was  in  the 
plain  and  ordinary  dress  of  citizens ;  nor  was  there  an  officer  on  horse- 
back. 

Henry  A.  S.  Dearborn  was  born  in  Exeter,  N.  H.,  March  3, 1783; 
was  the  son  of  Gen.  Henry,  who  married  Dorcas  Osgood,  March  28, 
1780.  He  early  entered  "Wilhamstown  Academy;  was  fii'st  a  student 
at  "Wilhamstown  College ;  entered,  in  advance,  at  William  and  Mary's 
College,  Williamsburgh,  Va.,  where  he  graduated  in  1803.  He 
studied  law  under  Hon.  William  Wirt,  and  closed  his  course  with 
Judge  Story,  of  Salem ;  begun  the  practice  of  law  in  Portland,  in 
1806,  and  married  Hannah  Swett,  a  daughter  of  Col.  William  R.  Lee, 
of  Marblehead,  at  Salem,  Mass.,  May  3,  1807.  He  became  a  coun- 
sellor-at-law ;  was  deputy-collector  of  Boston,  under  his  father,  in 
1811,  and  his  successor  as  collector  of  the  port  of  Boston  in  1813, 
which  station  he  occupied  until  the  appointment  of  David  Hen- 
shaw,  in  1830.  Gen.  Dearborn  delivered  the  oration  on  our  national 
independence,  July  4,  1811,  for  the  Bunker  Hill  Association;  which, 
with  the  Republican  Society,  were  merged  in  a  new  society,  called  the 
Washington  Society,  of  which  Charles  Hood  was  the  first  president.  He 
was  commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  in 
1816 ;  was  brigadier-general  of  the  Massachusetts  militia,  in  1814 ; 
was  a  member  from  Roxbury  of  the  convention  for  revising  the  State 
constitution,  1820.  He  was  a  Roxbury  representative  in  1830 ;  of 
the  Governor's  Council,  of  the  State  Senate,  from  Norfolk,  1831,  and 
a  member  of  Congress  in  1832.  He  was  also  the  adjutant-general 
of  Massachusetts,  1835.  In  1847  Gen.  Dearborn  was  the  second 
elected  INIayor  of  Roxbury,  which  station  he  honored  to  the  day  of  his 
decease,  July  29,  1851. 

The  reports  of  the  speeches  of  Gen.  Dearborn,  in  the  journal  of  the 
convention  of  1820,  evince  force  of  argument  and  political  sagacity. 
In  his  speech  on  religious  tests,  he  remarked  that  political  opinions 
were  not  subject  to  a  test, —  why  should  those  upon  religion  be  subject  to 
any  1  They  had  no  right  to  compel  a  man  to  throw  open  the  portals 
of  the  mind,  and  discover  his  relisiious  sentiments.     He  trusted  such 


HENRY  ALEXANDER  SCAMMELL  DEARBORN.        363 

oppression  "would  not  prevail  in  this  free  and  enlightened  country. 
There  was  no  authority  for  it  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
the  third  century  that  persons  raised  to  civil  offices  were  required  to 
believe  in  any  particular  religious  creed.  He  had  heard  it  said  that 
this  test  will  exclude  immoral  and  wicked  men  from  office.  He  asked 
if  such  had  been  the  eifect  of  tests  in  other  countries.  The  offiir  of  a 
sceptre  had  induced  princes  to  cross  themselves,  or  to  throw  off  their 
allegiance  to  the  Pope,  just  as  suited  their  views  of  aggrandizement. 
In  England  a  man  goes  to  take  the  sacrament,  not  to  repent  of  his 
sins,  but  because  he  is  chosen  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury.  The  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  which  proclaims,  and  the  United  States  con- 
stitution which  prescribes,  our  rights,  require  no  test  —  no  reason 
requires  a  test  in  the  State  constitution. 

The  origin  of  the  Rural  Cemetery  at  Mount  Auburn  may  be  traced 
to  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society,  whose  anniversary  discourse 
he  delivered  September,  1828  ;  and  was  its  first  president,  when  a  com- 
mittee was  selected  to  devise  measures  for  this  purpose,  in  connection 
with  an  experimental  garden.  Gen.  Dearborn,  while  president  of  this 
society,  was  chairman  of  this  committee,  and  prepared  a  report,  in 
which  an  extensive  and  able  exposition  was  made  of  the  advantages  of 
the  undertaking;  and,  on  the  8th  of  June,  1831,  another  committee, 
of  which  Gen.  Dearborn  was  a  member,  vras  appointed  to  forward  this 
object, —  and  for  sixty  days  a  horse  and  chaise  was  ready  at  his  door, 
that  he  might  traverse  the  grounds  and  execute  the  design.  On  Sept. 
24th,  of  the  same  year,  the  cemetery  was  consecrated,  and  Hon.  Judge 
Story  gave  an  eloquent  address  on  the  occasion ;  and  much  credit 
should  be  conceded  to  Gen.  Dearborn  for  the  architectural  and  rural 
taste  exhibited  in  the  order  of  Mount  Auburn  Cemetery.  The  city 
of  Roxbury  is  under  peculiar  obligation  to  Mayor  Dearborn  as  the 
originator  of  Forest  Hills  Cemetery,  consecrated  June  28,  1848.  In 
allusion  to  this  noble  repository  of  the  dead,  the  honored  Mayor  Dear- 
born remarks  of  it  as  "  a  retired,  umbrageous,  magnificent,  and  sacred 
garden,  which  will  continually  augment  the  number  and  variety  of 
funereal  monuments,  as  well  as  insure  the  erection  of  such  other  struc- 
tures as  may  be  deemed  expedient,  and  so  capacious  as  to  entirely 
supersede  the  occasion  for  any  other  burial-place  in  that  city." 

Mayor  Dearborn,  of  Roxbury,  had  accumulated  ninety  volumes  of 
manuscript,  largely  of  his  own  production ;  among  which  is  the  Life 
and  Times  of  Maj.  Gen.  Henry  Dearborn,  including  an  extensive  cor- 


364  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

respondence  -vvitli  the  greatest  men  of  our  country,  in  eleven  volumes. 
He  had  written  a  Diary,  or  journal  of  his  own  life  and  times,  and  cor- 
respondence with  famous  men,  in  forty-five  volumes.  He  had  written 
Grecian  Architecture,  in  two  volumes  folio ;  a  volume  on  Flowers, 
with  drawings,  and  compiled  a  Harmony  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  8vo., 
prepared  for  the  instruction  of  his  children,  when  they  were  educated. 
He  had  written  the  INIemoirs  of  Commodore  William  Bainbridge,  in 
400  pages  ;  a  History  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  in  several  hundred 
pages  of  quarto,  besides  literary  and  scientific  works.  He  was  author, 
moreover,  of  the  Memoirs  of  Col.  William  R.  Lee,  in  two  volumes 
cpiarto.  Gen.  Dearborn  had  an  extensive  library  in  his  romantic  cot- 
tage in  Roxbury,  where  the  intervals  of  leisure  were  devoted  to  his 
diary  and  literary  research.  Would  that  he  had  lived  to  complete  the 
hundredth  volume  of  mental  power !  No  man  in  New  England  was 
more  devoted  to  literature  and  science.  He  had  great  force  of  intel- 
lect, and  a  large  share  of  varied  learning.  His  unpublished  produc- 
tions will  add  new  illustrations  to  American  history,  and  would  be  a 
valuable  legacy  to  the  INIassachusetts  Historical  Society,  should  they 
never  be  published.  The  most  valuable  work  ever  printed  of  which 
he  was  the  author  is  the  History  of  the  Commerce  of  the  Black  Seas, 
in  two  volumes  octavo,  which  has  a  high  character  in  the  North  Amer- 
ican Review  of  1820.  Shovild  his  residence  be  destroyed  by  fire,  with 
all  the  manuscripts,  it  would  cause  a  vacuum  that  never  can  be  filled. 

In  the  peroration  of  Dr.  Putnam's  eulogy  on  Gen.  Dearborn  we 
find  this  glowing  passage:  "Lie  lightly  upon  his  bosom,  ye  clods  of 
the  valley ;  for  he  trod  softly  on  you,  in  loving  regard  for  every  green 
thing  that  ye  bore  !  Bend  benignantly  over  him,  ye  towering  trees  of 
the  forest,  and  soothe  his  slumbers  with  the  whisperings  of  your  sweet- 
est requiem ;  for  he  loved  you  as  his  very  brothers  of  God's  garden, 
and  nursed  you,  and  knew  almost  every  leaf  on  your  boughs  !  Guard 
sacredly  his  ashes,  ye  steep,  strong  cliffs  that  gird  his  grave ;  for  ye 
were  the  altars  at  Avhich  he  worshipped  the  Almighty  One,  who 
planted  you  there  in  your  strength." 

Mayor  Dearborn  was  a  member  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Soci- 
.  ety,  Massachusetts  Historical   Society,  New  England  Genealogical 
Historic  Society,  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  Amer- 
ican Association  for  Advancement  of  Science. 


BENJAMIN  POLLARD.  365 

BENJAMIN   POLLARD. 

JULY  i,  1812.     FOR  THE  TOWN   AUTHORITIES. 

The  ancestor  of  this  family  was  William  Pollard,  wboso  wife,  Anne 
-,  died  in  Boston,  Dec.  6,  1725,  aged  one  hundred   and   five 


years,  and  left  of  her^offspring  one  hundred  and  thirty.  She  used  to 
relate  that  she  went  over  in  the  first  boat  that  crossed  Charles  River, 
in  1630,  to  what  has  since  been  called  Boston ;  that  she  was  the  first 
that  jumped  ashore;  and  she  described  the  place  as  being  at  that  time 
very  uneven,  abounding  in  small  hollows  and  swamps,  and  covered  with 
blueberry  and  other  bushes.  In  the  library  of  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society  is  a  portrait  of  this  centenarian,  taken  in  1723,  pre- 
sented by  Isaac  Winslow,  Esq.  Col.  Benjamin  Pollard,  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company  in  1726,  Sheriff  of 
Suffolk  for  thirteen  years,  and  founder  of  the  Boston  Cadets  in  1744. 
whose  portrait  is  also  in  the  Historical  Society,  was  father  of  Col. 
Jonathan  Pollard,  who  married  Mary  Johnson;  was  a  goldsmith,  whose 
shop  adjoined  that  of  the  bookstore  of  Gen.  Knox,  and  in  1777  was  an 
aid-de-camp  to  the  latter  in  the  Revolutionary  War ;  and  Benjamin, 
the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  his  son,  born  in  Boston  in  1780,  on  the 
site  of  the  Tremont  Temple.  His  teacher  was  Francis  Nichols,  in 
Scollay's  Buildings,  who  was  an  importer  of  books  from  London.  He 
was  Clerk  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives  from  1811 
to  1815.  He  was  secretary  of  the  State  convention  for  revising  the 
constitution,  in  1820  ;  and  was  the  City  Marshal  of  Boston  from  its 
incorporation,  in  1822,  until  his  decease,  November,  1836,  aged  fifty- 
six. 

Marshal  Pollard  was  very  partial  to  polite  literature  and  politics, 
and  was  the  reputed  editor  of  two  periodicals, —  the  Emerald,  and  the 
Ordeal, —  which,  it  is  said,  went  down  at  no  distant  period  from  each 
other.  Ignorant  of  this  fact,  a  literary  stranger  inquired  of  Robert 
Treat  Paine  ''what  rank  this  gentleman  held  among  the  literati." 
Paine  answered,  "He  possesses  the  greatest  literary  execution  of  any 
man  in  America.  Two  journals  have  perished  under  his  hands,  in  six 
months."  The  Ordeal  was  first  issued  in  January,  1809,  in  connec- 
tion with  Joseph  T.  Buckingham ;  and  its  objects  were,  to  attack  the 
Democratic  party,  to  review  and  ridicule  the  small  literary  publica- 
31* 


366  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

tions  of  the  press,  and  to  discipline  the  children  of  Thespis.  Pollard 
■was  a  vigorous  writer.  His  letters,  reviews,  and  essays  on  political 
topics,  evinced  rare  ability.  He  was  an  admirer  of  Ames,  Hamilton, 
Strono-,  Gore,  Lowell,  and  other  Federal  authors,  and  a  real  hater  of 
Jefferson,  Madison,  and  the  writers  in  the  Independent  Chronicle.  He 
wrote  a  review  of  Giles'  speech  iu  the  U.  S.  Senate,  on  the  resolution 
of  Hillhouse  to  repeal  the  embargo  laws.  He  addressed,  in  part,  a 
series  of  letters  to  Madison,  signed  "Marcus  Brutus."  He  wrote  on 
the  "  Spanish  cause,"  Napoleon  being  then  at  war  with  that  country 
and  showed  much  vituperation.  The  political  articles  in  this  periodi- 
cal were  in  a  tone  of  caustic  and  vindictive  censure,  and  "rather 
applied  to  personages  of  scale  and  office,"  said  Mr.  Pollard,  "than 
to  individuals  who,  however  they  might  have  deserved,  have  found 
protection  in  insignificance." 

Mr.  Pollard,  though  not  possessing  a  liberal  share  of  charity  toward 
his  political  opponents,  gave  peculiar  evidence  of  a  warm  spirit  of 
benevolence  in  the  cause  of  common  humanity.  He  remarked,  in  an 
address  for  a  charitable  society :  "As  the  faculty  of  speech  marks  the 
chief  distinction  between  man  and  the  brute  creation,  so  the  sympathies 
of  his  heart  are  the  elevating  qualities  which  exalt  him  to  a  rank 
among  celestial  beuigs.  And  perhaps  the  divinity  of  his  origin  and 
his  destiny  is  in  nothing  more  fully  evinced  than  in  the  relief  which 
he  extends  to  his  fellow-men  in  the  various  vicissitudes  of  their  lives. 
The  majesty  of  his  soul  expands  by  the  natural  enlargement  of  his 
charity,  which  comprehends  the  whole  human  race  within  its  folds ; 
his  grovelling  appetites  and  passions  are  left  at  an  infinite  distance 
below  him,  and  though  his  feet  are  fixed  upon  earth,  yet  his  ethereal 
essence  is  combining  with  congenial  spirits  in  the  skies.  His  common 
feelings  extend  beyond  the  reach  of  the  sudden  impulses  of  ordinary 
men,  as  a  great  river  is  always  superior  to  a  smaller  stream,  however 
swelled  by  accidental  accumulations."  Mr.  Pollard  was  an  early  editor 
of  the  Boston  Evening  Gazette,  and  his  talent  was  mostly  devoted  to 
dramatic  criticism  in  that  paper.  A  friend  wrote  of  him,  in  the 
Gazette,  after  his  decease,  that  he  had  the  ready  wit  of  Garrick,  and 
more  dignity  than  Sterne. 

Marshal  Pollard  had  the  qualities  of  an  orator.  His  enunciation 
was  clear  and  sonorous,  and  he  for  many  years  read  in  a  manly  and 
eloquent  manner  the  "Declaration  of  Independence "  at ' Fourth-of- 
July  celebrations,  previous  to  the  delivery  of  an  oration  by  a  speaker 


EDWAKD   ST.    LOE   LIVERMORE.  367 

for  the  occasion.  The  oration  of  Mr.  Pollard  at  the  head  of  this  article 
ivas  not  printed.  Russell's  Centinel  remarked  that  the  prayer  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Ilolley,  and  the  oration,  were  peculiarly  pertinent,  animating  and 
patriotic.  Mr.  Pollard  was  about  six  feet  in  height,  with  rather  a 
bending  of  the  shoulders.  He  was  highly  accomplished  in  manners, 
and  a  finished  gentleman.  With  what  graceful  ease  and  dignity  he 
performed  the  ceremony  of  introducing  the  citizens  of  Boston  to  the 
admired  Lafayette,  in  the  Doric  hall  of  the  State  House,  August, 
1824,  is  strong  in  the  memory  of  many  who  enjoyed  the  honor.  The 
refined  taste  and  social  qualities  of  Marshal  Pollard  were  better  suited 
for  the  drawing-room  than  for  the  purlieus  of  the  City  Hall,  or  the 
duties  of  a  police-officer.  Marshal  Pollard,  though  amply  qualified  to 
devise  projects  for  the  prevention  of  crime,  had  not  the  efiiciency  to 
execute  them.  His  successors  were,  Parkman.  "Weston,  Blake,  Gibbs, 
and  Tukey.  It  may  be  a  question  whether  Francis  Tukey  is  to  the 
municipality  what  Fouche  was  to  the  court  of  Napoleon ;  but  can  there 
be  a  doubt  that  he  is  the  Eugene  Vidocq  of  New  England,  as  regards 
the  vio;ilant  detection  of  ofienders  'I 


EDWARD   ST.   LOE   LIVERMORE. 

JULY  i,  1813.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Portsmouth,  April  5, 1762 ;  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
College  in  1800;  was  a  counsellor-at-law ;  married  Mehitabel,  a 
daughter  of  Robert  Harris,  Esq.,  of  Concord,  N.  H.  His  second 
wife,  whom  he  married  May  2,  1799,  was  Sarah  Creese,  daughter  of 
William  Stackpole,  a  merchant  of  Boston.  He  had  sixteen  children. 
He  was  United  States  Attorney  to  the  Circuit  Court ;  representative  to 
Congress  for  Essex  county,  Mass.,  from  1806  to  1812,  and  a  decided 
advocate  of  the  Federal  party.  Was  several  years  a  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire.  Was  a  resident  of  Boston  during 
the  year  when  he  delivered  the  very  excellent  oration  at  the  head  of 
this  article.  Miss  Harriet  Livermore,  the  celebrated  lecturer  on 
Christian  life  and  doctrine,  was  his  daughter.  In  1799,  Judge  Liver- 
more  pronounced,  at  Portsmouth,  an  oration  on  the  dissolution  of  the 
union  between  this  country  and  France ;  and  on  Jan.  6,  1809,  an  ora- 
tion on  the  embargo  law.     He  died  at  Lowell,  Mass.,  Sept.  15,  1832. 


868  THE    HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

BENJAMIN  WHITWELL. 

JULY  i,  1814.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Boston,  June  22,  1772 ;  entered  the  Latin  School  in 
1779  ;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1790  ;  was  a  counsellor-at- 
law;  and  married  Lucy  Scollay,  May,  1808.  Was  deputy  Secretary 
of  State  in  1816 ;  was  poet  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  at  Cam- 
bridge in  1806 ;  and  died  at  Hallowell,  April  5,  1825.  In  1799,  at 
Augusta,  he  gave  a  eulogy  on  Washington. 


HORACE   HOLLEY. 

APRIL  30,  1815.    FOR  THE  "WASHINGTON  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY. 

This  institution  was  organized  Feb.  22,  18X2,  on  which  occasion 
Gen.  Arnold  Welles  was  elected  president,  and  Wilham  Sullivan, 
Josiah  Quincy,  Henry  Purkitt,  Daniel  Messenger,  Francis  J.  Oliver, 
and  Benjamin  Russell,  were  elected  vice-presidents.  The  Washington 
Benevolent  Society  was  originated,  it  is  said,  in  the  office  of  Nathan 
Hale,  attorney-at-law,  No.  12  Exchange-street.  The  object  of  this 
society  was  to  cherish  and  disseminate  the  principles  of  Washington, 
and  to  establish  a  fund  for  the  aid  of  those  unfortunate  members  of  the 
institution  who  are  reduced  by  the  pressure  of  the  times  to  a  state  of 
poverty.  To  effect  its  objects,  they  held  monthly  meetings  for  debate 
at  the  Exchange  Coffee-house,  when  political  speeches  were  delivered 
by  our  first  men.  The  meetings  were  free  to  all  parties.  Political 
.editors  and  party  leaders  attended ;  and  the  society  soon  increased  to 
more  than  two  thousand  members.  An  oration  was  delivered  annually 
on  the  30  th  of  April,  in  honor  of  the  inauguration  of  Washington. 
The  admission  fee  was  two  dollars,  to  constitute  a  member.  The 
orations  were  pronounced  until  the  peace  of  Dec.  22,  1815 ;  and 
its  orators  were  Sullivan,  Quincy,  Bigelow  and  Holley,  whose  per- 
formances,   with  the   exception  of  the  latter,    were  printed.      The 


HOKACE  HOLLEY.  369 

oration  of  ilolley  was  delivered  in  the  Old  South  Church,  Rus- 
sell, of  the  Centinel,  remarked  of  this  performance,  that  it  comprised  a 
full  and  able  commentary  upon  the  principles  professed  by  the  disciples 
of  Washington  ;  an  application  of  them  to  the  recent  events  -which  have 
occurred  since  the  elevation  of  the  Jeffersonian  administration,  etc. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  the  Hartford  Convention  owes  its  origin 
more  especially  to  this  institution  than  to  the  Essex  Junto.  In  the 
absence  of  Holley's  oration,  we  will  introduce  a  beautiful  passage  from 
an  unpublished  manuscript  of  his,  which  we  have  recently  perused, 
where,  in  enlarging  on  truly  great  minds  of  varied  influence,  he  lastly 
introduces  Washington,  "  whose  judgment  presides  over  almost  every 
other  power,  where  thei-e  is  but  little  or  no  preeminence  of  genius ; 
where  there  is  no  attempt  at  invention,  at  great  and  comprehensive 
arguments  in  form  ;  where  wonder  and  novelties  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  decisions  for  practice ;  where  experiment  is  so  mingled  with 
the  tried  result  of  past  years  as  not  to  be  distinguished ;  where  there 
is  a  clear  knowledge  of  character  in  the  individual  state,  and  an  unri- 
valled judgment  to  collect,  sift,  separate,  and  use  for  the  most  valu- 
able purposes,  the  information  thus  obtained.  Such  was  the  mind  of 
Washington, —  and  here  I  stop,  declaring  the  most  gratified  admira- 
tion, and  uttering  the  most  fervent  prayers  for  the  wider  diffusion  of 
this  uncommon  class  of  minds." 

In  the  procession  of  this  institution  were  four  hundred  boys,  in  a 
uniform  dress,  decorated  with  wreaths  and  garlands,  each  one  bearing 
on  his  breast  a  copy  of  Washington's  Legacy,  in  a  morocco-bound 
miniature  volume,  suspended  by  a  ribbon.  An  elegant  standard,  and 
twenty  banners,  were  borne  by  twenty-one  youths,  on  each  of  which 
were  inscribed  patriotic  mottoes.  These  sons  of  Sparta  were  drilled 
for  parade  in  Faneuil  Hall ;  and  a  complete  record  of  their  names, 
preserved  by  Lemuel  Blake,  Esq.,  one  of  the  managers,  and  a  treas- 
urer of  the  society,  is  appended  to  this  volume. 

This  institution  was  watched  with  a  keen  eye  of  jealousy.  In  the 
Boston  Gazette  of  May  2,  1814,  we  find  an  impromptu,  on  hearing  an 
"envious"  Democrat  boast  of  the  success  of  his  prayers  for  rain  to 
drench  the  Washington  roses,  on  the  day  of  the  procession : 

"  Cease,  railer  !  tliy  prayer  is  both  foolish  and  vain, 
The  Washington  rose-tree  is  safe  from  disaster  ; 
The  gentle  effusion  of  April's  soft  x-ain 
Will  nourish  its  root,  and  expand  its  buds  faster. 


370  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Nor  think  for  the  cloud-mantled  sun  that  it  grieves, —    W 

It  shall  flourish  -when  nature's  bright  glories  are  ended  ; 
Transplanted  to  heaven,  its  odorous  leaves 

Shall  breathe  their  perfume  where  its  Patron  's  ascended. 
From  etei-nity's  soil  the  Washington  rose 

Shall  draw  its  nutrition,  its  bloom  never  fading, 
While  the  poisonous  plant  that  in  Erebus  grows 

Shall  reward,  wretched  slave,  thy  profane  gasconading  !  " 

The  eloquence  of  Horace  Holley,  on  the  delivery  of  a  sermon  before 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  in  1811,  was  so  over- 
powering, that  a  spontaneous  acclamation  burst  forth  from  the  crowd 
that  thronged  the  doors  of  the  church.  He  was  born  at  Salisbury, 
Conn.,  Feb.  13,  1781,  and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1803.  On 
leaving  college,  he  studied  law  under  Peter  W.  Radcliff,  Esq. ,  of  Kew 
York ;  and  in  1804  he  engaged  in  the  study  of  divinity  with  President 
D  wight,  at  New  Haven,  and  married  ]\Iary,  daughter  of  Stephen 
Austin,  of  that  city,  when  he  was  settled  at  Greenfield  Hill,  Fairfield. 
He  was  at  that  period  a  Trinitarian.  In  1809  he  became  an  avowed 
Unitarian,  and  was  the  successor  of  Rev.  Dr.  West,  of  the  Hollis- 
street  Church,  in  Boston.  In  1812  he  was  chaplain  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  one  of  the  school  committee. 

The  ancestor  of  Horace  Holley  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Con- 
necticut,—  probably  John  Holley,  a  selectman  of  Stamford  in  1642. 
An  absurd  attempt  has  been  made  to  trace  his  descent  from  Edmund 
Halley,  the  eminent  astronomer  of  England,  who  died  in  1741,  a 
great-grandson  of  whom  was  said  to  be  Luther  Holley,  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  outline. 

Mr.  Holley  was  warmly  interested  in  the  old  Federal  party,  but 
never  spoke  at  a  political  caucus  ;  and  it  is  related  of  him,  that,  after 
attending  a  debate  in  Faneuil  Hall,  which  he  entered  arm  in  arm  with 
Samuel  Dexter,  his  personal  friend,  who  decidedly  opposed  the  expe- 
diency of  the  Hartford  Convention,  ]\Ir.  Holley  devoted  the  forenoon 
service  of  the  next  Sabbath  to  an  argument  in  favor  of  its  objects, 
pouring  out,  in  strains  of  eloquence  that  captivated  the  audience,  one 
half-hour  longer  than  the  usual  period.  His  mind  was  also  intensely 
absorbed  in  morals  and  manners  ;  and  on  another  Sabbath  he  enlarged 
in  an  exposition  of  the  nature  and  character  of  the  morals  and 
maxims  of  the  famous  Marquis  de  Rochefoucault,  without  any  reference 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  a  text  from  which  to  preach.  He  was 
frequently  solicited  to  publish  a  sermon,  by  his  parishioners,  and  also 


HORACE   IIOLLEY.  371 

for  the  loan  of  a  manuscript ;  but  he  uniformly  declined  the  former, 
and  rarely  consented  to  the  latter.  However,  to  oblige  one  of  his 
devoted  friends, —  Mr.  Jackson, —  who  was  a  candle-maker,  and  often 
made  him  the  gift  of  a  box  of  candles, —  urging  the  favor  of  an  inter- 
change of  light, —  he  occasionally  consented  to  the  request.  A  female 
domestic  once  surreptitiously  secreted  a  manuscript  sermon  of  his 
under  the  carpet  in  his  study,  which  was  copied,  and  then  replaced. 

Dr.  Holley  Avas  a  fine  mechanical  genius.  Calling,  one  time,  on  his 
bootmaker, —  one  Mr.  Barker,  —  to  settle  an  account,  he  offered  the 
man  a  fifty-dollar  bill  to  be  exchanged,  who  directly  sent  a  boy  to 
obtain  small  bills  for  it ;  on  which,  Dr.  Holley  forthwith  seated  him- 
self on  the  bench,  stitching  a  shoe  with  ready  facility.  The  bootmaker 
jocosely  remarked  to  the  divine  that  he  ought  to  pay  for  the  use  of 
the  block.  After  paying  his  bill.  Dr.  Holley  very  pleasantly  threw 
a  piece  of  silver  on  the  bench,  and  politely  withdrew  from  the  shop. 
This  incident  is  worthy  of  Mather  Byles,  his  witty  predecessor. 

On  the  22d  December,  1817,  Dr.  Holley  delivered  the  anniversary 
discourse  on  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  at  Plymouth ;  and 
Thacher,  in  the  History  of  Plymouth,  relates  that  the  well-known  ora- 
torical powers  of  Dr.  Holley  were  exerted  in  the  happiest  manner,  and 
afforded  o-reat  delis;ht  and  satisfaction  to  his  numerous  auditors.  He 
contemplated  the  scenery  about  our  harbor,  our  burial-hill,  and  the 
rock ;  and  held  a  conversation  with  Dea.  Spooner,  in  the  morning, 
which  roused  the  best  energies  of  his  nature,  and  nerved  his  faculties 
to  their  noblest  display.  In  the  discourse,  he  observed  that  he  had 
that  morning  received  some  new  recollections,  and  made  the  following 
allusion  to  the  venerable  Dea.  Spooner  :  "Our  venerable  friend  knew 
and  conversed  with  Elder  Faunce,  who  personally  knew  the  first  set- 
tlers :  so  Polycarp  conversed  with  St.  John,  the  beloved  disciple  of 
our  Saviour."  On  this  occasion,  Dea.  Spooner  ofiiciated  by  reading 
the  Psalm  in  the  ancient  form,  line  by  line, —  and  thus  closed  the 
religious  services  of  this  venerable  man,  Avho  for  so  many  years  had 
constantly  been  seen  in  the  "  deacon's  seat "  in  the  sanctuary  of  God, 
and  who  died  March  22,  1818,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age. 

In  1818  Dr.  Holley  was  elected  president  of  Transylvania  Univer- 
sity, in  Lexington,  Kentucky.  This  passage  from  the  golden  ore  of 
Holley,  brilliant  as  the  hues  of  the  rainbow,  is  gleaned  from  his 
funeral  eulogy  over  the  remains  of  Col.  James  Morrison,  the  most 
munificent  benefactor  of  this  university,  printed  at  Lexington,  in  1823  : 


372  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

"  When  I  look  over  the  history  of  the  public  institutions  of  our  coun- 
try,—  especially  of  those  devoted  to  the  great  cause  of  education, —  I 
find  among  their  donors,  their  patrons,  the  founders  of  professorships, 
the  names  of  those  -who  have  been  most  distinguished  for  their  patriot- 
ism, their  liberal  opinions,  their  services  to  the  state,  and  their  effective 
philanthropy.  Washington,  Adams,  Frankhn,  Rumford,  and  Dexter, 
among  a  host  of  others  less  distinguished,  might  be  mentioned,  as  a 
few  of  that  glorious  class  of  American  benefactors  and  philanthropists 
to  "which  jNIorrison  has  so  honorably  added  his  name.  Not  many  have 
surpassed  him  in  the  extent  of  their  munificence,  and  most  are  left  far 
behind. 

"It  deserves  to  be  noted  that  the  venerable  sage  of  Monticello,  after 
having  spent  years  as  a  diplomatist  abroad, —  after  having  witnessed 
and  enjoyed  the  diversified  resources  of  a  European  life,  —  after  being 
raised  to  the  highest  honors  of  his  country,  and  crowned  with  the 
wreath  of  imperishable  glory, —  after  having  drank  at  the  fountains  of 
enjoyment  in  almost  every  mode  of  existence, —  has  at  last  devoted 
himself,  with  the  ardor  of  a  young  enthusiast,  and  Avith  the  perse- 
verance of  a  veteran  in  philanthropy,  to  the  most  glorious  of  all  the 
public  enterprises  of  Virginia,  the  estabhshment,  completion  and 
endowment,  of  her  State  university.  TYhat  an  example  is  this  to 
illustrate  the  usefulness  of  age,  the  dignity  of  retirement,  the  results 
of  experience,  the  worth  of  human  nature,  the  value  of  mind,  and  an 
effectual  honorable  preparation  for  eternity !  The  patriot,  scholar  and 
philanthropist,  of  Quincy,  too,  finds  no  appropriation  of  the  gifts  of 
fortune  so  dear  to  his  heart,  in  the  frosts  of  age  and  on  the  verge  of 
the  grave,  as  that  which  lays  a  foundation  for  the  permanent  union  of 
literature,  philosophy,  and  religion.  What  a  spectacle  for  Europea.n 
potentates  to  behold  is  thus  furnished  by  the  plain  but  enlightened  and 
truly  noble  servants  of  our  republic,  in  private  life  !  What  a  contrast 
do  these  benefactions  for  the  best  of  all  purposes  exhibit  to  the  blood- 
stained career  of  mad  ambition ;  to  the  selfish,  haughty,  and  cruel  doc- 
trines of  legitimacy ;  to  the  luxuries,  debaucheries,  effeminacy,  and 
decapitations,  of  too  many  of  the  crowned  pageants  that  glitter  through 
a  short  and  oppressive  reign,  and  are  known  afterwards  only  for  their 
want  of  capacity,  usefulness,  and  virtue  !  0,  my  country!  long  mayst 
thou  boast  of  thy  free  institutions,  thy  equal  laws,  thy  simple  man- 
ners, thy  hardy  and  independent  spirit,  thy  active  patriots,  and  thy 
honored  statesmen, —  not  only  in  public  but  in  private  fife." 


HORACE    IIOLLEY.  373 

The  above  production,  together  with  a  review  of  Ely's  Contrast  of 
Hopkinsianism  and  Calvinism,  an  article  in  the  Western  Review,  and 
a  few  articles  embraced  in  the  memoir  of  his  life,  are  nearly  all  that 
remain  of  his  mental  efforts.  The  most  successful  result  of  the  genius 
of  Gilbert  Stuart  was  the  portrait  of  Horace  Holley,  finished  in  1818, 
on  the  day  when  he  left  Boston  for  his  elevated  station  in  the  west.  It 
was  executed  for  James  Barker.  Esq.,  one  of  his  parishioners.  Stuart 
was  so  delighted  with  the  painting,  that  he  exclaimed  to  Mr.  Barker, 
"I  never  wish  to  paint  him  again.  This  is  the  only  picture  I  ever 
painted  that  I  have  no  desire  to  alter ;  I  am  entirely  satisfied  with  it." 
A  friend  conversing  with  Sprague,  the  poet,  regarding  this  inimitable 
likeness,  advised  him  to  go  and  see  it,  for  it  was  worth  a  pilgrimage  of 
five  miles  on  foot.  Sprague  replied,  "I  will  go  and  see  it."  Our 
poet  remarked  that  he  was  not  accustomed  to  speak  of  handsome  men, 
"but  I  will  say  that  Horace  Holley  was  a  man  of  great  personal  mas- 
culine beauty."  When  he  ascended  the  pulpit,  in  his  flowing  gown, 
and,  assuming  the  air  and  attitude  of  the  orator,  bold  and  expressive, 
threw  his  eyes  around  him  on  the  gazing  audience,  the  scene  itself 
was  eloquent.  "  His  voice  was  mellow,  rich,  and  silver-toned,  thrill- 
ing at  times,"  says  Caldwell,  in  the  eulogium,  "  with  the  very  essence 
of  melody."  His  enunciation  was  clear,  distinct,  and  aptly  varied. 
His  manner  was  graceful  and  animated,  and  his  action  was  so  effective 
that  the  whole  audience  would  be  irresistibly  overpowered.  Holley 
was,  as  one  remarked,  a  sun  in  the  firmament  of  pulpit  eloquence,  at 
whose  appearance  "  all  the  constellations  pass  away,  and  make  no 
noise."  His  widow  graphically  said  of  him,  in  the  beautiful  memoir 
which  she  published,  that  ' '  he  had  clear  and  bright,  yet  expressive, 
black  eyes.  His  hair,  in  his  youth,  was  black,  fine,  and  silky.  As  he 
advanced  in  life,  it  gradually  retreated  from  his  fair,  polished  forehead, 
until  but  a  remnant  was  left  upon  one  of  the  most  classic  heads  ever 
displayed  to  view."  What  Holley  once  remarked  of  Whitefield  well 
applies  to  himself,  that  he  has  left  his  fame  to  rest  upon  the  record  of 
his  own  personal  eloquence ;  and  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  Still- 
man  and  Holley  were  the  most  eloquent  pastors  that  ever  graced  the 
Boston  pulpit 

President  Holley  resigned  the  oversight  of  the  university  in  1827, 

with  the  expectation  of  an  invitation  to  a  new  church  in  Boston.     On 

his  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  New  York,  he  died  of  the  yellow 

fever,  July  31,  1827,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-six  years.     His  widow 

32 


374  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

has  proved  lier  devotion  to  the  memorj  of  her  husband  more  affect- 
ingly  than  if  she  had  mingled  his  ashes  in  her  cup,  said  one,  and  drank 
them,  to  keep  his  remains  ever  near  her  heart.  How  exquisitely  pathetic 
is  her  burning  narrative  of  his  last  moments  at  sea !  "Rest  and  quiet- 
ness AYcre  out  of  the  question,"  says  ]Mrs.  Holley;  "a  still,  dark  room,  a 
bed  of  suitable  dimensions,  with  constant  and  careful  attendants, —  any 
one  circumstance  included  in  the  word  home,  had  been  more  than  lux- 
ury. Let  those  who  would  learn  the  full  meaning  of  that  dearest  of  all 
names  experience  a  distressing,  paralyzing  illness  at  sea,  and  they  will 
know  its  full  import.  Hitherto,  no  one  had  expressed  a  fear  of  dan- 
gerous disease  on  board,  so  little  do  we  feel  and  understand  impending 
evil.  It  now  became  calm,  and  there  was  time  and  opportunity  to 
attend  to  the  suffering  and  helpless.  The  danger  of  Dr.  Holley's  sit- 
uation became  too  apparent.  His  eyes  were  half  closed  —  his  mind 
wandering.  The  same  medicines  were  repeated,  the  doses  doubled, 
and  all  other  means  of  relief  applied,  which  the  kind-hearted,  though 
unskilled,  in  their  goodness  could  command.  The  disease,  which  in 
its  early  stages  might,  perhaps,  have  been  checked,  had  now  acquired 
force  and  strength,  and  soon  triumphed  over  one  of  the  finest  constitu- 
tions, as  well  as  most  brilliant  of  intellects.  The  fifth  of  the  disease, 
and  the  thirty-first  of  the  month,  was  the  fatal  day. 

'•  The  sun  rose  in  all  the  brightness  and  intense  heat  of  a  tropical 
region.  It  was  a  dead  calm.  Not  a  breath  of  air  skimmed  the  surface 
of  the  sea,  or  fanned  the  burning  brow  of  the  sufferer.  The  writer  of 
this  article,  who  still  lay  in  silent  anguish  a  speechless  spectator  of  the 
scene,  expected,  while  conscious  of  anything  but  distress,  to  be  the 
next  victim;  and  who,  losing  at  times  all  sense  of  suffering  in  the 
womanish  feeling  occasioned  by  the  circumstance  of  there  not  being  a 
female  hand  to  perform  the  last  sad  offices  of  humanity,  has  a  confused 
recollection  of  horror  of  the  solemn  looks  of  the  passengers  pacing  to 
and  fro  upon  the  deck ;  of  a  deathlike  stillness,  broken  by  groans  and 
half-uttered  sentences ;  jyid  of  a  little,  soft  voice  trying  to  soothe  the 
last  moments,  and  to  interpret  the  last  accents,  of  his  dying  parent. 
All  this  she  heard,  without  sense  enough  to  request  to  be  carried  to  the 
spot,  or  to  reahze  that  it  meant  death.  When  the  groans  and  spasms 
had  ceased,  it  seemed  to  be  only  a  release  from  pain  —  a  temporary 
sleep.  When  all  was  hushed,  and  the  report  of  pistols  and  the  fumes 
of  burning  tar  announced  the  fatal  issue,  trusting  in  that  divine  Being 
into  whose  presence  she  expected  soon  to  be  ushered, —  believing,  as  far 


LEMUEL   SHAW.  375 

as  reflection  had  exercise,  that  the  separation  was  but  for  a  little  space, 
—  she  heard  with  the  firn^ness  of  despair,  and  with  silent  awe,  the  part- 
ing waters  receive  the  scarce  breathless  form  of  him  who  had  been  her 
pride  and  boast,  as  he  had  been  the  admiration  of  all  to  whom  he  was 
known, —  his  winding-sheet  a  cloak,  his  grave  the  wide  ocean,  his  mon- 
ument the  everlasting  Tortugas  I     All  this  she  heard,  and  lives." 

The  lament  of  his  lonely  and  devoted  widow  will  ever  affect  the  heart 
of  sympathy  : 

"  0  !  had  he  lived  to  reach  his  native  land, 
And  then  expired,  I  would  have  blessed  the  strand  ; 
But  where  my  husband  lies  I  may  not  lie. 
I  cannot  come,  with  broken  heart,  to  sigh 
O'er  his  loved  dust,  and  strew  with  flowers  his  turf; 
His  pillow  hath  no  cover  but  the  surf : 
I  may  not  pour  the  soul-drop  from  mine  eye 
Near  his  cold  bed  ;  —  he  slumbers  in  the  wave. 
0  !  I  will  love  the  sea,  because  it  is  thy  grave." 


LEMUEL   SHAW. 

JULY  4,  1815.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  admirable  performance  of  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  we  find  an 
explanation  of  the  opposition  of  a  powerful  party  amongst  us  to  the 
last  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  a  magnanimous  and  prompt  conces- 
sion that  the  contest  has  strengthened  the  bonds  of  our  political  union  : 
"  We  rejoice  in  the  belief  that  the  danger  which  we  once  feared  from 
the  ascendency  of  French  power,  and  the  more  contaminating  influence 
of  French  principles,  is  forever  removed.  The  secret  spell,  which 
seemed  to  bind  us  in  wiUing  chains  to  the  conqueror's  car,  is  forever 
broken.  No  sopliistry  can  again  deceive  us  into  a  behef  that  the  cause 
of  Bonaparte  is  the  cause  of  social  rights,  or  create  a  momentary  sym- 
pathy between  the  champion  of  despotism  and  the  friends  of  civil 
liberty. 

"  One  of  the  most  alarming  points  of  view  in  which  the  sincere 
opponents  of  the  late  war  with  England  regarded  that  measure  was, 
that  it  tended  to  cement  and  perpetuate  that  dangerous  and  disgraceful 


376  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

connection.  The  commercial  restrictions  of  America  corresponded,  in 
pi'inciple  and  in  object,  witli  the  continental  system  of  France.  We 
declared  -R-ar  at  the  moment  when  Napoleon  had  prepared  the  whole 
force  of  his  empire  to  strike  the  last  fatal  blow  against  the  liberties 
of  Europe,  by  the  conquest  of  Russia.  Of  the  character  of  that 
war  we  have  often  expressed  our  strong  and  decided  opinion ;  and  it 
is  not  my  design  to  anticipate  the  sentence  of  censure  and  con- 
demnation which  history  will  pronounce  on  its  authors.  Let  us 
rather  turn  from  the  revolting  subject,  to  the  more  grateful  task  of 
contemplating  the  lustre  which  it  has  given  occasion  to  shed  on  the 
American  character.  0 !  who  shall  hereafter  recollect  the  gal- 
lantry of  our  little  navy,  the  memorable  exploits  of  our  ocean  heroes, 
their  skill  and  bravery  in  battle,  their  moderation  in  victory,  their  dig- 
nity even  in  defeat,  without  higher  emotions  of  pride  and  satisfaction 
in  the  name  and  character  of  an  American  7  That  navy,  one  of  the 
few  remaining  fruits  of  better  counsels,  had  survived  only  amidst  the 
utter  contempt  and  neglect  of  those  whose  administration  it  has  since 
contributed  to  emblazon.  But  it  has  justified  the  ardent  hopes  and 
realized  the  high  expectations  of  its  early  and  constant  friends,  and 
redeemed  the  reputation  of  the  country.  It  is  now  justly  the  favorite 
of  all ;  the  nation  are  its  patrons,  and  it  must  and  will  be  cherished. 
I  certainly  mean  to  bestow  the  highest  praise  on  the  late  American 
army,  when  I  say  that,  in  most  instances,  they  have  well  sustained  the 
high  military  reputation  which  crowned  the  arms  of  America  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  ■-;■ 

'  Fas  est  ab  lioste  doceri,'  '' 

"  'If,'  said  Gen.  Burgoync  in  his  memorable  defence  before  Parlia- 
ment, '  there  can  be  any  persons  who  continue  to  doubt  that  the  Amer- 
icans possess  the  quality  and  faculty  of  fighting  (call  it  by  whatever 
name  they  please),  they  are  of  a  prejudice  that  it  would  be  very  absurd 
longer  to  contend  with.'  This  reputation,  the  battles  of  Niagara, 
of  Plattsburg  and  the  IMississippi,  will  have  no  tendency  to  impair. 
In  this  review,  I  should  do  injustice  to  my  own  feelings  not  to  mention 
with  merited  commendation,  the  courage,  the  spirit  and  patriotism,  of 
the  American  militia.  Sensible  of  the  danger  as  well  as  the  burthen 
of  supporting  a  large  standing  force,  it  has  been  the  policy  of  America 
to  arm  and  discipline  her  citizens  ;  and,  in  cases  of  sudden  emergency, 
to  intrust  the  safety  of  the  country,  in  some  measure,  to  their  zeal  and 
courage.     The  vigorous  defence  of  Plattsburg,  of  Baltimore  and  New 


LEMUEL   SHAAV.  377 

Orleans,  has  well  justified  the  confidence  reposed  in  them.  I  may  add, 
"with  pride  and  with  pleasure,  that  the  alacrity  with  which  the  militia 
of  Massachusetts  recently  ralhed  at  the  call  of  their  illustrious  chief, 
in  whose  judgment,  courage  and  patriotism,  they  justly  reposed  unlim- 
ited confidence,  the  ardor  and  discipline  they  exhibited,  the  patience 
and  courage  they  manifested,  proved  —  if  proof  were  wanting  —  that 
the  soil  of  freedom  will  never  be  surrendered  by  its  proprietors,  but 
with  their  lives." 

Lemuel  Shaw  was  born  at  Barnstable,  Jan.  9, 1781;  and  was  the  son 
of  Rev.  Oakes  Shaw,  the  venerable  pastor  of  the  first  church'  in  that 
town,  by  Susanna  Hayward,  his  second  wife.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  young  Lemuel  entered  Harvard  College ;  and,  on  his  graduation 
in  1800,  he  engaged  in  a  dialogue  with  Timothy  FHnt  and  Abiel  Hol- 
brook,  on  the  excellence  of  the  Greek  language.  On  leaving  college, 
being  ambitious  to  disencumber  his  beloved  father  of  the  expenses  of 
his  education,  he  became  usher  at  the  'Franklin,  now  the  Brimmer 
School,  then  under  the  direction  of  the  excellent  Dr.  Asa  Bullard. 
Here  we  cannot  forbear  to  state  that  our  own  Charles  Sprague,  the 
immortal  poet  of  Boston,  was  then  a  scholar  at  this  public  school. 
Who  can  estimate  the  influence  of  such  minds  on  youthful  genius  7 
Mr.  Shaw  engaged  in  legal  studies,  during  a  period  of  three  years, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  famous  David  Everett,  a  counsellor,  and 
author  of  the  memorable  poem  for  youthful  orators,  the  first  lines  of 

which  are  — 

"  You  'J  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage."  ^ 

We  find  in  Felt's  ^Memorials  of  William  S.  Shaw  a  remark  of  ]\Irs. 
Peabody,  his  mother  and  a  sister  of  Mrs.  President  Adams,  expressed 
in  her  letter  to  him,  dated  Sept.  2, 1801 :  "  Your  cousin,  Lemuel  Shaw, 
is  studying  law  in  Boston.     He  is  a  superior  young  man." 

In  1805  Mr.  Shaw  was  an  entered  attorney  of  Sufiblk  bar.  He 
was  representative  of  Boston  in  the  State  Legislature  during  the  entire 
period  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  from  1811  to  1816 ;  and,  on  the 
institution  of  the  Washington  Benevolent  Society,  in  1812,  was  elected 
its  secretary.  Mr.  Shaw  married,  Jar!.  6, 1818,  Elizabeth,  a  daughter 
of  Josiah  Knapp,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  who  died ;  and  he  married,  the 
second  time,  Hope,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  Savage,  of  Barnstable, 
to  whom  a  lady  made  the  happy  allusion, — "There  is  Hope  in  the 
Judiciary," — at  the  centennial  celebration  of  his  native  town.  In 
32* 


378  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

1811  he  gave  an  address  for  the  Massachusetts  Humane  Society.  He 
was  elected  to  the  State  convention  on  the  revision  of  the  constitution, 
where,  in  his  arguments  on  the  judiciary  and  other  points,  he  evinced 
great  -wisdom ;  and,  in  the  year  succeeding,  he  M'as  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  General  Laws  of  the  State,  revised  and  adapted  to  the  amend- 
ments of  the  convention. 

In  the  year  1822  we  find  Mr.  Shaw  in  the  State  Senate,  at  which 
period  he  Avas  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  of  the  Legislature  on  a 
city  charter  for  Boston.  We  venerate  the  man  who  devised  our  char- 
tered rights.  It  was  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  then  an  eminent  counsellor, 
—  the  sage  of  Tpjmount, —  who  drafted  the  city  charter,  in  the  com- 
mittee of  the  town,  and  wrote,  also,  the  act  of  incorporation  establish- 
ing the  city  of  Boston,  granted  by  the  General  Court,  Feb.  23,  1822, 
with  the  exception  of  the  fourteenth  section,  regarding  public  theatres 
and  exhibitions,  and  the  act  establishing  a  Police  Court,  which  were 
drafted  by  Hon.  WilHam  SulHvan,  and  went  into  operation  at  the 
same  time ;  both  acts  constituting  the  system  of  municipal  govern- 
ment. The  original  bill  for  a  city  charter  is  on  file  in  the  State 
archives,  and  is  partly  in  the  hand- writing  of  Chief  Justice  Shaw. 

Every  avenue  to  an  invasion  of  the  foundation  of  the  city  charter 
should  be  guarded  with  a  jealous  eye.  At  the  period  of  its  construc- 
tion, a  party  was  strenuous  that  each  ward  should  elect  its  own  alder- 
man. This  was  vigorously  opposed,  as  creating  the  wards  into  petty 
democracies,  overturning  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Council;  and 
even  though  they  be  elected  on  a  general  ticket,  it  would  lead  to  a 
strife  of  wards.  In  addition  to  a  share  in  the  legislative  power  of  the 
Council,  they  are  invested  with  important  executive  duties,  without 
regard  to  local  interests.  Rather  tolerate  the  minor  evils  of  a  con- 
servative charter,  than  endure  greater  by  submitting  to  party  caprice. 
In  a  careful,  conservative  spirit.  Justice  Shaw  has  avoided  both  the 
exclusiveness  of  aristocracy  and  the  arbitrary  severity  of  democracy, 
weaving  the  whole  system  on  a  purely  republican  basis.  The  argu- 
ments for  the  inviolate  preservation  of  the  charter  urged  by  the  elder 
Quincy  tend  to  its  perpetuity.  Our  city  is  indebted  to  the  ocean- 
bound  cape  for  many  of  its  most  eminent  civil  and  mercantile  men. 

Lemuel  Shaw  is  the  successor  of  Isaac  Parker,  as  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Massachusetts  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  over  which  he  has  presided 
since  his  appointment  under  Gov.  Levi  Lincoln,  since  his  inauguration 
in  September,  1830,  at  which  period  he  was  a  representative  in  the 


LEMUEL  snAW.  379 

State  Legislature.  He  is  senior  Fellow  of  the  Corporation  of  Harvard 
College,  -wliicli  important  station  lie  has  honorably  filled  since  his  elec- 
tion, in  1834.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  and  of  the  New  England 
Genealogic  Historical  Societies. 

During  the  whole  period  of  his  elevation  to  the  head  of  the  State 
judiciary,  Justice  Shaw  has  made  records  of  the  legal  transactions 
under  his  superintendence,  comprising  nearly  fifty  volumes,  of  several 
hundred  pages  each,  lettered  ' '  Minutes  of  the  Massachusetts  Supreme 
Judicial  Court,"  handsomely  bound  in  substantial  Russia  backs, — 
thus  giving  him  facilities  to  recur  to  former  decisions,  and  learn  of  the 
past  how  to  operate  on  the  present.  He  could  not  bequeath  to  the 
law  library  of  Sufiblk  any  amount  of  money  that  would  compare  with 
the  inestimable  value  of  such  a  legacy  as  these  volumes  of  Court 
Decisions. 

With  the  exception  of  Theophilus  Parsons,  a  more  profound  civilian 
never  graced  the  ermine,  in  New  England.  He  discerns,  at  a  glance, 
points  in  a  case,  that,  to  an  ordinary  intellect,  would  require  protracted 
reflection.  He  is  unblemished  in  private  life,  and  greatly  esteemed  for 
his  courtesy,  candor,  and  ready  acts  of  charity.  His  sagacity  and 
penetration  are  proverbial,  and  his  influence  on  the  bench  is  almost 
without  bound.  He  is  rather  corpulent,  and  near  the  common  height 
of  man,  with  dark-blue,  piercing  eyes,  that  play  amid  expressive  fea- 
tures. 

Justice  Shaw  has  ever  felt  a  devoted  veneration  of  his  parents. 
His  mother  was  a  lady  of  more  than  ordinary  powers  of  intellect ; 
and  of  his  father,  the  venerable  pastor  of  Barnstable,  he  thus  warmly 
expressed  himself,  in  a  speech  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  that 
town,  Sept.  3,  1839:  "Almost  within  sight  of  the  place  where  we 
are  still  stands  a  modest  spire,  marking  the  spot  where  a  beloved 
father  stood  to  minister  the  holy  word  of  truth,  and  hope,  and  salva- 
tion, to  a  numerous,  beloved,  and  attached  people,  for  almost  half  a 
century.  Pious,  pure,  simple-hearted,  devoted  to  and  beloved  by  his 
people,  never  shall  I  cease  to  venerate  his  memory,  or  to  love  those 
who  knew  and  loved  him.  I  speak  in  the  presence  of  some  who  knew 
him,  and  of  many  more  who,  I  doubt  not,  were  taught  to  love  and 
honor  his  memory,  as  one  of  the  earliest  lessons  of  their  childhood." 

He  is  remarkable  for  social  qualities,  and  his  conversation  is  often 
so  replete  with  wisdom  and  amiable  vivacity  that  one  is  sure  to  be  the 


380  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   OKATORS. 

better  for  his  society.  The  sentiment  here  advanced,  and  given  by 
him  at  the  celebration,  so  characterizes  the  man,  that  it  is  a  choice 
memento:  "Cape  Cod,  our  beloved  Birth-place:  May  it  be  the 
nursery  and  the  home  of  the  social  virtues, —  a  place  which  all  her 
sons  and  daughters,  whether  present  or  absent,  may,  for  centuries  to 
come,  as  in  centuries  past,  delight  to  honor  and  to  love."  The  passage 
herewith  transcribed  is  taken  from  the  song  written  for  the  occasion, 
by  William  Hayden,  Esq.,  our  late  honored  postmaster  of  Boston : 

"  To  trace  your  debt  to  old  Cape  Cod 

It  needs  no  brush  or  pallet, — 
There  's  Dimmock,  Gray,  and  Thacher,  too. 

The  Searses,  and  George  Hallett  ; 
Some  service  we  have  done  the  State, — 

From  us  you  get  your  law,  sir  ; 
There  's  Mr.  Bassett  —  he  's  your  clerk, — 

And  there's  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  sir." 

Justice  Shaw  gave  the  following  sentiment  at  the  first  anniversary 
of  the  Cape  Cod  Association, -eelebrated  in  Boston,  Nov.  11,  1851: 
"  The  Cabin  of  the  Mayflower  :  The  Convention  Hall  of  the  Pilgrims, 
from  the  first  dawning  of  whose  light  has  emanated  a  blaze  of  consti- 
tutional freedom  which  has  hghted  up  every  mountain  and  penetrated 
every  valley  of  our  land." 

In  addition  to  productions  already  named,  Chief  Justice  Shaw  has 
published  his  Inaugural  Address ;  Charge  to  the  Grand  Jury  at 
Ipswich,  1832 ;  Address  at  the  Opening  of  the  New  Court-house,  in 
Worcester,  1845 ;  Charge  to  the  Jury  in  the  trial  of  Professor 
J.  W.  Webster,  in  Bemis'  edition. 

What  Justice  Shaw  said  of  his  predecessor  in  office  may,  with  great 
emphasis,  be  applied  to  himself:  "His  judicial  character  must  stand 
upon  the  pubhshed  reports  of  his  judicial  decisions,  which  now  form  so 
large  a  portion  of  his  legal  learning.  These  will  form  an  enduring 
monument  of  liis  fame,  and  constitute  a  large  claim  upon  the  respect 
and  gratitude  of  posterity."  In  transposing  what  Justice  Shaw  once 
said  of  the  law,  to  the  lawyers,  we  may  remark  of  him,  that,  having 
been  nurtured  by  an  enlightened  philosophy,  invigorated  by  sound 
learning,  and  polished  by  elegant  literature,  he  has  been  an  efficient 
supporter  of  constitutional  liberty. 


WILLIAM  GALE.  —  GEORGE  SULLIVAN.  381 

WILLIAM   GALE. 

JULY  i,  1815.    FOR  THE  WASHmGTON    SOCIETY. 

WiLLAM  Gale  was  born  at  Waltham,  July  6,  1788,  and  grad- 
uated at  Harvard  College  in  1810.  He  became  a  counsellor-at-law, 
and  practised  in  the  old  State-house.  He  was  a  warm  adherent  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  Chronicle. 
The  papers  of  the  day  said  of  the  oration  (delivered  at  the  Columbian 
Coffee-house,  for  the  Washington  Society,  of  which  Mr.  Gale  was 
president  in  1817),  that  it  was  a  patriotic,  spirited  and  elegant  per- 
formance. Mr.  Gale  was  the  legal  solicitor  of  the  Republican  Institu- 
tion, on  its  foundation,  in  1819.  Possessing  talents  tending  to  an 
honored  eminence,  it  is  related  that  he  descended  to  habits  of  inebria- 
tion,—  an  infirmity  peculiar  to  men  of  literary  genius, —  which  reduced 
him  to  poverty,  and  doomed  him  to  the  House  of  Industry,  which, 
according  to  the  records,  he  last  entered  Nov.  6,  1839,  when,  being 
attacked  with  the  small-pox,  he  was  removed  to  Rainsford  Island  on 
the  19th  inst.,  where  he  died,  Nov.  21,  1839. 

"  Now  there  he  lies, 
And  none  so  poor  to  do  him  reverence." 


GEORGE   SULLIVAN. 

JULY  4,  1816.    FOR   THE   TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  a  son  of  Gov.  SulHvan,  and  born  in  Boston  February,  1782  ; 
entered  the  Latin  School  in  1791,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1801,  when  he  engaged  in  a  discussion  on  the  importance  of 
national  character  to  the  United  States.  Was  a  counsellor-at-law ; 
and  married  Sarah  Bowdoin,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Thomas  L.  Winthrop. 
He  was  secretary  to  Hon.  James  Bowdoin,  when  minister  to  Spain. 
Was  the  governor's  aid-de-camp,  and  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honorable  Artillery  Company,  in  1811.     Was  captain  of  the  New 


382  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

England  Guards.  Judge-advocate  of  the  first  military  division.  Was 
president,  in  1813,  of  Boston  Fuel  Society  for  the  Poor.  Was  a  rep- 
resentative, and  a  senator,  in  the  State  Legislature.  His  residence  has 
been,  for  many  years,  in  New  York. 

General  Humphries,  who  gave  a  speech  at  the  dinner  of  the  town 
authorities,  remarked  of  Mr.'  Sullivan's  performance,  at  the  head  of  this 
article  :  "  The  orator  of  the  day  has  been  your  faithful  organ,  in  pro- 
nouncing concihatory  doctrines,  in  inculcating  liberal  and  independent 
sentiments,  and  recommending  a  just  and  wise  system  of  policy." 

Unlike  his  eminent  brother,  William,  he  was  a  repubhcan  of  the 
Democratic  school.  He  is  a  member  of  the  New  England  Historical 
Society.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  polished  manners  and  truly  estimable 
reputation,  and  the  honored  brother  of  the  Hon.  Richard  Sullivan, 
of  this  State. 


ASHUR   WARE. 

.  JULY  4,  1816.    FOR   THE   WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Sherburne,  and  son  of  Joseph  Ware,  a  respectable 
farmer,  and  born  in  1783.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1804,  at  which  time  he  took  part  in  a  forensic  disputation.  Whether 
the  law  of  nature  be  equally  applicable  to  individuals  and  nations. 
He  was  a  tutor  at  Cambridge  from  1807  to  1811,  and  professor  of 
Greek  from  that  period  to  1815.  He  was  an  attorney-at-law  in  Bos- 
ton, 1816,  and  an  editor  of  the  Boston  Yankee,  in  company  with 
Henry  Orne.  In  1817  Mr.  Ware  removed  to  Portland,  and  deliv- 
ered another  oration  on  our  national  independence,  in  that  town.  In 
1820  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  corporation  of  Bowdoin  College, 
which  he  occupied  until  1844.  In  1834  he  was  president  of  the 
Portland  Athenaeum,  and  was  an  officer  of  the  Maine  Historical 
Society.  He  has  been  many  years,  from  1822,  Judge  of  the  U.  S. 
District  Court  of  ]\Iaine.  In  1830  Judge  Ware  married  Sarah  Mor- 
gridge,  and  has  one  son  at  college.  In  1839  he  published  Reports  of 
Cases  argued  and  determined  in  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  District  of  Maine,  from  1822  to  1839,  printed  at  Port- 


ASHUR  WARE.  383 

land.     This  is  a  work  of  great  legal  learning.     Judge  Ware  was  the 
first  Secretary  of  State  for  Maine,  on  its  separation,  in  1820. 

Judge  Ware,  in  early  life,  entered  the  field  of  democracy,  and 
warmly  espoused  its  cause.  His  brilliant  talents,  displayed  in  the  two 
orations,  show  him  a  devoted  champion  for  the  war  with  Great  Britain, 
and  a  decided  opponent  to  the  Hartford  Convention.  They  are  valua- 
ble records  of  the  party  feeling  of  the  day.  He  said  of  Samuel  Dex- 
ter, that  he  indignantly  frowned  on  all  attempts  to  impair  the  constitu- 
tion, or  sever  the  Union.  We  do  not  believe  the  judge  indulges,  after 
an  experience  of  thirty  years,  views  like  the  following,  extracted  from 
the  Portland  oration  :  ' '  Mr.  Ames,  the  oracle  of  our  aristocratic 
junto,  feelingly  lamented  that  we  had  not  in  this  country  the  materials 
for  establishing  a  monarchy  similar  to  that  of  England.  We  had  no 
old  and  great  families  who  were  looked  up  to  with  that  submissive  rev- 
erence which  is  inspired  by  the  inherited  greatness,  the  family  pictures, 
if  I  may  so  remark,  of  ancient  nobility.  But  the  times  are  much 
improved  since  he  wrote.  All  difficulties  vanished  before  the  enter- 
prising geniuses  of  1814.  This  man  will  surely  make  a  very  good 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  here  is  an  Earl  of  Essex  waiting  for  his  patent 
of  nobility.  A  hopeful  train  of  titled  great  could  be  quickly  formed. 
But  for  the  king  !  Who  shall  we  clothe  with  the  awful  robes  of  maj- 
esty ?  Where  shall  we  find  the  sublimity  of  genius  and  the  transcend- 
ent dignity  that  is  worthy  to  be  encircled  by  the  glories  of  the  crown  1 
Nothing  so  easy.  It  is  a  maxim  of  the  British  constitution,  which  is 
our  model,  that  a  pasteboard  king  is  the  best  of  all  possible  monarchs  ; 
and  so  we  will  crown  —  the  sage  of  Northampton  !  Queen  Mab  was 
busy  at  her  fairy  work.  Mitres  and  diadems,  and  stars  and  ribbons, 
were  dancing  before  the  eager  imaginations  of  these  titled  dreamers. 
But  the  angel  of  Peace  arrived,  and  the  air-drawn  phantoms  of  the 
fairies  vanished  before  the  wand  of  the  powerful  enchanter.  The 
exhilarating  visions  of  a  heated  fancy,  the  '  thrones  and  dominions  and 
princedoms,'  the  stars  and  diadems  and  mitres,  just  as  the  pilgrims 
arrived  at  the  wicket  of  their  political  heaven,  were  taken  by  this  rude 
cross  wind,  and, 

*'  Up  whirled  aloft, 
Flew  o'er  the  backside  of  the  world  far  off, 
Into  a  limbo  large  and  broad," 

tne  ancient  receptacle  of  all  the  abortive  and  unfinished  works  of 
nature,  and  all  the  multiformed  follies  of  men,  of  politician's  dreams, 


384  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

and  lover's  sighs,  and  Pope's  indulgences,  yclept  in  olden  time  the 
'  Paradise  of  fools.'  And  there  may  the  sparkling  glories  of  the  New 
England  monarchy,  the  crosses  and  coronets,  that  charmed  the  waking 
and  sleeping  fancies  of  our  pohtical  regenerator,  slumber  in  undis- 
turbed repose,  with  the  cowls  and  hoods,  the  relics  and  rosaries,  of 
religious  delirium,  till  the  day  of  the  general  resurrection ; "  and  in 
another  passage  of  like  satirical  vein.  Gov.  Strong  is  alluded  to  as  our 
invincible  Washington,  in  frowning  majesty,  curbing  his  impetuous 
steed,  at  the  head  of  his  Northampton  chivalry.  His  very  name  was  a 
tower  of  strength,  and  of  whom  Paine  thus  emphasizes  in  Rule  New 
England : 

"  Old  Massachusetts'  hundred  hills. 
Awake,  and  chant  the  matin  song  ! 

A  realm's  acclaim  the  welkin  fills,  — 
The  Federal  sun  returns  -with  Strong." 

As  an  offset  to  the  insinuations  on  the  "good  Duke  of  Norfolk," 
—  meaning,  we  presume,  Fisher  Ames, —  we  will  quote  a  sentence  from 
his  eulogy  on  Washington,  that  "government  was  administered  with  such 
integrity  without  mystery,  and  in  so  prosperous  a  course,  that  it  seemed 
wholly  employed  in  acts  of  beneficence ; "  and  this  was  an  opinion 
formed  after  beino;  in  Congress  during  the  entire  administration  of 
Washington.  A  royahst  would  not  say  this ;  and  Samuel  Dexter,  the 
great  political  rival  of  Fisher  Ames,  pronounced  the  eulogy  over  his 
unburied  remains. 


EDWARD  TYRRELL  CHANNING. 

JULY  4,  1817.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Newport,  R.  L,  Dec.  12,  1790.  He  received  at 
Harvard  College,  in  1819,  the  degree  of  A.  M. ;  was  the  orator  for 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  in  1818 ;  became  a  counsellor-at-law, 
and  married  Henrietta  A.  S.,  daughter  of  William  Ellery,  Esq.,  of 
Newport,  April,  1826 ;  has  been  the  Boylston  Professor  of  Rhetoric 
and  Oratory  ever  since  1819.  At  that  period  he  became  editor  of  the 
North  American  Review.     The  oration  delivered  in  1817  was  pro- 


FRANCIS   GALLEY   GRAY.  385 

nouncccl  in  the  presence  of  President  Monroe,  wlio  was  then  on  a  tour 
through  New  England.  He  was  author  of  the  Memoir  of  William 
Ellery,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  of  whom 
Dr.  Allen  states  that  he  died  while  he  was  reading  Tully's  Offices,  in 
Latin.  The  Rev.  William  E.  Channing  has  characterized  his  brother 
Edward  as  "the  antiquary  of  the  family." 

Professor  Channing  resigned  his  office  at  the  close  of  the  academic 
year,  in  1851,  and  was  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  faculty  at  that  period. 
The  influence  he  has  exercised,  in  forming  and  cultivating  the  taste  of 
so  many  successive  classes,  has  been  surpassed  by  no  one,  probably, 
ever  connected  with  the  college.  He  is  himself  a  Avriter  of  a  vigorous 
and  singularly  pure  English  style.  His  taste  is  severe,  and  his  crit- 
ical perception  keen.  The  contributions  of  Mr.  Channing,  at  two  long 
intervals,  in  the  North  American  and  other  periodicals,  and  the  admi- 
rable lectures  delivered  to  his  classes,  have  impressed  the  public,  both 
in  and  out  of  the  college  walls,  with  his  rare  powers  as  both  writer  and 
critic.  One  of  the  most  useful  of  his  duties,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
most  laborious  and  wearisome,  has  been  the  reading  and  correcting  the 
Themes  of  the  students.  Perhaps  in  this  way,  quiet  and  unostenta- 
tious though  it  has  been,  his  power  has  been  most  genially  and  per- 
manently felt. 


FRANCIS   GALLEY   GRAY. 

JULY  4,  1818.    FOR  TEE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Francis  Calley  Gray  was  born  at  Salem.  He  was  a  son  of 
Lieutenant-governor  William  Gray ;  received  his  j)reliminary  education 
under  the  care  of  William  Bigelow  and  Jacob  Knapp,  and  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1809,  on  which  occasion  he  gave  an  oration  in  Eng- 
lish. He  was  a  private  secretary  of  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams,  in 
the  mission  to  Russia.  He  read  law  with  Hon.  Judge  Prescott,  and 
became  a  counsellor  at  Suffolk  bar.  He  has  been  a  representative,  a 
senator,  and  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council.  He  was  a  presi- 
dent of  the  Boston  Athena3um ;  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  and  corresponding  secretary ;  a  trustee  of  the  State  Lunatic 
33 


386  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Hospital,  at  Worcester,  on  its  establishment ;  a  trustee,  also,  of  the 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  at  Boston,  and  a  Fellow  of  Harvard 
College  from  1826  to  1836. 

]\Ir.  Gray  is  one  of  the  most  accomplished  literary  writers  among 
us,  and  -was  an  early  contributor  to  the  North  American  Review.  His 
performance  delivered  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at  Cambridge, 
in  the  year  1816,  was  printed  in  the  third  volume  of  that  periodical. 
The  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article  is  one  of  the  best  productions  in 
the  whole  range  of  Boston  oratory.  In  the  year  1832  Mr.  Gray  pro- 
nounced a  centennial  oration  on  the  birth  of  Washington,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  State  authorities,  in  which  he  felicitously  characterized  the 
mind  of  Washington  as  of  "exact  proportions,  and  severe  simplicity, 
without  a  fault  for  censure,  an  extravagance  for  ridicule,  or  a  blemish 
for  regret."  Mr.  Gray  has  somewhat  devoted  his  mind  to  antiquarian 
pursuits.  He  is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  and  has  been  an  editor  of  several  volumes  of  its  published  col- 
lections. He  was  the  author  of  Remarks  on  the  Early  Laws  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay ;  and  was  editor  of  the  Code  of  1641,  known  as  the  Body 
of  Liberties,  both  of  which  are  printed  in  the  collections  of  this  society. 
One  of  the  productions  of  Mr.  Gray,  which  indicates  the  greatest  tal- 
ent, is  the  treatise  entitled  '"'Prison  Discipline  in  America,"  the  basis 
of  which  comprises  the  arguments  advanced  by  himself  at  the  animated 
discussion  on  Prison  Discipline  Reform  which  occurred  during  a  period 
of  seven  adjourned  meetings,  in  the  Tremont  Temple,  in  the  summer 
of  1847.  Mr.  Gray  was  a  vice-president  of  the  Prison  Discipline 
Society,  and  had  been  several  years  chairman  of  the  board  of  direct- 
ors of  the  state-prison  at  Charlestown.  He  was  a  decided  supporter 
of  the  social  system  of  associated  labor,  an  object  of  philanthropy  to 
which  he  was  tenaciously  devoted,  that  has  long  prevailed  in  our  state- 
prison.  An  admirable  portrait  of  Mr.  Gray,  by  Alexander,  is  in  the 
family. 

In  an  oration  of  ]\Ir.  Gray,  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of 
Brown  University,  deHvered  in  1842,  in  which  he  states  that  the  gen- 
eration now  rising  into  active  life  in  America  is  destined  to  exert  a 
great  influence,  not  only  on  the  fortunes  of  our  country,  but  of  the 
whole  human  race,  he  points  out  the  dangers  and  duties  of  the  people. 
We  find  the  following  ingenious  argument,  in  this  excellent  performance, 
in  relation  to  the  ability  of  the  United  States  to  sustain  its  political 
freedom.     "  The  question  which  the  statesmen  of  Europe  wish  to  have 


•      FRANCIS  GALLEY   GRAY.  387 

settled  is  this,"  says  Mr.  Gray;  "whetlier  a  nation,  extensive,  popu- 
lous, and  wealthy  enough  to  defend  itself,  unaided,  against  all  aggres- 
sion, and  maintain  its  fleets  and  armies  without  summoning  its  citizens, 
on  every  alarm  of  war,  from  their  daily  occupations  and  their  firesides, 
to  the  field,  thus  letting  the  mere  sound  of  the  trumpet  interrupt  all  the 
pursuits  of  peace, —  to  make  all  the  internal  improvements  which  mod- 
ern science  is  perpetually  suggesting, —  to  estahlish  the  division  of 
labor,  and  the  competition  for  success  in  every  pursuit,  essential  to  the 
perfection  of  the  useful  arts, —  to  promote  the  cultivation  of  science 
and  literature,  and  supply  the  innumerable  wants  of  civilized  life, — 
whether  such  a  nation  be  capable  of  maintaining  a  system  of  govern- 
ment, under  which  the  citizens  possess  equal  rights  and  equal  political 
power,  without  a  degree  of  anarchy  as  intolerable  as  despotism  itself 

"  Where  else  in  the  world  can  they  look  for  the  solution  of  the  ques- 
tion, but  to  this  country,  where  only  the  elements  of  the  problem  are 
found  united  ?  Already  its  population  has  so  increased  that  it  is  sur- 
passed in  this  respect  by  only  four  European  nations ;  and,  at  the  end 
of  the  period  we  noAV  contemplate,  if  the  rate  of  increase  be  the  same 
as  hitherto  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  it  will  be  equalled  by  none 
but  the  gigantic  empire  of  Russia.  Without  meaning  to  dwell  on  this 
point,  there  is  one  light  in  Avhich  I  Avould  present  it  to  you,  somewhat 
striking.  So  rapid  has  been  our  increase,  that  the  number  of  persons 
of  European  descent  now  living  on  the  surface  of  these  United  States 
is  greater  than  the  whole  aggregate  number  of  the  dead,  of  all  genera- 
tions, of  the  same  race,  that  lie  buried  beneath  it.  Surprising  as  this 
may  seem,  it  is  capable  of  mathematical  demonstration,  and  this  in  a 
form  so  simple  that  I  will  venture  to  state  it  even  here.  Taking  a  gen- 
eration to  be  the  period  during  which  as  many  persons  die  as  existed 
at  its  commencement,  and  supposing  the  population  to  be  exactly  doubled 
in  the  period  of  a  single  generation;  begin  your  settlement  with  one 
thousand  inhabitants.  At  the  end  of  the  first  generation,  you  have  one 
thousand  dead  and  two  thousand  living.  At  the  end  of  the  second  o-en- 
eration,  you  add  the  same  number  —  two  thousand  —  to  both,  making 
three  thousand  dead  and  four  thousand  living,  which  last  number  you 
add  to  both  at  the  end  of  the  third  generation  ;  and,  as  you  add  at  the 
end  of  each  generation  the  same  number, —  that  is,  the  number  livino- 
at  its  commencement, —  both  to  the  dead  and  to  the  living,  the  difier- 
enco  between  them  will  always  remain  the  same,  and  the  living  will 
always  exceed  the  dead  by  the  number  with  which  you  began.     Now, 


888  THE   HUNDKED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

this  is  on  the  supposition  that  the  population  exactly  doubles  in  the 
period  of  one  generation.  Eut  our  population  is  found  to  increase 
much  faster.  It  doubles  in  less  than  twentj-four  years,  and  has  done 
so  from  the  beginning ;  so  that,  in  fact,  the  number  of  the  living  far 
—  very  far  —  exceeds  the  "whole  mighty  congregation  of  the  dead.  As 
lono;  as  the  same  rate  of  increase  shall  continue, —  and  nothincj  has 
hitherto  checked  it, —  this  will  always  be  so ;  and  the  child  that  opens 
its  eyes  to  the  light  this  day,  and  lives  to  see  old  age,  will  close  them 
on  an  empire  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  millions  of  people.  Should 
our  institutions,  therefore,  be  henceforth  successfully  administered,  it 
will  no  longer  be  objected  that  the  population  is  too  small  for  a  satis- 
factory experiment." 


FRANKLIN  DEXTER. 

JULY  4,  1819.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

"The  colonists  became  independent,"  says  Mr.  Dexter,  "because 
they  had  always  been  free ;  for  it  is  only  by  the  long  enjoyment  of 
liberty  that  men  could  be  formed, — for  a  contest  of  liberty  was  their 
ruling  passion ;  —  and,  though  they  disclaimed  any  wish  to  be  inde- 
pendent until  they  solemnly  declared  themselves  so,  they  were  always 
actuated  by  a  spirit  that  could  not  leave  them  long  dependent  on  a  for- 
eign power.  It  was  a  clear  understanding  of  the  principles  of  civil 
liberty,  and  an  ardent  attachment  to  it,  that  were  the  sole  and  consist- 
ent causes  of  the  Revolution.  Not  the  mere  impatience  of  oppression 
that  sometimes  wakes  even  a  degraded  people  to  resistance,  to  avenge 
their  wrongs,  rather  than  to  assert  their  rights, —  which  groans  and 
struggles  in  confinement,  till  there  is  no  longer  anything  to  be  lost, 
and  then  breaks  out  in  violence  and  uproar, —  not  to  change  the  gov- 
ernment, but  to  annihilate  it ;  not  to  redress  the  evils  of  society,  but 
to  sweep  away  society  itseif.  We  have  seen  such  a  revolution,  and  we 
may  be  proud  that  ours  had  nothing  in  common  with  it.  "VVe  have 
seen  a  great  nation  shaken  to  its  foundations,  and  bursting  like  a  vol- 
cano, only  to  shower  down  destruction  itself, —  leaving  its  colossal  form 
dark,  bare  and  blasted,  with  no  grandeur  but  its  terrors.  Such  was 
not  our  Revolution ;  but,  like  the  fire  in  our  own  forests,  not  scattered 


FRANKLIN   DEXTER.  389 

by  the  hand  of  accident  or  fury,  but  deliberately  to  the  root  of  the 
growth  of  ages,  which  tottered  and  fell  before  it,  only  that  from  its 
ashes  might  rise  a  new  creation,  when  all  was  green  and  fair  and  flour- 
ishing. The  world  has  learned,  hy  these  experiments,  that  civil  liberty 
is  not  a  mushroom,  that  grows  up  in  a  night  from  the  fallen,  rotten 
trunk  of  despotism ;  but  a  hardy  plant,  that  strikes  deep,  in  a  sound 
soil,  and  slowly  gathers  strength  with  years,  till  oppression  withers  in 
its  shadow.  Our  present  situation  is  a  living  proof  of  the  difference 
of  the  two  events.  Liberty  never  yet  was  the  work  of  an  outraged 
and  incensed  populace, —  as  well  might  a  whirlwind  plant  a  para- 
dise!  " 

Franklin  Dexter  was  born  in  Charlestown,  and  was  son  of  Samuel 
Dexter,  the  profound  civilian  and  famous  orator, — of  whom  Callender 
unjustly  said  that  "  he  has  a  great  deal  of  that  kind  of  eloquence  which 
struts  around  the  heart,  without  ever  entering  it," — and  was  a  warm 
advocate  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain.  Samuel  Dexter  and  The- 
ophilus  Parsons  were  at  one  time  against  each  other  in  the  court  at 
Dedham.  Rufus  Green  Amory  had  hunted  up  all  the  authorities,  and 
placed  a  mark  at  each.  INIr.  Dexter  requested  his  attorney  to  take  a 
seat  beside  him,  and  hand  the  authorities  as  he  wished  them,  which 
afforded  the  best  possible  opportunity  of  hearing  every  word  that 
escaped  the  lips  of  that  great  man.  Placing  one  foot  upon  a  chair,  and 
folding  his  arms  across  his  breast,  Mr.  Dexter  began  ;  and  such  a  stream 
of  reasoning,  without  noise  and  without  effort,  as  he  poured  out  for  four 
hours,  one  never  heard  before ;  it  was  like  pouring  water  from  a  flask. 
Parsons  made  several  attempts  to  interrupt  him.  At  last,  Mr.  Dexter 
turned  to  him  and  said  :  "  Mr.  Parsons,  if  you  have  an  overflow  of  wit, 
have  the  goodness  to  reserve  it  for  the  close  ;  you  have  already  driven 
several  ideas  out  of  my  head."  The  Chief  Justice,  Dana,  remarked, 
"  Never  mind,  Mr.  Dexter ;  if  he  should  deprive  you  of  as  many  more, 
you  would  still  have  enough  left  for  Mr.  Parsons."  Mr.  Dexter  was 
accustomed  to  pursue  his  studies  in  the  evening,  without  the  use  of  a 
lamp,  often  till  towards  eleven  o'clock ;  and  so  absorbed  was  his  mind 
that  he  would  quit  his  office  without  locking  the  door,  and  his  landlord, 
the  bookseller  on  the  lower  floor,  often  found  it  necessary  to  wait  until 
Mr.  Dexter  left  the  office,  in  order  to  make  it  secure  for  the  night. 
Samuel  Dexter  is  said  to  have  written  a  condensed  analysis  of  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity,  which  is  one  of  the  most  conclusive  arguments 
ever  written  by  a  civilian. 
33* 


390  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Franklin  Dexter  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1812,  on  wliich 
occasion  he  took  part  in  the  discussion,  whether  extensiveness  of  terri- 
tory be  favorable  to  the  preservation  of  a  republican  government.  He 
is  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  married  Catharine  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of 
Hon.  William  Prescott.  He  was  a  member  of  the  city  Council  in 
1825  ;  Avas  commander  of  the  New  England  Guards,  a  representative 
and  senator  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  the  United  States  District 
Attorney  for  Massachusetts. 

When,  in  July,  1841,  the  venerable  Judge  Davis  resigned  the 
judicial  station,  Mr.  Dexter  was  requested,  by  the  members  of  the 
Suffolk  bar,  to  make  known  to  him  their  high  sense  of  respect  and 
veneration ;  and  he  performed  the  duty  with  felicitous  grace,  in  highly 
effective  terms.  "It  can  rarely  happen,"  said  he,  "that  a  judge 
who  is  called  upon  to  decide  so  many  delicate  and  important  questions 
of  property  and  personal  right  should  have  so  entirely  escaped  all 
imputation  of  prejudice  or  passion,  and  should  have  found  so  general 
an  acquiescence  in  his  results.  Our  filial  respect  and  affection  for  your- 
self have  constantly  increased  with  increasing  years ;  and,  while  we 
acknowledge  your  right  to  seek  the  repose  of  private  hfe,  we  feel  that 
your  retirement  is,  not  less  than  it  ever  would  have  been,  a  loss  to  the 
profession  and  the  public.  May  you  live  long  and  happily, —  as  long 
as  life  shall  continue  to  be  a  blessing  to  you,  and  so  long  will  that  life 
be  a  blessing  to  your  friends  and  society." 

]Mr.  Dexter  has  been  an  eminent  pleader  at  the  bar ;  and  the  ingenu- 
ity with  which  he  contended  against  the  searching  Webster,  in  the  trial 
of  the  Knapps  for  the  murder  of  White,  is  in  the  memory  of  many. 
Possessing  brilliant  talents  and  strong  reasoning  powers,  Mr.  Dexter 
would  have  risen  to  elevated  public  life,  had  he  not  retired  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  literary  ease.  The  beautiful  criticism  on  landscape  painting, 
from  his  pohshcd  hand,  extending  through  thirty-five  pages  of  the 
North  American  Review,  in  which  he  discerns  no  reason  why  painters 
should  not  arise  in  our  day  to  surpass  all  that  was  effected  by  Claude, 
Gaspar,  or  Salvator,  and  expresses  the  decided  opinion  that  he  has 
seen  no  landscapes  painted  since  the  days  of  Titian  superior  to  those  of 
Allston,  indicate  him  to  be  as  tasteful  in  the  fine  arts  as  he  has  been 
profound  in  legal  learning.  We  are  of  opinion  that  we  neither  over- 
state, nor  exaggerate,  in  the  remark  that  Mr.  Dexter  has  been  one  of  the 
.  most  acute,  logical  reasoners  at  the  Suffolk  bar,  and  but  few  competitors 
felt  safe  in  an  argument  with  him. 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  WELLS. —  THEODORE   LYMAN.  891 

SAMUEL  ADAMS  WELLS. 

JULY  i,  1819.    FOR  THE  AVASHESTGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  a  son  of  Thomas  Wells,  -who  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Gov.  Samuel  Adams.  He  was  president  of  the  Atlas  Insurance  Com- 
pany, and  married  Margaret  Gibbs.  Mr.  Wells  was  a  tenacious  advo- 
cate of  the  Democratic  party,  and  prepared  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and 
Correspondence  of  Gov.  Samuel  Adams,  his  grandfather,  comprising 
three  volumes  in  manuscript,  which  it  is  said  were  disposed  of  to  George 
Bancroft,  the  historian.  This  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  public  calamity, 
unless  the  purchaser  should  cause  it  to  be  printed.  Whitcomb  said  of 
our  American  Cato, 

"  Eclipsed  by  merit,  rivals  all  submit, 
Laying  their  witliered  laurels  at  thy  feet." 

Mr.  Wells  was  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Republican  Insti- 
tution, originated  at  the  dwelling-house  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Clough,  Nov. 
16,  1818.  Gen.  Henry  Dearborn  was  its  first  president.  Its  annual 
meetings  occur  on  the  4th  of  March.  It  was  incorporated  Feb.  18, 
1819.  The  late  Hon.  James  Lloyd  founded  a  political  library  for  this 
important  engine  of  the  party. 

In  1820,  Mr,  Wells  was  a  delegate  to  the  Massachusetts  convention 
for  revising  the  State  constitution,  and  engaged  in  public  debate.  At 
the  town-meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Jan  2,  1822,  on  the  subject  of  a 
city  charter  of  Boston,  Mr.  Wells  moved  that  the  word  city  be  stricken 
out,  and  the  word  town  be  inserted,  as  a  substitute.  He  died  Aug. 
12,  1840. 


THEODORE   LYMAN. 

JULY  4,  1820.     FOR  THE  TOWN   AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  in  Boston,  Feb.  22,  1792.  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Buckminster 
was  his  private  teacher,  at  Waltham ;  entered  Exeter  Academy  in 
1804 ;  was  a  graduate  at  Harvard  College  in  1810,  became  a  mer- 


392  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

chant,  and  married  Mary  E.  Henderson  in  1820,  by  whom  he  had 
Theodore  and  Cora.  He  was  a  representative  in  1825,  and  in  1824  a 
senator,  in  the  State  Legislature.  He  engaged  in  mihtary  hfe ;  was, 
in  1821,  the  lieutenant  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Com- 
pany, an  aid-de-camp  to  Gov.  Brooks,  and  brigadier-general  of  the 
Boston  militia.  He  was  Mayor  of  Boston  in  1834  and  '35,  a  period 
in  the  history  of  the  city  stained  by  the  spirit  of  insubordination,  and 
the  dark  hues  of  intolerance.  This  will  ever  be  remembered  as  the 
time  when  the  disgraceful  Garrison  riot,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
Ursuhne  Convent,  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  old  metropolis  of  the  Bay 
State.  Gen.  Lyman  was  the  author  of  Diplomacy  of  the  United 
States  with  Foreign  Nations,  2  vols.  8vo.,  182G  ;  The  Political  State 
of  Italy,  8vo.,  1820 ;  Three  Weeks  in  PariS; — the  result  of  his  visit  to 
France ;  and  an  account  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  addressed  to  the 
fair-minded  and  well-disposed,  favoring  the  motives  of  that  body,  pub- 
lished in  1823.  He  was  president  of  the  Prison  Discipline  Society; 
was  president  of  the  Farm  School  three  years,  and  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  and  the  New  England  Genealogic  Historical 
societies. 

Our  own  city  of  Boston  has  never  been  honored  with  a  more 
munificent  native  citizen  than  was  Mayor  Lyman,  for  the  last  half-cen- 
tury ;  besides  his  private  charities  to  the  suffering  children  of  abject 
poverty.     It  was  said  of  Lyman, 

"  He  is  gracious  if  he  be  observed  ; 
He  hath  a  tear  for  pity,  and  a  hand 
Open  as  day  for  melting  charity." 

Mayor  Lyman,  on  the  foundation  of  the  State  Reform  School,  at 
Westboro',  which  he  originated,  was  the  secret  donor  of  twenty-two 
thousand  dollars  to  this  institution, —  a  secret  not  publicly  disclosed 
until  after  his  decease ;  and  by  his  last  will  he  bequeathed  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  the  same  institution,  in  addition  to  his  previous  gifts. 
He  bequeathed  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the  Boston  Farm  School,  which 
had  previously  received  his  gifts,  and  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the 
Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society.  He  died  at  Brookline,  July 
17,  1849. 


HENRY   ORNE. —  CHARLES   GREELY  LORINO.  393 

HENRY   ORNE. 

JULY  4,  1820.     FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Marblehead,  and  married  Frances  Boyd,  daughter  of 
"William  Little,  of  Boston.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1812 ;  was  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  married,  a  second  time,  Sempronia, 
the  sister  of  his  first  wife ;  was  an  eminent  advocate,  and  one  of  the 
committee  on  the  city  charter.  He  was  a  judge  of  the  Police  Court, 
and  of  the  city  Council  in  1822. 

Col.  Orne  was  a  leader  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  a  ready  writer. 
He  was  an  editor  of  the  Boston  Yankee,  and  a  liberal  contributor  to 
the  Boston  Statesman.  He  was  the  author  of  the  Letters  of  Colum- 
bus, originally  published  in  the  Boston  Bulletin,  to  which  are  added 
two  letters  to  Gen.  Duff  Green,  in  1829.  They  are  valuable  as 
unfolding  the  differences  of  the  Jackson  party.  Col.  Orne  finally 
removed  to  Oxford,  Me.  He  was  a  warm-hearted  and  patriotic  man, 
and  died  at  Orneville,  Me.,  January  1,  1853,  aged  60  years. 


CHARLES   GREELY   LORING. 

JULY  4,  1821.    FOR  THE  TOWN  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  last  of  the  orators  for  the  town  authorities,  of  whose  perform- 
ance an  eminent  politician,  the  late  Dr.  William  Ingalls,  remarked, 
that  it  was  the  only  oration  on  our  national  independence,  that  he  had 
ever  heard,  which  had  a  beginning,  a  middle,  or  an  end.  In  alluding 
to  the  result  of  the  convention  for  revising  the  State  constitution, 
Mr.  Loring  remarks  that  it  "affords  convincing  proof  of  the  stability 
of  a  government  which  they  so  impressively  proclaim  to  be  founded 
on  the  affections  and  confidence  of  its  citizens.  Let  the  advocate  of 
the  degrading  maxim,  that  man  is  incapable  of  self-government,  con- 
template the  scene  of  moral  grandeur  which  this  event  unfolds ;  let 
him  behold  the  reverence  and  affection  Avith  which  the  numerous  del- 
egates of  a  free  people  approach  the  institutions  of  their  ancestors, 
to  effect  those  alterations  which  a  change  of  political  situation  had 
rendered  essential ;  let  him  observe  the  impressive  sense  of  respons- 


394  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

ibility,  the  unity  of  design,  the  solemn  earnestness,  which  pervade  their 
deliberations,  the  dignified  and  manly  deference  with  which  prejudices 
and  preconceived  opinions  are  yielded  to  the  force  of  truth  and  reason, 
and  the  feelings  which  prompt  a  voluntary  and  simultaneous  homage 
to  that  revered  patriot  [John  Adams]  who  happily  remains  to  see,  in 
the  pride  of  its  strength,  the  temple  he  assisted  to  raise  ;  let  him  view, 
in  the  result  of  their  labors,  a  confirmation  of  all  the  essential  princi- 
ples of  our  constitution ;  and,  following  them  to  their  homes,  let  him 
see  them  diffusing  an  increased  love  and  veneration  for  the  institutions 
of  our  country,  without  carrying  with  them  a  feeling  of  party  ani- 
mosity, or  local  jealousy,  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  republic. 
Let  him  look  still  further,  and  contemplate  the  submission  of  the  rec- 
ommendations of  these  delegates  to  the  decision  of  their  constituents ; 
and,  instead  of  the  eagerness  for  change,  characteristic  of  every  other 
than  a  free  people,  let  him  view  our  fellow-citizens  rejecting  most  of 
the  proposed  amendments,  clinging  with  fond  veneration  to  the  institu- 
tions of  their  fathers,  scarce  willing  to  touch,  even  with  a  sparing 
hand,  the  edifice  in  which  they  had  so  happily  and  securely  dwelt, — 
and  then  let  him  renounce  a  doctrine  so  insulting  to  our  race  and  to 
God !  " 

Charles  Greely,  a  son  of  Hon.  Caleb  Loring,  was  born  in  Boston, 
May  2,  1794 ;  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1804,  and  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1812,  when  he  pronounced  the  salutatory  oration 
in  Latin;  and,  at  an  exhibition,  he  gave  an  oration  on  "  De  literis 
Romanis."  He  read  law  in  Boston  with  the  Hon.  Charles  Jackson 
and  the  Hon.  Samuel  Hubbard ;  and  at  Litchfield,  in  1813.  under 
Hon.  Judges  Reeve  and  Gould,  of  the  latter  of  whom  Mr.  Loring  once 
remarked:  "  The  recollection  is  as  fresh  as  the  events  of  yesterday, 
of  our  passing  along  the  broad  shaded  streets  of  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  the  villages  of  New  England,  with  our  inkstands  in  our  hands, 
and  our  portfolios  under  our  arms,  to  the  lecture-room  of  Judge  Gould, 
—  the  last  of  the  Romans,  of  Common  Law  lawyers  —  the  imperson- 
ation of  its  genius  and  spirit.  It  was,  indeed,  in  his  eyes,  the  perfec- 
tion of  human  reason,  by  which  he  measured  not  only  every  principle 
and  rule  of  action,  but  almost  every  sentiment.  Wliy,  sir,  his  highest 
visions  of  poetry  seemed  to  be  in  the  refinements  of  special  pleading ; 
and,  to  him.  a  non  sequitur  in  logic  was  an  ofience  deserving,  at  the 
least,  fine  and  imprisonment. —  and  a  repetition  of  it  transportation 
for  life."    Mr.  Loring  is  an  eminent  counsellor,  and  married  Anna  Pierce 


CHARLES   GREELY  LORINQ.  395 

Brace,  in  1818.  His  second  -wife  was  Mary  Ann,  a  daughter  of  Hon, 
Judge  Putnam,  formerly  of  Salem,  -whom  he  married  in  1840.  His 
third  wife  was  Mrs.  Cornelia  Amory  Goddard. 

The  office  of  Mr.  Loring  is  on  the  site  of  that  occupied  by  John 
Adams  in  1770.  In  1834  he  prepared  the  report  of  the  city  com- 
mittee on  the  destruction  of  the  Ursuline  Convent,  proposing  an  indem- 
nity to  the  Koman  Catholics  for  that  outrage.  He  was  for  nearly 
fifteen  years  the  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Lowell's  religious  society,  and  has  been  one  of  the  corporation  of  Har- 
vard University  from  1838.  He  was  a  decided  friend  of  the  Mercan- 
tile Library  Association,  and  drafted  its  act  of  incorporation.  He 
delivered  for  this  institution,  Feb.  26,  1845,  at  the  Odeon,  an  address 
on  the  Relations  of  the  Bar  to  Society,  exhibiting  the  moral  and  polit- 
ical influence  of  the  legal  profession.  Were  Shakspeare  now  living,  he 
would  not  include  Mr.  Loring  in  the  malediction,  "  The  first  thing  we 
do,  let's  kill  all  the  lawyers."  In  1847  Mr.  Loring  gave  an  effective 
speech  in  the  Senate-chamber  in  favor  of  the  "air-line"  railroad  route 
to  New  York,  in  contest  with  Mr.  Choate,  when  it  was  said  of  him 
that  he  was  a  cool,  deliberate  speaker,  "  with  great  concentrative  power 
and  logical  force,  while  Mr.  Choate  is  all  excitement,  wit,  and  imagina- 
tion." He  was  the  moderator  of  a  political  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Nov. 
7, 1845,  when  Webster  and  Winthrop  argued  on  the  Native  American 
abstraction,  and  was  president  of  the  Sufiblk  Whig  Committee  at  that 
period.  In  1848  he  was  president  of  the  Webster  Whig  Club,  organ- 
ized previous  to  the  nomination  of  Zachary  Taylor.  His  arguments 
for  the  Eastern  Railroad,  Boston  and  Woonsocket  corporations,  have 
been  published. 

When  the  coalition  Legislature  of  1851  proposed  to  the  people  to 
call  a  convention  for  an  alteration  of  the  State  constitution, —  which  was 
decided  by  the  people  in  the  negative,  at  the  election  of  State  officers 
for  the  year  ensuing, —  Mr.  Loring,  Avho  had  been  requested  to  speak 
at  a  public  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Nov.  7th,  of  that  period,  having 
engagements  beyond  his  control,  declined  the  invitation,  and  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  county  committee^  from  which  we  make  extracts,  as  it  is 
a  fragment  in  political  history  worthy  of  record : 

"  The  only  pretence  of  right  to  change  the  constitution  in  the  man- 
ner proposed,  which  I  have  seen  stated  or  heard  of,  is  the  assumed 
principle  that  the  majority  of  the  people  have  the  right,  at  any  time, 
and  in  any  manner  which  may  seem  meet  to  them,  to  change  their  form 


396  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  government ;  and  that  this  is  a  right  -which  is  not  and  cannot  be 
controlled  by  any  constitutional  compact  or  provision.  The  obvious 
fallacy  of  -ffhich,  as  it  seems  to  me,  consists  in  confounding  the  orig- 
inal right  to  form  such  a  constitution  as  the  majority  might  elect  when 
entering  into  the  contract,  with  the  assumed  right  of  subsequently 
\'iolating  and  breaking  it  at  pleasure, —  forgetting  that,  in  morals  as 
well  as  in  the  law,  although  it  may  be  optional  whether  or  not  to  enter 
into  a  compact,  no  right  exists,  after  its  formation,  to  disregard  or  violate 
its  obligations. 

"This  doctrine,  thus  boldly  announced  and  vindicated,  if  sound, 
leads  directly  and  obviously  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  whole  or  any 
part  of  our  present  constitution  or  feature  of  goverment  m'ay  be 
changed  at  pleasure,  by  a  mere  expression  of  the  will  of  a  majority  of 
the  people,  however  announced  or  ascertained  ;  and  that  a  despotism, 
an  aristocracy,  an  oligarchy,  or  a  pure  democracy,  in  which  every  citi- 
zen votes  upon  all  public  measures  and  appointments,  may  be  at  any 
time  substituted  for  our  repubhcan  form  of  government;  and  that  these 
changes  may  be  made  from  one  to  any  other,  whenever  and  as  often  as 
such  majority  may  see  fit  to  will  them.  And,  however  improbable  we 
may  imagine  such  changes  to  be  under  existing  circumstances,  their 
mere  possibility  is  a  true  test  of  the  soundness  of  the  doctrine ;  and 
their  probability,  however  remote,  would  be  vastly  increased,  should  the 
public  mind  become  demoralized  by  the  prevalence  of  such  an  opinion, 

"  Under  the  existing  constitution,  and  the  powers  of  the  Legislature, 
which  are  wholly  derived  from  it,  I  perceive  no  more  right  in  the  Sen- 
ate and  House  to  call  or  organize  a  convention  of  the  people  for  altering 
the  constitution,  than  exists  in  any  other  body  of  individuals,  gathered 
together  for  any  other  purpose,  or  in  any  that  may  choose  to  unite  for 
that  end.  And  any  attempt  at  such  alteration,  excepting  in  the  man- 
ner provided  by  the  constitution  itself,  seems  to  me  nothing  short  of 
actual  revolution, —  it  being  in  principle  the  same  thing,  whether  such 
change  be  made  by  force  of  arms,  or  by  any  other  action  of  the  major- 
ity coercing  an  unwilling  minority  into  a  surrender  of  their  constitu- 
tional rights. 

"Our  national  constitution,  and  those  of  many,  if  not  of  all,  the  other 
States,  contain  some  qualification  or  restriction  of  the  power  of  a  mere 
majority  of  the  people  to  alter  their  provisions ;  and  are  intended  for 
the  obvious  purpose,  among  others,  of  protecting  the  minority.  They 
are  restrictions  which  the  majority  have  agreed  to  impose  upon  them- 


'CHARLES   GREELY  LORING.  397 

selves  for  the  common  safety  of  all,  that  we  may  live  under  govern- 
ments of  law,  and  not  of  men ;  and,  unless  they  are  sacredly  regarded 
and  obeyed,  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  constitutional  liberty  or 
protection ;  and  every  man  holds  his  life,  freedom  and  property,  upon 
no  safer  tenure  than  the  arbitrary  -will  of  a  bare  majority  of  the  peojile, 
acting,  as  it  often  has  been,  and  often  again  may  be,  under  wild  delu- 
sion, or  the  influences  of  corrupt  factions." 

Mr.  Loring  said  of  Hon.  Judge  Hubbard,  in  addressing  the  members 
of  the  Suffolk  bar,  on  his  decease,  that  he  had  the  pleasure  of  completing 
his  studies  under  his  guidance,  and  entered  the  forensic  arena  under  his 
ausijices,  as  his  associate  in  the  profession;  and  how  grateful  and 
refreshing  will  ever  be  that  recollection  of  the  kind  manners,  the  hon- 
est love  of  truth,  and  gentleness  of  spirit,  with  which  he  exercised  his 
high  powers !  and,  in  directing  his  address  to  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  so 
long  the  compeer  of  Judge  Hubbard,  he  described  them  both  as  the 
Achilles  and  Hector  of  the  forum. 

Mr.  Loring  is  one  of  the  profoundcst  advocates  of  the  Suffolk  bar, 
remarkable  for  persevering  energy, —  one  who  throws  his  whole  soul 
in  his  profession,  to  which  he  is  intensely  devoted,  and  of  whom  it 
cannot  be  said, 

"  I  have  been  a  truant  in  the  law. 
And  never  yet  could  frame  my  will  to  it, 
And  therefore  frame  the  law  to  my  will." 

A  competitor  at  the  bar  thus  characterized  Mr.  Loring,  for  the  ear- 
nestness he  ever  infuses  into  his  arguments,  by  the  conviction  he  seems 
to  entertain,  for  the  occasion,  that  the  cause  he  happens  to  sustain  is 
founded  in  truth  and  in  right,  Avhatever  that  cause  may  be.  "Indeed, 
I  know,"  continues  his  rival,  "that  Mr.  Loring  would  not  engage  in 
one,  unless  he  were  satisfied  that  it  had  two  honest  sides ;  and  whatever 
that  cause  may  be,  I  know  that  my  friend  will  lend  his  whole  soul  to 
the  work.  I  know  that  he  acquires  a  deep  conviction, —  or  something 
that  passes  for  a  conviction  ^-ith  others,  and  probably  for  the  time  being 
amounts  to  it  in  his  own  mind, —  that  there  will  be  great  injustice, 
alarming  injustice,  irretrievable  injustice,  unless  the  rights  of  his  cli- 
ents, as  he  understands  them,  are  maintained."  His  faithfulness  to  his 
cause,  and  his  ability,  are  proverbial.  Mr.  Loring  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  of  the  New  England 
Genealogic  and  Historical  Society. 
34 


398  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   OKATOKS. 

GERRY   FAIRBANKS. 

JULY  4,  1821.    FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Dedham,  in  1782 ;  -u-as  a  hatter,  on  Washington-street, 
in  Boston,  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  New  England  Society  for 
the  promotion  of  Arts  and  Manufactures.  In  1822  Mr.  Fairbanks 
was  one  of  the  petitioners  of  Boston  to  the  State  Legislature  for  a  city 
charter.  In  1827  he  was  an  engineer  of  the  city  fire  department.  In 
1829  he  was  president  of  the  Boston  Debating  Society.  He  was  com- 
mander of  the  Independent  Fusileers,  and  colonel  of  the  Boston  regi- 
ment. Col.  Fairbanks  married  Mary  Sumner.  He  was  an  amiable 
man,  of  great  public  spirit.     He  died  in  Boston,  December,  1829. 


JOHN   CHIPMAN  GRAY. 

JULY  4,  1822.    FOR   THE  CITY   AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Salem,  Dec.  26,  1793,  and  a  son  of  Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor William  Gray.  He  married  Elizabeth  F.,  daughter  of  Samuel 
P.  Gardner,  Esq.,  of  Boston;  was  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  of  the  city 
Council  five  years,  from  1824;  and  was  eminent  for  his  financial  sagac- 
ity when  in  the  municipal  government,  and  a  most  efficient  member. 
He  has  been  a  representative,  a  senator,  and  of  the  executive  council. 
While  in  the  Legislature,  his  keen  eye  was  ever  watchful  for  the  inter- 
ests of  his  constituents.  In  1821  Mr.  Gray  was  the  orator  for  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society.  In  1834  he  dehvered  an  address  for  the  Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural  Society.  He  gradu^ited  at  Harvard  College  in 
1811,  on  which  occasion  his  subject  was  on  the  Diversity  of  Talents 
among  ]\Iankind ;  and,  on  an  exhibition  day,  his  part  was  an  essay  on 
the  Effect  of  the  Passion  for  Novelty  on  the  Character  of  English 
Composition, 

In  the  oration  of  Mr.  Gray,  at  the  head  of  this  article,  which  is  a 
poHshed  model  from  the  marble  quarry,  we  find  a  passage -relating  to 


JOHN   CHIPMAN   GRAY.  399 

the  municipal  form  of  government  recently  adopted  in  Boston  :  "  It  is 
no  wonder  that  we  should  fondly  cling  to  a  form  of  government  dear  to 
our  honest  prejudices, — if,  indeed,  they  do  not  deserve  a  better  name, 
—  alike  from  its  venerable  antiquity,  from  its  similarity  to  the  munici- 
pal institutions  of  our  country  brethren,  and  from  a  recollection  of  the 
virtues  of  those  ancestors  by  whom  it  was  established  and  preserved. 
We  were  at  length  taught,  by  a  thorough  experience,  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  our  town  affairs  in  person  was  rendered  impracticable  by  our 
overflowing  population.     The  frequency  of  our  town-meetings  became 
a  heavy  and  embarrassing  burden,  and  a  general  attendance  upon 
them  was  utterly  incompatible  with  a  proper  regard  to  our  private 
duties.    Our  ordinary  municipal  concerns  were  naturally  managed,  and 
our  by-laws  enacted,  by  a  small  proportion  of  our  whole  number ;  and 
we  had  no  alternative  left  but  to  determine  whether  that  proportion 
should  be  an  ever-changing  assemblage,  collected  almost  wholly  by 
accident,  or  a  body  of  responsible  delegates,  chosen  by  the  deliberate 
suffrages  of  the  majority.     Convinced  that  either  the  municipal  consti- 
tution which  our  ancestors  had  left  us  must  be  changed,  or  that  the 
good  order  and  good  principles  which  it  was  the  sole  object  of  that  con- 
stitution to  cherish  must  be  impaired,  or  hazarded,  we  felt  ourselves 
bound,  by  a  regard  not  merely  to  our  own  good,  but  to  their  memory, 
to  sacrifice  the  means  to  the  end,  and  to  establish,  under  the  sanction 
of  the  Legislature,  a  government  of  representatives.     This  has  been 
framed  with  an  accuracy  and  caution  which  will  appear  superfluous  to 
none  who  rightly  estimate  the  importance  of  city  laws.    They  are  those, 
of  all  others,  which  touch  us  most  nearly.     We  feel  their  influence 
every  hour".     The  neatness  and  beauty  of  our  streets,  our  public  places, 
and  public  edifices,  — our  general   health,  the  quiet  pursuit  of  our 
business,  the  enjoyment  of  our  innocent  recreations,  our  daily  comforts 
and  nightly  repose, —  are  all  materially  dependent  on  wise  and  well- 
executed  municipal  regulations.     Such  regulations,  by  their  effect  upon 
our  condition,  contribute  materially,  though  indirectly,  to  the  forma- 
tion of  our  character, —  for  who  does  not  know  how  much  character  is 
affected  by  situation,  how  forcibly  our  minds  and  hearts  are  influenced 
by  our  physical  circumstances  ?     Still  more  may  the  government  of 
every  city  control  and  guide  the  conduct  of  its  inhabitants,  by  that 
vigilant  and  internal  police  v.'hich  checks  vice  at  its  very  spring,  and 
prevents  the  deeper  guilt  which  more  general  laws  can,  at  best,  only 
punish.    Without  such  a  police  among  ourselves,  the  wisest  enactments 


400  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  our  Congress  or  our  Legislatures  could  do  but  little  to  render  us  a 
flourishing  and  happy  municipality.  This  great  end,  we  devoutly 
trust,  Avill  be  materially  promoted  by  our  new  form  of  government. 
But  let  every  citizen  seriously  reflect,  that  it  is  still  a  government  of 
the  people,  and  that  the  talents  and  fidelity  of  our  municipal  officers 
can  avail  us  nothing,  unless  seconded  by  the  prompt  obedience  and 
liberal  approbation  of  the  inhabitants  in  general.  What,  indeed,  let  us 
inquire  for  a  moment,  is  the  origin,  and  what  the  nature,  not  only  of 
municipal,  but  of  all  public  institutions  T-  They  are  valuable  only  as 
instruments  for  promoting  the  happiness  and  virtue  of  the  community 
where  they  exist.  They  spring  from  the  character  of  the  people,  and 
are  powerfully  effectual  in  strengthening  and  improving  that  character, 
by  their  reaction." 


CHARLES  PELHAM  CURTIS. 

JULY  4,  1823.     FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES 

In  the  eloquent  performance  of  our  orator,  among  other  topics,  we 
have  a  review  of  what  would  have  been  the  probable  condition  of  this 
republic,  had  the  British  arms  subdued  our  resistance  :  "Among  the 
privileges  of  which  we  should  have  been  bereft,  that  of  freely  pos- 
sessing fire-arms  should  be  included.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  vic- 
tors would  have  been  to  disarm  the  vanquished.  Monarchs  are  too 
jealous  of  their  subjects  to  intrust  them  Avith  arms,  except  under  the 
strictest  inspection  ;  and  the  rebellious  conduct  of  the  Americans  would 
have  brought  upon  them  a  severer  chastisement  than  the  utmost  rigor 
of  this  rule  of  policy  could  inflict.  Instead  of  our  militia, — the  great, 
the  ultimate  guarantee  of  our  liberties, —  electing  their  OAvn  command- 
ers, and  performing  an  easy  and  honorable  service  for  a  few  days 
in  the  year,  our  young  men  would  be  embodied  under  officers  selected 
by  the  crown,  subjected  to  the  severity  of  regular  discipline,  and  com- 
pelled to  assist  the  regular  troops  in  fortifying  the  garrisons,  or  in 
overawing  the  other  provinces. 

"  And  let  us  not  imagine,  that  while  Great  Britain  was  pouring 
forth  her  resources  to  support  the  war, —  while  she  was  accumulating 


CHARLES   PELHAM   CURTIS.  401 

a  debt  of  eight  hundred  millions  sterling, —  while  she  was  taxing  her 
subjects  until  the  invention  of  financiers  was  exhausted, —  that  we 
should  have  been  exempted.  No ;  these  provinces  would  have  been 
required  to  furnish  their  proportion  of  the  pubhc  expenses,  and  to  sus- 
tain their  share  of  the  burdensome  and  protracted  contest.  To  effect 
this,  the  odious  and  demoralizing  system  if  excise,  with  its  penalties 
and  its  functionaries,  from  which,  as  from  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  the 
retirement  of  the  bed-chamber  affords  no  relief,  would  have  been  entailed 
upon  us,  as  it  is  upon  England,  forever.  To  the  duties  on  stamps 
and  importations  would  have  been  added  a  tax  upon  Avindows,  and 
another  on  hearths,  taxes  on  manufactures  of  every  description,  taxes 
on  newspapers,  and  taxes  on  law  proceedings, —  the  last  of  which 
has  been  emphatically  called  '  a  tax  upon  distress.'  In  fine,  to  borrow 
the  language  of  an  ingenious  British  writer  (in  the  Edinburgh  Re- 
view), taxes  would  have  been  imposed  '  on  every  article  which  enters 
the  mouth,  or  covers  the  back,  or  is  placed  under  the  foot ;  taxes 
upon  everything  which  is  pleasant  to  see,  hear,  feel,  smell,  or  taste ; 
taxes  on  warmth,  light,  and  locomotion ;  taxes  on  everything  on  earth, 
and  in  the  waters  under  the  earth ;  on  everything  that  comes  from 
abroad  or  is  grown  at  home ;  taxes  on  the  raw  material,  and  taxes  on 
every  fresh  value  that  is  added  to  it,  by  the  industry  of  man.  Taxes 
on  the  sauce  which  pampers  man's  appetite,  and  the  drug  that  restores 
him  to  health  ;  on  the  ermine  which  decorates  the  judge,  and  the  rope 
that  hangs  the  criminal ;  on  the  poor  man's  salt,  and  the  rich  man's 
spices ;  on  the  ribands  of  the  bride,  and  the  brass  nails  of  the  coffin.' 

"  Had  the  arms  of  Great  Britain  been  fated  to  j)revai],  how  strongly 
would  she  have  been  tempted  to  introduce  changes  in  our  religious 
institutions.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  colonies 
were  already  attached  to  the  Church  of  England ;  and  a  beneficed  hier- 
archy is,  at  the  same  time,  a  powerful  engine  in  the  hands  of  govern- 
ment, and  a  fruitful  source  of  rewards  for  its  friends.  On  the  other 
hand,  freedom  of  thought  and  practice  in  religious  matters  naturally 
leads  to  freedom  of  inquiry  and  opinion  on  pohtical  affairs,  the  growth 
of  which  it  would  not  have  been  the  policy  of  Great  Britain  to  encour- 
age. In  place  of  the  ministers  of  our  own  choice,  to  whom  Ave  are 
attached  by  every  tie  of  friendship  and  respect,  inspired  by  their 
virtue  and  reciprocal  esteem,  our  pulpits  might  have  been  filled  by 
beneficiaries  of  the  crown,  accompanied  by  the  proctors  and  consistory 
courts,  and  armed  with  the  power  of  levying  contributions  for  the 
34* 


402  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

maintenance  of  a  worship  which  we  do  not  prefer,  and  of  a  clergy  in 
whose  appointment  we  should  have  no  voice. 

"If  there  are  any  in  this  assembly  who  think  this  suggestion  too 
unreasonable  for  belief,  I  refer  them,  for  an  example,  to  the  existing 
state  of  Ireland,  where  an  established  church,  possessing  a  revenue 
of  six  millions  of  dollars^  is  maintained,  by  military  force,  in  luxury 
and  splendor,  at  the  expense  of  an  impoverished  people,  of  whom  more 
than  nine-tenths  reject  its  doctrines  and  embrace  another  faith.  I  am 
ready  to  admit,  however,  that  the  circumstances  of  the  two  countries 
are  not  entirely  parallel ;  and  perhaps  the  conduct  of  England  towards 
us  would  not  have  been  guided,  in  this  particular,  by  similar  views. 
But  it  is  sufficient,  for  my  purpose,  that  such  a  measure  had  been 
possible, —  it  is  certain  that  the  valor  of  our  ancestors  has  rendered  it 
impossible ! 

"There  is  another  innovation,  however,  which,  if  Great  Britain  had 
succeeded,  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  believe  she  would  have  introduced 
among  us, —  I  mean,  an  hereditary  order  of  nobiHty.  Every  principle 
of  monarchial  policy  would  have  been  in  favor  of  such  an  institution. 
The  viceroy  of  America  would  have  needed  an  intermediate  class, 
dependent  on  the  throne  as  the  fountain  of  honor,  to  give  strength  to 
his  administration  and  dignity  to  his  court.  The  pride  of  the  richer 
adherents  of  the  crown  would  have  been  gratified  by  such  distinctions ; 
the  estabhshment  of  a  privileged  order  would  have  assimilated  the 
provinces  more  nearly  to  the  mother  country ;  titles  had  already  been 
conferred  on  a  few  individuals ;  and  ribands,  and  stars,  and  patents  of 
nobility,  are  cheap  rewards  for  services  in  the  council  or  in  the  field. 
To  support  the  dignity  of  the  peerage,  the  entailment  of  estates,  and 
the  right  of  primogeniture,  would,  of  necessity,  have  made  part  of  our 
established  law.  Property,  which  is  now  distributed  in  equal  portions, 
would,  if  thus  protected,  accumulate  in  the  hands  of  a  limited  number 
of  great  proprietors :  and  the  yeomanry  of  our  country  —  the  inde- 
pendent freeholders  of  the  soil  which  they  cultivate  —  would  be  the 
tenants  of  some  noble  landlord.  Pensions  and  grants  of  public  lands 
would  have  been  unsparingly  bestowed ;  the  most  strenuous  opponents 
of  the  Revolution  would,  of  course,  have  been  the  chosen  objects  of 
royal  munificence :  and  as  Monk  received  a  dukedom  from  the  hands 
of  Charles  11..  Arnold  would  have  merited,  at  the  least,  an  eai-ldom 
from  those  of  George  III." 

Charles  Pelham  Curtis  was  born  at  Boston,  June  22,  1792 ;  entered 


RUSSELL   JARVIS.  403 

the  Latin  School  in  1803,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1811, 
and  was  of  the  Law  School ;  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  under  the 
guidance  of  Hon.  William  Sullivan;  married  Anna  Wroe  Scollay, 
March,  1816  ;  and  married  again,  Margaret  Stevenson,  the  widow  of 
Rev.  Dr.  McKean.  Mr.  Curtis  Avas  the  first  legal  solicitor  for  the 
city  of  Boston,  which  station  he  sustained  for  several  years,  with  great 
honor  to  his  reputation,  and  to  the  benefit  of  his  constituents.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  city  Council  four  years,  from  1822,  where  his 
influence  in  the  practical  development  of  the  city  charter  has  contrib- 
uted to  its  perpetuity.  As  a  representative  in  the  State  Legislature, 
his  sagacity  and  conciliation  rendered  him  one  of  the  most  efiicient 
members  of  that  body.  He  is  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  one  of  the  most 
profound  practical  pleaders ;  a  whole-souled,  courteous  man ;  one  of  the 
most  talented  and  most  judicious  advisers  of  the  Boston  bar,  remark- 
able for  honest  candor.  He  is  one  of  a  very  select  literary  and  social 
party,  known  as  the  Friday  Night  Club,  at  which  Chief  Justice  Shaw 
often  presides.  Mr.  Curtis  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Boston 
Farm  School,  which  grew  out  of  the  institution  for  indigent  boys.  He 
is  a  man  of  fine  literary  parts,  and  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to 
our  public  journals,  especially  on  political  topics. 


RUSSELL  JARVIS. 

JULY  i,  1833.    FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  a  son  of  Samuel  Gardner  Jar  vis,  and  born  in  Boston ;  gradu- 
ated at  Dartmouth  College  in  1810 ;  was  a  counsellor-at-law,  and 
married  Caroline,  a  daughter  of  Judge  Dana,  of  Chelsea,  V-  T.  ;  and 
mari-ied  a  second  wife,  Sarah  Eliza,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Cordis, 
merchant,  of  Boston,  in  1824.  His  wife  and  two  daughters  lost  their 
lives  in  the  burning  of  the  steamer  Lexington,  Jan.  13,  1840.  In 
1828  he  became  an  editor  of  the  Washington  Telegraph,  in  connection 
with  Dufi"  Green.  Mr.  Jarvis  is  a  radiant  halo  of  his  eloquent  uncle, 
the  bald  eagle  of  the  Boston  seat.  He  is  one  of  the  readiest  political 
writers  amongst  us,  and  has  exercised  great  influence  in  the  circle  of 
Democracy.     He  died  at  New  York,  April  17,  1853. 


404  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

"In  breathing  our  hopes  of  European  emancipation."  says  the  fervent 
Jarvis,  "let  not  Greece — ■lovely,  interesting  Greece — be  neglected 
or  forgotten.  0  Greece  !  the  cradle  of  the  poet  and  the  philosopher, 
the  home  of  the  hero  and  the  statesman, —  ^yhose  name  awakens  every 
sublime  recollection,  and  -whose  ancient  memory  is  bound  to  the 
American  heart  by  every  tie  that  literature,  science,  or  love  of  Hberty 
can  -weave, —  -when  the  American  forgets  thee,  '  may  her  right  hand 
forget  her  cunning  ! '  Where  are  thy  glories  now  1  The  feet  of  bar- 
barians have  polluted  thy  soil,  and  the  siroc  of  despotism  has  passed 
over  thee.  Thy  Acropolis  is  crumbled  in  ruins  !  thy  Parthenon  lays 
low  in  dust !  the  INIuses  have  fled  thy  Parnassus !  thy  Hehcon  mur- 
murs in  vain  !  the  harp  of  thy  Homer  is  broken !  thy  Sapphos  are 
mute,  and  their  lyres  are  unstrung  !  And  could  thy  sufferings  excite 
no  sympathy  in  the  bosoms  of  thy  royal  neighbors  7  Could  not  one 
faith,  could  not  the  worship  of  one  Lord  and  one  gospel,  could  not  the 
voice  of  humanity,  call  forth  the  Holy  Alliance  to  protect  thee,  or 
restrain  them  from  monstrous  combination  with  thy  oppressors  7  0 
monarchs  of  Europe  !  members  of  the  Holy  Alliance  !  who  claim  to  be 
Heaven's  -vicegerent^,  and  to  be  set  over  mankind  for  dispensing  that 
happiness  which  you  profanely  say  they  cannot  procure  for  themselves, 
—  how,  in  the  days  of  your  last  account,  will  the  genius  of  injured 
Greece  stand  before  you,  and  point  her  accusing  finger  to  your  crimes  ! 
She  will  say,  '  My  children  sought  refuge  among  you,  and  you  shut 
your  door  against  them  !  My  daughters  were  carried  into  bondage, 
and  your  ships  transported  them !  jMy  sons  implored  your  aid,  and 
you  gave  it  to  their  enemies  !  J\Iy  cities  were  laid  in  ruins,  and  you 
furnished  the  firebrands  !  But  for  you,  the  barbarian  had  been  long 
since  subdued,  and  my  land  the  abode  of  liberty,  peace,  and  happiness  ! 
But  for  you,  the  fires  of  Scio  had  never  been  kindled,  and  the  blood 
that  now  stains  every  blade  of  grass  in  my  -violated  territory  would 
still  have  warmed  hearts  more  generous  than  your  own !  '  But,  how- 
ever great  the  sufferings  of  this  people,  however  formidable  their  ene- 
mies, or  however  efiiciently  aided  by  Christian  kings,  yet  God  will 
prosper  their  righteous  cause,  and  scatter  confusion  among  their 
enemies.  The  spirit  of  ancient  Greece  is  Avaked  from  the  slumber  of 
ao^es  !  The  tongue  of  Demosthenes  is  loosed  !  the  sword  of  Miltiades 
is  drawn  !  every  strait  is  a  Salamis,  and  every  sailor  a  Themistocles  !  a 
Leonidas  starts  up  in  every  peasant,  and  every  mountain  pass  becomes 
a  new  Thermopylae !     And  not  only  in  Greece  shall  the  Moloch  of 


JOSEPH   BARTLETT.  405 

royalty  be  overturned,  but  in  whatever  corner  of  Europe  the  idol  can 
find  worshippers.  The  reign  of  kings  is  a  violation  of  natural  right. 
The  cause  of  mankind  is  not  their  cause.  The  day  of  retribution 
approaches !  The  clouds  are  gathering !  The  tempest  will  soon 
burst !  And  when  royalty  shall  be  swept  away  in  its  avenging  fury, 
the  rainbow  of  Republicanism  shall  span  the  heavens,  giving  promise 
of  lasting  peace  and  security !  " 


JOSEPH   BARTLETT. 

JULY  4,  1823.    A  VOLUNTEER  ORATION. 

This  oration  was  delivered  at  the  hall  in  the  Exchange  CojBfee-house, 
including,  also,  a  poem,  an  ode,  and  The  New  Vicar  of  Bray, —  all 
written  and  delivered  by  himself  He  was  born  at  Plym.outh,  June 
10,  1762;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1782;  and  married  Ann 
Witherell,  of  Plymouth,  He  was  a  counsellor-at-law  in  Woburn, 
Portsmouth,  and  Boston.  Was  captain  of  the  Republican  Volunteers, 
in  1788.  In  1799  Mr.  Bartlett  published  "  Physiognomy,"  a  poem 
recited  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Harvard  College.  He 
was  a  senator  of  York,  Maine,  1804 ;  and  editor  of  the  Freeman's 
Friend,  at  Saco,  in  1805,  when  he  delivered  an  oration  at  Biddeford, 
July  4,  1805.  Had  not  Mr.  Bartlett  descended  to  habits  of  inebria- 
tion, his  influence  might  have  been  of  the  highest  order. 

He  was  of  highly  facetious  memory.  The  passage  herewith  given 
is  selected  from  The  New  Vicar  of  Bray,  recited  after  the  delivery  of 
the  oration,  at  the  Exchange  Coffee-house : 

"  We  now  see  much  upon  the  earth, 

Especially  in  Boston, 
Which  gives  to  man  a  vigorous  birth. 

And  keeps  our  souls  in  motion. 
Boston  a  city  now  is  made,  — 

Our  officers  elected,  — 
'Tis  best  for  every  class  and  trade. 

Our  mayor  will  be  respected. 
Our  Quincy,  now,  by  all  admired, — 

The  city's  pride  and  glory, — 
May  he  the  ditfcrence  never  know 

'Twixt  Federalist  and  Tory. 


406  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Quincy,  who  now  rules  o'er  our  land, 

Will  keep  the  city  safe,  sir  ; 
He  's  been  found  equal  to  command. 

And  ne'er  neglects  her  good,  sir. 
The  aldermen  will  turtle  leave. 

To  rally  round  the  board,  sir  ; 
They  to  the  city  charter  cleave, — 

In  those  we  place  our  trust,  sii\" 

He  was  autlior  of  a  work  replete  with  spicy  wit,  comprising  Aphor- 
isms Oil  Men,  Manners,  Principles  and  Things,  printed  at  Boston. 
1823.  Shortly  previous  to  his  decease  (Oct.  27,  1827,  aged  sixty- 
six  years),  Mr.  Bartlett  wrote  the  following  epitaph  on  himself,  which 
he  repeated  on  his  death-bed  : 

"  'T  is  done  !  the  fatal  stroke  is  given. 
And  Bartlett 's  fled  to  hell  or  heaven  ; 
His  friends  approve  it,  and  his  foes  applaud, — 
Yet  he  will  have  the  verdict  of  his  God." 

Mr.  Bartlett,  Avhen  attending  the  funeral  of  John  Hale,  an  estimable 
citizen  of  Portsmouth,  recited  the  following  epitaph  to  his  memory : 

"  God  takes  the  good, 

Too  good  by  far  to  stay. 
And  leaves  the  bad, 
Too  bad  to  take  away." 


FRANCIS  BASSETT. 

JULY  i,  1822.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Dennis,  Mass.,  Sept.  9, 1788,  and  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1810.  He  was  a  counsellor-at-law,  and  many  years  Clerk 
of  the  District  and  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States  for  the  District 
of  Massachusetts.  He  was  several  years  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature, and  when  Boston  became  a  city  he  was  one  of  the  school  com- 
mittee for  the  €rst  four  years,  and  afterwards  was  one  year  a  member 
of  the  Common  Council.  His  oration  was  thus  noticed  in  the  Boston 
Gazette :  "  The  oration  before  us  is  a  chaste  and  sensible  production, 
but  we  should  think  rather  modelled  for  the  press  than  for  declama- 
tion. Mr.  Bassett  is  a  man  of  taste  and  talent,  with  a  firm  voice  and 
person,  and  a  ready  elocution,  but  of  too  delicate  a  spirit  for  a  flaming 
fourth  of  July  declaimer,  or  an  imposing  stump  orator." 


JOHN  EVERETT.  407 

JOHN   EVERETT. 

JULY  4,  1824.     FOR  THE  WASHINGTON   SOCIETY. 

John  Everett  was  a  son  of  the  Hon.  Oliver  Everett,  and  was 
born  at  Dorchester,  February  22,  1801.  He  received  his  preliminary 
education  under  the  tuition  of  Masters  Lyon,  Farrar  and  Clapp,  in 
Boston,  where  he  distinguished  himself  as  the  finest  declaimer  in  the 
school.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1818,  when  he  pro- 
nounced an  oration  on  the  character  of  Byron ;  and  at  a  college  exhi- 
bition, in  the  year  previous,  he  gave  an  oration  on  the  Poetry  of  the 
Oriental  Nations.  He  delivered  another  oration,  on  the  Prospects  of 
the  Young  Men  of  America,  before  the  senior  class,  July  14,  1818. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation,  he  accompanied  President  Holley  to 
Lexington,  in  Kentucky,  where  he  became  a  tutor  in  Transylvania 
University,  and  delivered  an  unwritten  oration,  in  the  presence  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  that  was  eminently  successful.  After  his  return 
to  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Everett  entered  the  Law  School,  at  Cambridge ; 
soon  after  which,  he  visited  Europe,  and  was  attached,  for  a  short 
period,  to  the  American  legation  at  Brussels  and  the  Hague, —  his 
elder  brother,  Alexander,  being  charge  d'affaires.  On  his  return  to 
Boston,  he  read  law  under  the  guidance  of  the  Hon.  Daniel  Webster, 
and  became  an  attorney  at  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  1825.  He 
served  as  one  of  the  aids  of  Governor  Eustis.  He  was  a  bud  of  promise 
early  bhghted.     He  died  at  Boston,  Feb.  12,  1826. 

Mr.  Everett  was  intensely  interested  in  the  politics  of  the  day ;  and 
was  an  active  member  of  the  Boston  Debating  Society,  a  literary  and 
political  institution  of  elevated  character.  Having  remarkable  extem- 
poraneous rhetorical  power,  and  great  facility  in  argument,  he  shortly 
became  an  important  leader  among  these  spirited  young  Bostonians. 
He  had  superior  poetical  genius,  as  is  clearly  evinced  in  an  ode  to  St. 
Paul's  Church;  and  by  another  ode,  written  for  the  Washington 
Society  (of  which  he  was  a  member),  and  sung  at  Concert  Hall,  July 
4,  1825.     The  first  lines  of  this  patriotic  effusion  are  as  follows  : 

"  Hail  to  the  clay,  when,  indignant,  a  nation 

To  the  spirit  of  armies  for  justice  appealed; 
With  pride  claimed  the  right  of  her  glorious  station, 
And  truth,  taught  by  wisdom,  in  valor  revealed  ! 
Hail  to  thy  memory,  era  of  liberty! 
Dear  is  thy  sun  to  the  hearts  of  the  free  !  " 


408  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

CHARLES    SPRAGUE. 

JULY  4,  1S25.     FOR    THE    CITY   AUTHORITIES. 

"  If,  in  remembering  the  oppressed,  jou  think  the  oppressors  ought 
not  to  be  forgotten,"'  says  Sprague,  "  I  might  urge  that  the  splendid 
result  of  the  great  struggle  should  fully  reconcile  us  to  the  madness  of 
those  who  rendered  that  struggle  necessary.  We  may  forgive  the 
presumption  which  '  declared '  its  right  '  to  bind  the  American  colo- 
nies,' for  it  was  wofully  expiated  by  the  humiliation  which  '  acknowl- 
edo-ed '  those  same  '  American  colonies  '  to  be  '  sovereign  and  inde- 
pendent  States.'  The  immediate  workers,  too,  of  that  political  iniquity, 
have  passed  away.  The  mildew  of  shame  will  forever  feed  upon  their 
memories ;  —  a  brand  has  been  set  upon  their  deeds,  that  even  Time's 
all-gnawing  tooth  can  never  destroy.  But  they  have  passed  away ; 
and  of  all  the  milhons  they  misruled,  the  millions  they  would  have 
misruled,  how  few  remain !  Another  race  is  there  to  lament  the  folly, 
another  here  to  magnify  the  wisdom,  that  cut  the  knot  of  empire. 
Shall  these  inherit  and  entail  everlasting  enmity  ?  Like  the  Cartha- 
ginian Hamilcar,  shall  Ave  come  up  hither  with  our  children,  and  on 
this  holy  altar  swear  the  pagan  oath  of  undying  hate  ?  Even  our 
goaded  fathers  disdained  this.  Let  us  fulfil  their  words,  and  prove  to 
the  people  of  England,  that  '  in  peace '  we  know  how  to  treat  them 
'  as  friends.'  They  have  been  twice  told  that  '  in  war '  we  know  how 
to  meet  them  '  as  enemies  ; '  and  they  will  hardly  ask  another  lesson, 
for,  it  may  be  that,  when  the  third  trumpet  shall  sound,  a  voice  will 
echo  along  their  sea-girt  cliffs  —  '  The  glory  has  departed  ! ' 

"  Some  few  of  their  degenerate  ones,  tainting  the  bowers  where  they 
sit,  decry  the  growing  greatness  of  a  land  they  will  not  love :  and 
others,  after  eating  from  our  basket,  and  drinking  from  our  cup,  go 
home  to  pour  forth  the  senseless  libel  against  a  people  at  whose  fire- 
sides they  were  warmed.  But  a  few  pens  dipped  in  gall  will  not 
retard  our  progress ;  let  not  a  few  tongues,  festering  in  falsehood,  dis- 
turb our  repose.  We  have  those  among  us  who  are  able  both  to  pare 
the  talons  of  the  kite  and  pull  out  the  fangs  of  the  viper ;  who  can  lay 
bare,  for  the  disgust  of  all  good  men,  the  gangrene  of  the  insolent 
reviewer,  and  inflict  such  a  cruel  mark  on  the  back  of  the  mortified 
runaway,  as  will  take  long  from  him  the  blessed  privilege  of  being 
foraotten. 


CHARLES   SPRAGUE.  409 

"These'  rude  detractors  speak  not,  we  trust,  tlie  feelings  of  their 
nation.  Time,  the  great  corrector,'  is  there  fast  enhghtening  both 
ruler  and  ruled.  They  are  treading  in  our  steps,  even  ours ;  and  are 
gradually,  though  slowly,  pulling  up  their  ancient  religious  and  poht- 
ical  landmarks.  Yielding  to  the  liberal  spirit  of  the  age, —  a  spirit 
born  and  fostered  here, —  they  are  not  only  loosening  their  own  long- 
riveted  shackles,  but  are  raising  the  voice  of  encouragement,  and 
extending  the  hand  of  assistance,  to  the  '  rebels  '  of  other  climes. 

"In  spite  of  all  that  has  passed,  we  owe  England  much;  and  even 
on  this  occasion,  standing  in  the  midst  of  my  generous-minded  coun- 
trymen, I  may  fearlessly,  willingly,  acknowledge  the  debt.  We  owe 
England  much  ; — nothing  for  her  martyrdoms ;  nothing  for  her  pro- 
scriptions ;  nothing  for  the  innocent  blood  with  which  she  has  stained 
the  white  robes  of  religion  and  liberty ;  —  these  claims  our  fathers 
cancelled,  and  her  monarch  rendered  them  and  theirs  a  full  acquittance 
forever.  But  for  the  living  treasures  of  her  mind,  garnered  up  and 
spread  abroad  for  centuries  by  her  great  and  gifted,  who  that  has 
drank  at  the  sparkling  streams  of  her  poetry,  who  that  has  drawn 
from  the  deep  fountains  of  her  wisdom,  who  that  speaks  and  reads  and 
thinks  her  language,  will  be  slovf  to  own  his  obligation  ?  One  of  your 
purest  ascended  patriots, —  Quincy, —  he  who  compassed  sea  and  land 
for  Liberty,  whose  early  voice  for  her  echoed  round  yonder  consecrated 
hall,  whose  dying  accents  for  her  went  up  in  solitude  and  suffering 
from  the  ocean, —  when  he  sat  down  to  bless,  with  the  last  token  of 
a  father's  remembrance,  the  son  who  wears  his  mantle  with  his  name, 
bequeathed  him  the  recorded  lessons  of  England's  best  and  wisest,  and 
sealed  the  legacy  of  love  with  a  prayer,  whose  full  accomplishment  we 
live  to  witness, —  '  that  the  spirit  of  Liberty  might  rest  upon  him.'  " 

Charles  Sprague  was  born  in  Boston,  Oct.  26,  1791.  His  birth- 
place was  in  a  two-story  wooden  house,  directly  opposite  Pine-street, 
then  No.  38  Orange-street.  Li  1842  this  house  was  destroyed,  at  an 
extensive  fire.  His  father,  Samuel  Sprague,  was  born  at  Hingham, 
Dec.  22,  1T53  ;  was  a  mason,  and  married  Joanna  Thayer,  of  Brain- 
tree,  a  lady  of  great  decision  of  character;  who  was  highly  effective  in 
developing  the  genius  of  her  son.  Hingham  was  the  home  of  his 
ancestors  during  five  generations.  His  father  was  one  of  that  famous 
party  who  destroyed  the  British  tea  in  Boston  harbor,  December, 
1773,  and  was  a  tall  and  athletic  person.  When  in  the  hold  of  one 
of  the  tea-ships,  where  he  was  actively  engaged,  one  of  the  party  made 
35 


410  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

signs  to  him,  from  below,  to  cover  liis  face  with  some  disguise ;  on 
which,  Mr.  Sprague  hastened  to  a  small  house  near  the  head  of  Grif- 
fin's, now  Liverpool  Wharf,  with  a  wooden  chimney,  from  which  he 
shortly  collected  a  substance  that  served  the  purpose  hinted  at  by  his 
unknown  friend,  when  he  directly  returned  to  the  work  of  destruction. 
At  this  time  he  was  an  apprentice  of  one  Mr.  Etheridge,  who  interested 
himself,  also,  in  this  bold  and  patriotic  adventure. 

We  find,  in  Thomas'  Spy,  of  January,  1774,  the  following  graphic 
sketch  of  this  event,  which,  next  to  the  massacre  of  1770,  tended  to 
hasten  the  Revolution : 

"  As  near  beauteous  Boston  lying, 

On  the  gently-swelling  flood. 
Without  jack  or  pendant  flying. 

Three  ill-fated  tea-ships  rode. 
Just  as  glorious  Sol  was  setting. 

On  the  wharf  a  numerous  crew, 
Sons  of  Freedom,  fear  forgetting. 

Suddenly  appeared  in  view. 
Armed  with  hammer,  axe  and  chisels,  — 

Weapons  new  for  warlike  deed,  — 
Towards  the  herbage-freighted  vessels 

They  approached  with  dreadful  speed. 
O'er  their  heads  aloft  in  mid  sky, 

Three  bright  angel  forms  were  seen  ; 
This  was  Hampden,  that  was  Sidney, 

With  fair  Liberty  between. 
*  Soon,'  they  cried,  '  your  foes  you  '11  banish. 

Soon  the  triumph  shall  be  won  ; 
Scarce  shall  setting  Phoebus  vanish, 

Ere  the  deathless  deed  be  done.' 
Quick  as  thought,  the  ships  were  boarded. 

Hatches  burst,  and  chests  displayed  ; 
Axes,  hammei-s,  help  aiforded,  — 

What  a  glorious  crash  they  made  1 
Squash  into  the  deep  descended 

Cursed  weed  of  China's  coast,  - 
Thus  at  once  our  fears  were  ended  ; 

British  rights  shall  ne'er  be  lost. 
Captains  !  once  more  hoist  your  streamers, 

Spread  your  sails,  and  plough  the  wave  ; 
Tell  your  masters  they  were  dreamers. 

When  they  thought  to  cheat  the  brave. ' ' 

Young  Sprague,  when  about  ten  years  of  age,  entered  the  Franklin 
School,  where  he  unfortunately  lost  the  vision  of  his  left  eye,  by  a 


•       CHARLES   SPRAGUE.  411 

sudden  contact  -witli  a  door-lateh.  This  event  probably  accounts,  in.a 
measure,  for  tlie  very  limited  number  of  his  poetical  productions,  in 
after  life.  The  school-house  was  located  in  Nassau-street ;  and  the 
spot  is  occupied  by  a  modern  edifice,  called  the  Brimmer  School,  in 
honor  of  the  mayor  of  that  name ;  and  the  name  of  the  street  is  changed 
to  Common-street.  His  teachers,  in  the  grammar  department,  were 
Dr.  Asa  Bullard  and  Lemuel  Shaw,  both  of  whom  were  benevolent, 
sensible,  and  learned  men.  The  teacher  last  named,  who  had  recently 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  and  entered  this  school  to  acquire  funds 
for  his  college  expenses,  was  the  son  of  a  poor  clergyman  of  Barnstable. 
He  has  risen  to  eminence  by  energetic  perseverance,  and  is  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Massachusetts  Supreme  Court.  Charles  received  a 
Franklin  Medal  at  this  school  in  1803.  At  the  early  age  of  thirteen 
years,  young  Sprague  became  an  apprentice  to  Messrs.  Thayer  & 
Hunt,  importers  of  dry  goods.  Boys  of  the  Brimmer  School !  catch 
the  inspiration  of  the  spot  where  the  genius  of  Sprague  budded  forth, 
and,  like  him,  be  ambitious  to  excel  in  learning  and  in  manly  virtue. 
Two  centuries  elapsed  before  Boston  knew  a  poet  like  Sprague. 
Hereafter,  may  your  nursery  bloom  annually  with  flowers  as  unfading. 

In  the  year  1816  Mr.  Sprague  entered  into  partnership  with  His 
employers,  which  continued  until  1820,  when  he  was  appointed  a  teller 
in  the  State  Bank ;  and,  on  the  establishment  of  the  Globe  Bank,  in 
1825,  he  was  elected  the  cashier,  which  station  he  has  occupied  until 
this  period.  His  wisdom  and  sagacity  in  the  conduct  of  this  institu- 
tion, aided  by  the  directors,  has  tended  to  make  it  one  of  the  safest 
investments  in  State-street. 

Waterston  thus  emphasizes  of  our  poet : 

"  May  not  our  land  be  termed  enchanted  ground, 
When  on  bank-bills  a  poet'3  name  is  found  ? 
Where  poets'  notes  may  pass  for  notes  of  hand, 
And  valued  good,  long  as  the  Globe  shall  stand  ? 
The  world  can  never  quench  that  kindling  fire, 
Or  break  the  strings  of  that  immortal  lyre. 
Sweet,  and  more  sweet,  its  melting  strains  shall  rise, 
Till  his  rapt  spirit  seeks  his  native  skies." 

The  social  qualities  of  Charles  Sprague  have  been  the  delight  of 
eminent  intellectual  men,  one  of  whom  was  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  who, 
being  a  member  of  the  corporation  of  Harvard  College,  and  admiring 
his  rare  genius,  and  close  devotion  to  literary  habits,  without  infringing 


412  THE  HUNDKED  BOSTON  0KA'l1)RS. 

on  tlie  duties  of  his  station  in  the  bank,  used  his  influence  to  effect 
for  Mr.  Spraguc  an  honorary  degree  at  the  commencement  of  1829, 
in  that  college,  when  he  delivered  the  ingenious  poem  on  Curiosity, 
before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  of  which  he  has  ever  since  been  a 
member.  "What  Landor  said  of  another  may  be  effectively  applied  to 
Spraguc, —  for  his  companionable  habits  are  proverbial,  and  he  never 
walks  from  home  without  a  friend  at  his  side : 

"  Since  Chaucer  Tvas  alive  and  hale, 
No  man  hath  walked  along  oui-  streets 
With  step  so  active,  so  inquiring  eye, 
Or  tongue  so  varied  in  discourse." 

In  alluding  to  the  warm-hearted  Dr.  Bowditch,  we  take  pleasure  in 
introducing  two  verses  of  a  favorite  effusion  from  the  hand  of  Spraguc, 
which  he  had  often  on  his  lips,  entitled  the  Winged  Worshippers, 
and  addressed  to  two  swallows  that  flew  into  a  church  during  divine 
service  : 

"  Gay,  gijiltless  pair. 

What  seek  ye  from  the  fields  of  heaven  ? 
Ye  have  no  need  of  prayer,  — 
Te  have  no  sins  to  be  forgiven. 

"  To  you  't  is  given 

To  wake  sweet  Nature's  untaught  lays. 
Beneath  the  arch  of  heaven 

To  chirp  away  a  life  of  praise." 

In  May,  1814,  Mr.  Sprague  was  married,  by  Rev.  Horace  Holley, 
to  Miss  Ehzabeth  Rand.  His  son,  Charles  James,  was  married  to 
Amelia  M.  Stodder;  and  his  daughter,  Helen  Elizabeth,  who  died 
April,  1851,  after  the  decease  of  an  infant  son,  was  married  to  Ezra 
Lincoln,  Esq.,  an  aid  to  Gov.  Briggs.  Mr.  Sprague  was  elected  to 
the  city  Council  in  1823,  '24  and  '27,  and  was  active  in  public  debate. 
His  capacities  would  readily  lead  him  to  eminent  public  political  rank, 
but  he  prefers  the  quiet  of  retired  literary  and  financial  pursuits.  With 
a  private  library  of  three  thousand  volumes,  in  every  department  of 
intellect,  and  a  rare  collection  of  paintings  and  sculpture,  his  mind 
ever  revels  in  elevated  conceptions.  An  accurate  bust  of  our  poet,  by 
Brackett,  is  in  the  care  of  his  son-in-law. 

Where  is  the  native  poet  of  Boston  who  is  destined,  like  our  own 
Charles  Sprague,  to  be  a  standard  national  author?  Indeed,  it  maybe 
safely  said,  that  Sprague  our  poet,  and  Prescott  our  historian,  will 


CHARLES  SPRAGUE.  418 

never  become  obsolete.     One  has  tbus  sung  of  Sprague,  in  rather  cold 
terms : 

"  Great  is  his  merit,  —  greater  still  his  fame  ; 
Bright,  but  not  dazzling,  burns  his  steady  flame  ; 
His  is  the  sterling  bullion  thrice  refined, 
Bright  from  the  rich  exchequer  of  his  mind. 
Sense,  strength  and  classic  purity,  combine 
With  genius,  in  his  almost  faultless  line.  • 

Trained  in  the  olden  school,  his  tide  of  song 
<^  Bears  truth  and  judgment  on  its  breast  along." 

Amid  a  host  of  competitors,  Charles  Sprague  received  the  prize,  six 
times,  for  producing  the  best  poems  for  the  American  stage, —  an  instance 
unprecedented  in  our  literary  annals.  Were  it  not  for  the  quenched 
light  of  an  eye,  he  would  have  been  the  more  universal  admiration  of 
his  country.  He  has  been  compared  to  Pope  and  Gray ;  but  he  exhib- 
its none  of  the  artificial  stateliness  of  the  former,  and  more  than  the 
mellowing  s^Yeetness  of  the  latter,  excelling  both  in  fervid  warmth. 
Kettell  says  that  we  can  have  no  difficulty  in  foreseeing  the  perpetuity 
of  such  reputation  as  that  which  belongs  to  him.  Every  sentence  is 
bursting  with  thought.  He  deals  in  no  dreamy  obscurity;  he  allows 
no  inharmonious  fine  to  pass;  —  all  is  finished,  and  full  of  purpose. 

We  know  not  the  particle  of  dross  in  the  beaten  gold  of  Sprague ;  for 
there  is  not  a  sentence  in  all  his  productions  that  we  would  change, 
either  in  sentiment  or  in  mode  of  expression.  It  was  the  reply  of  a 
friend  to  Mr.  Sprague,  who  remarked  that  his  poems  may  do  very  well 
to  sleep  over, — "No,  sir;  they  are  like  champagne,  that  keeps  one  wide 
awake  all  the  night  long."  Sprague  dares  to  acknowledge  his  homage 
to  the  Nine,  in  the  very  temple  of  the  money-changers  ;  and  enjoys, 
at  the  same  time,  the  most  favoring  inspirations  of  the  former,  and  the 
unlimited  confidence  and  credit  of  the  latter.  The  Globe  Bank  has 
never  failed  to  make  a  dividend;  and  its  cashier  has  never  failed  to  be 
at  his  station,  on  the  very  day  when  the  books  were  opened  for  the 
purpose,  to  this  period. 

When  Lord  Byron  deceased  at  Missolonghi,  in  Greece,  April  19, 
1824,  a  funeral  oration  was  delivered  by  Spiridion  Tucoupi  over  his 
remains,  and  published  by  the  public  authorities.  The  body  was 
embalmed,  and  sent.  May  2d,  to  Zante,  whence  it  was  designed,  at  the 
express  order  of  Ulysses  Odysseus,  Governor  of  Athens,  that  he  should 
be  deposited  in  the  Temple  of  TheseuSj'Or  in  the  Parthenon :  and  it  was 
intended,  also,  that  his  heart  should  be  enclosed  in  an  urn,  that  Greek 
35* 


414  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

maidens,  and  other  admirers,  might  weep  over  it.  But  his  tenacious 
Enghsh  friends  caused  that  they  should  be  entombed  in  the  ancestral 
vault  of  the  Byrons,  at  Hucknell,  two  miles  from  Newstead  Abbey. 
This  urn  is  placed  beside  the  coffin,  on  which  is  inscribed,  "Within 
this  Urn  are  deposited  the  heart,  brains,  &c.,  of  the  deceased  Lord 
Byron."  Before  the  information  of  the  removal  of  Byron's  remains 
from  Greece,  Mr.  Sprague,  presuming  that  they  would  remain  in  the 
laud  where  his  ever-during  poem  was  written,  advanced  the  forthcom- 
ing sentiment,  at  the  celebration  of  independence,  July  4th  of  that 
year,  when  the  Boston  Debating  Society,  of  which  he  was  the  vice- 
president,  dined  at  Rouillard's,  in  Devonshire-street :  "  To  the  memory 
of  the  immortal  Byron : 

"  O'er  the  heart  of  Chilcle  Harold 

Greek  maidens  shall  weep  ; 

In  his  own  native  island 

His  body  shall  sleep 
With  the  bones  of  the  bravest  and  best ; 

But  his  song  shall  go  down 

To  the  latest  of  time  ; 

Fame  tell  how  he  rose 

For  earth's  loveliest  clime. 
And  Mercy  shall  blot  out  the  rest." 

We  have  observed  the  remark  of  John  Quincy  Adams  regarding 
Sprague's  poem  on  Art,  that  "in  forty  lines  was  comprised  an  ency- 
clopedia of  description."  The  idea  is  poetical,  and  the  expression  is 
worthy  the  idea.  It  is,  in  mere  execution,  the  most  happy  of  all 
Sprague's  productions ;  and  it  may  be  commended  to  versifiers  as  a 
model  of  correct,  condensed,  melodious  language.  In  the  Ode  on 
Shakspeare,  he  has  soared  in  his  most  daring  flight ;  and  proved  him- 
self as  capable  of  rising  into  the  imaginative,  as  of  flitting  about 
among  the  reahties  of  human  life,  with  its  joys  and  sorrows.  The 
birth  of  Shakspeare  is  thus  described : 

•'  There  on  its  bank, 

Beneath  the  mulberry's  shade. 
Wrapped  in  young  dreams, 

A  wild-eyed  minstrel  strayed  ; 
Lighting  there,  and  lingering  long, 
Thou  didst  teach  the  bard  his  song. 
Thy  fingers  sti'uck  his  sleeping  shell. 

And  round  1^  brows  a  garland  curled  ; 
On  his  lips  thy  S23irit  fell, 

And  bade  him  wake,  and  warm  the  world." 


CHARLES  SPRAGUE.  415 

On  the  triumplial  entry  of  Lafayette  into  the  city  of  Boston,  Aug. 
24,  1824,  an  arcli  \Yas  extended  across  Washington  to  Dover  street, 
above  South  Boston  Bridge,  on  the  very  spot  where,  when  Lafayette 
left  the  town  in  1787,  were  the  remains  of  a  breastwork,  erected  dur- 
ing the  Revokitionary  contest,  adjoining  Fort-avenue,  opposite  the  pres- 
ent Franklin  School.  At  each  side  of  the  arch  was  planted  a  tree  of 
oak,  and  another  of  pine,  about  twenty  feet  in  height;  and  the  pillars 
were  tastefully  wreathed  with  evergreens  and  flowers.  The  arch  itself 
was  decorated  with  American  flags  and  evergreens ;  and  from  its  centre 
a  scroll  was  suspended,  bearing  the  inscription  which  follows,  written,  at 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  by  our  own  Charles  Sprague,  on  the  day 
previous  to  the  reception.  On  passing  under  the  triumphal  arch,  the 
thronging  crowd  witnessed  Mayor  Quincy,  in  a  barouche  with  Lafay- 
ette, pointing  towards  the  inscription,  directing,  with  animated  eye,  the 
special  notice  of  it  to  the  warm-hearted  Frenchman,  whose  patriotic 
enthusiasm  must  have  been  excited  to  tears : 

"  AVelcome,  Lafayette  ! 

"  The  fathers  in  glory  shall  sleep, 

That  gathered  with  thee  to  the  fight, 
But  the  sons  will  eternally  keep 
The  tablet  of  gratitude  bright. 
We  bow  not  the  neck, 

And  we  bend  not  the  knee  ; 
But  our  hearts,  Lafayette, 
We  surrender  to  thee." 

A  writer  on  American  Genius  remarks  of  Charles  Sprague,  in  con- 
trast with  Robert  Southey,  that  the  majestic  and  sublime  march  of 
Sprague,  when  it  is  fired  by  any  great  and  enkindling  theme,  or  the 
tender  and  pathetic  and  soul-melting  strains  of  his  Muse,  when  touched 
by  compassion,  grief  or  love,  would  ill  compare  with  the  wild,  desul- 
tory, and  almost  superhuman  ramblings  and  eccentric  flights  of  Southey, 
where  we  behold  the  most  brilliant  flashes  of  wit  and  genius,  strangely 
and  confusedly  mingled  with  much  that  is  trash  and  nonsense. 

The  oration  of  Mr.  Sprague  had  a  more  extensive  circulation  than 
any  of  its  predecessors,  six  editions  having  been  rapidly  taken  up. 
Russell  said  of  this  performance,  that  "  for  purity,  simplicity,  elegant 
embellishment  of  style,  and  for  ardent  and  patriotic  feehng,  this  eSbrt 
of  self-taught  genius  has  seldom  been  equalled  by  the  great  and 
learned  of  the  land."     Some  one  said  of  it,  that  the  electric  shock  of  a 


416  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

nation's  gratitude  to-wards  Lafayette,  that  rolls  on  undying  to  free- 
dom's furthest  mountains,  was  eloquently  infused  in  the  hearts  of  the 
audience.  We  cite  the  remarkable  passage  herewith,  from  this  beauti- 
ful production,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  an  effective  comphment 
from  Josiah  Quincy,  then  mayor  of  the  city,  and  because  of  its  patri- 
otic spirit : 

"  Fear  not  party  zeal, —  it  is  the  salt  of  your  existence.  There  are 
no  parties  under  a  despotism.  There,  no  man  lingers  round  a  ballot- 
box  ;  no  man  drinks  the  poison  of  a  licentious  press  ;  no  man  plots 
treason  at  a  debating  society;  no  man  distracts  his  head  about  the  sci- 
ence of  government.  All  there  is  a  calm,  unruffled  sea  ;  even  a  dead 
sea  of  black  and  bitter  waters.  But  we  move  upon  a  living  stream, — ■ 
forever  pure,  forever  rolling.  Its  mighty  tide  sometimes  flows  higher 
and  rushes  faster  than  its  wont ;  and,  as  it  bounds  and  foams  and  dashes 
along,  in  sparkling  violence,  it  now  and  then  throws  up  its  fleecy  cloud. 
But  this  rises  only  to  disappear  ;  and,  as  it  fades  away  before  the  sun- 
beams of  intelligence  and  patriotism,  you  behold  upon  its  bosom  the 
rainbow  signal  of  returning  peace,  arching  up  to  declare  that  there  is 
no  danger." 

One  may  readily  conceive  the  inspiring  effect  of  such  conceptions  on 
the  warm  heart  of  Mayor  Quincy.  Doubtless,  this  splendid  oration 
was  the  theme  of  conversation,  as  the  public  authorities  and  invited 
citizens  proceeded  in  procession  to  the  State-house,  after  its  delivery; 
and  this  felicitous  sentiment  of  the  mayor  was  spontaneously  elicited 
at  the  dinner  in  Faneuil  Hall :  ' '  Real  Genius  :  To  which  everything  is 
easy;  which  can  spring  a  rainbow  over  the  tempestuous  sea  of  liberty, 
and  inscribe  its  own  glories  on  the  heavens  with  the  sunbeams  which 
constitute  it."  The  toast  of  the  orator,  on  this  occasion,  was  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Lords  Temporal  and  Lords  Spiritual :  The  land  where  wisdom 
creates  the  one,  and  holiness  ordains  the  other ;  and  where  absent  mem- 
bers can  never  vote  away  the  rights  of  the  people  by  proxy."  We  will 
give  another  happily-conceived  sentiment  of  Mr.  Sprague,  at  the  pubhc- 
school  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall,  August,  1825,  that  should  be  had  in 
perpetual  remembrance  :  "  May  Boston  boys  remember  that  Benjamin 
Franklin  began  his  career  as  a  hawker  of  ballads  in  their  own  streets, 
and  ended  it  by  making  treaties  with  the  kings  of  Europe." 

Is  not  the  prediction  of  a  recent  Enghsh  reviewer,  in  writing  on  the 
poetry  of  America,  entirely  gratuitous,  in  stating  that  we  have  not  one 
national  poet,  and  that  our  forests  must  one  day  drop  down  a  poet 


CHARLES  SPRAGUE.  417 

yrhose  genius  shall  be  worthy  of  their  age,  their  vastitude,  the  beauty 
which  they  enclose,  and  the  load  of  gratitude  below  which  they  bend, 
—  when  such  a  poet  as  the  fervent,  patriotic  and  compressive  Charles 
Sprague  dwells  among  us,  breathing  such  inspiring  remembrances  of 
our  forefathers  as  are  melodiously  tuned  in  the  Centennial  Ode, — a  pro- 
duction destined  to  be  re\ived  on  every  Boston  centennial  celebration, 
to  the  end  of  time  7  We  unite  with  the  reviewer,  in  the  hope  that 
a  poet  such  as  he  anticipates  will  "one  day  drop  down"  upon  our 
country ;  but  have  we  not  the  like,  in  Charles  Sprague,  now  breathing 
amongst  us  l  We  will  cite  a  passage  to  the  point,  from  this  patriotic 
ode: 

"  Forget  ?     No,  never  — ne'er  shall  die 
Those  names  to  memory  dear  ; 
I  read  the  promise  in  each  eye 
That  beams  upon  me  here. 
Descendants  of  a  twice-recorded  race, 
Long  may  ye  here  your  lofty  lineage  grace  : 
'T  is  not  for  you  home's  tender  tie 
To  rend,  and  brave  the  waste  of  waves  ; 
'T  is  not  for  you  to  rouse  and  die, 
Or  yield  and  live  a  line  of  slaves  : 
The  deeds  of  danger  and  of  death  are  done  ; 
Upheld  by  inward  power  alone, 
Unhonored  by  the  world's  loud  tongue, 
'T  is  yours  to  do  unknown, 
And  then  to  die  unsung. 
To  other  days,  to  other  men,  belong 
The  penman's  plaudit  and  the  poet's  song  ; 
Enough  for  glory  has  been  wrought ; 
By  yon  be  humbler  praises  sought ; 
In  peace  and  truth  life's  journey  run. 
And  keep  unsullied  what  your  fathers  won." 

The  irrepressible  thought  within  him,  says  a  reviewer  of  Sprague, 
is  the  only  motive  that  will  account  for  his  productions.  In  his  poetry, 
after  the  presence  of  those  general  quahties  that  are  indispensable  to 
every  poet, —  imagination,  a  seeing  eye,  mental  vigor,  an  artist's  sense 
of  proportion,  and  a  rich  command  of  expression, —  the  chief  quality 
to  be  noticed  is  his  severe  and  chaste  simplicity.  This  is  his  peculiar- 
ity :  either  he  must  exercise  a  rigid  power  of  exclusion  in  his  compo- 
sition, or  else  there  never  was  a  creative  mind  more  unvisited  by 
confused  conceptions,  incongruous  images,  or  artificial  conceits.  His 
words  are  as  clear  as  his  thoughts ;  his  style  is  as  transparent  as  his 
spirit.     What  an  immense  distance  separates  him  from  the  whole  mul- 


418  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

titudinous  progeny  of  modern  misty  rhapsodists  and  verse  fanciers,  so 
desperately  determined  on  originality,  that  if  they  cannot  give  it  to  us 
in  the  idea,  they  -will  make  up  for  it  in  outlandishncss  of  phraseology, 
and  give  us  specimens  of  grand  and  lofty  tumbling,  on  an  arena  of  fog 
and  moonbeams !  It  is  getting  to  be  understood  that  a  mind  of  native 
force,  thirsting  for  Avisdom,  and  having  a  message  to  utter,  Avill  proclaim 
itself  as  certainly  from  some  East  India  House,  ShefBeld  smithy, 
London  reporter's  desk,  or  Globe  Bank  in  Boston,  as  from  the  walks 
of  the  professions.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  thing  not  altogether 
unknown,  that  a  blockhead  should  find  his  way  into  and  quite  through 
a  university.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  be  paralyzed  with  amazement  at 
either  spectacle,  as  if  it  were  a  miracle.  INIr.  Sprague's  writings  have 
no  occasion  to  derive  any  adventitious  distinction  from  the  fact  that 
their  author  handles  bank-notes.  They  have  been  judged  by  their 
merits,  and  can  afford  to  be. 

There  needs  no  inscription  to  the  memory  of  Charles  Sprague,  beside 
that  of  Thomas  Campbell,  on  the  Poet's  Corner,  in  Westminster 
Abbey : 

"  My  Shakspeare,  rise  !     I  ivill  not  lodge  thee  by 
Chaucer  or  Spenser  ;  or  bid  Beaumont  lie 
A  little  further  to  make  thee  a  room  ; 
Thou  art  a  monument  -without  a  tomb, 
And  art  alive  still,  -while  thy  book  doth  live, 
And  -we  have  -wits  to  read,  and  praise  to  give." 


JOSIAH   QUINCY. 

JULY  4,  1826.    FOR  THE    CITY    AUTHORITIES. 

This  second  oration  of  the  senior  Quincy  breathes  fervently  the 
spirit  of  patriotism.  He  says  :  "  Parents  and  childi'en !  "We  have 
come  to  the  altar  of  our  common  faith,  not  like  the  Carthaginian,  to 
swear  enmity  to  another  nation,  but.  in  the  spirit  of  obedience,  and 
under  a  sense  of  moral  and  religious  obligation,  to  inquire  what  it  is  to 
fulfil  well  our  duty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity.  And  while  we  pass 
before  our  eyes,  in  long  array,  the  outspread  images  of  our  fathers' 
virtues,  let  us  strive  to  excite  in  our  own  bosoms,  and  enkindle  in  each 


DAVID   LEE   CHILD.  419 

other's,  that  intense  and  sacred  zeal  by  which  their  patriotism  was  ani- 
mated and  refined.  Fifty  years  after  the  occurrence  of  the  greatest 
of  our  national  events,  we  gather  with  our  children  around  the  tombs 
of  our  fathers,  as  we  trust, —  and  may  Heaven  so  grant !  —  fifty  years 
hence,  those  children  will  gather  around  ours,  in  the  spirit  of  gratitude 
and  honor,  to  contemplate  their  glory,  to  seek  the  lessons  suggested  by 
their  example,  and  to  examine  the  principles  on  which  they  laid  the 
foundations  of  their  country's  prosperity  and  greatness." 


DAVID   LEE   CHILD. 

JULY  4,  1S26.     FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

"Was  born  at  West  Boylston;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1817,  when  he  took  part  in  a  disputation,  whether  the  power  of  elo- 
quence be  diminished  by  the  progress  of  literature  and  science  ;  became 
a  teacher  in  the  Boston  Latin  School,  and  married  Lydia  Maria  Francis, 
author  of  the  Boston  Rebels.  He  was  private  secretary  to  Gen.  Dear- 
born, when  minister  to  Portugal,  and  was  an  officer  in  the  Spanish 
American  service ;  was  captain  of  the  Independent  Fusileers :  brigade 
major  and  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery ;  was  a 
Boston  representative  in  1827;  an  editor  of  the  Massachusetts  Whig; 
became  a  zealous  abolitionist,  and  was  author  of  a  pamphlet  on  the 
Blessings  of  Freedom ;  was  a  manufacturer  of  beet-sugar,  and  settled 
in  the  western  country.  He  was  a  fine  classical  writer,  and  very 
tenacious  of  his  opinions.  His  oration  on  National  Independence  is  a 
highly  spirited,  classical,  and  patriotic  performance.  We  will  quote  a 
passage  :  "Dr.  Johnson,  the  pensioned  advocate  of  passive  submission, 
the  ministerial  pamphleteer  of  the  American  Revolution,  derives  one 
of  his  best  titles  to  respect  and  admiration  from  a  temporary  exhibition, 
on  one  occasion,  of  that  inflexible  firmness  and  proud  independence  of 
character  which  belong  peculiarly  to  republicans.  We  admire  him  for 
his  indignant,  yet  decorous,  reply  to  Lord  Chesterfield, — for  his  Roman- 
like contempt  of  title  and  wealth,  coupled  with  meanness  and  hypoc- 
risy ;  and  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  Chesterfield,  with  all  his  wit, 
his  learning,  and  his  eloquence, —  all  the  triumphs  of  the  drawing- 
room  and  the  honors  of  the  peerage, —  has  left  no  action, —  nay,  that  all 


420  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

his  actions  together,  his  accomphshments,  his  speeches,  his  sayings 
and  his  polished  letters ;  —  all  do  not  occupy  so  large  a  space,  in  the 
memory  and  admiration  of  men,  as  that  single  republican  letter,  in 
which  the  lexicographer  repels  the  cold  and  selfish  patronage  of  the 
peer.  Where  his  own  feelings  and  dignity  were  concerned,  Johnson 
could  assume  the  port  and  bearing  of  a  Roman  ;  but,  when  there  was 
nothing  at  stake  but  the  dignity  and  prosperity  of  these  distant  colo- 
nies, who,  he  said,  '  did  not  know  how  to  read,'  he  shrunk  again  into 
the  obsequious  courtier,  bribed  by  an  exchequer  warrant,  and  excited 
to  childish  glee  by  a  word  and  a  smile  from  majesty." 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

AUGUST  2,  1826.    EULOGY  ON  ADAMS  AND  JETFERSON. 

The  popular  sentiment  is  more  powerfully  influenced  by  the  ora- 
tions and  speeches  that  perpetually  rise  and  enter  the  public  mind, 
than  by  any  other  medium,  our  free  press  only  excepted ;  and,  though 
our  poets  often  provide  our  orators  with  rockets,  shells  and  artillery, 
and  sometimes  win  their  battles,  they  are  never  so  well  rewarded  for 
their  genius  as  the  political  orator.  What  Napoleon  once  said, — 
that  four  hostile  newspapers  are  more  to  be  feared  than  a  hundred 
thousand  bayonets, —  may  be  very  properly  applied  to  such  men  as 
Daniel  Webster  and  Edward  Everett,  in  their  power  over  the  people. 
As  the  orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  have  passed  onward  from 
age  to  age,  and  have  been  received  by  successive  generations  with  the 
same  sense  of  force  and  freshness  as  when  first  published,  so  the  con- 
densed orations  of  Webster  and  Everett  are  destined  to  become  the 
classics  of  all  posterity,  and  receive  like  veneration.  Indeed,  we  know 
not  the  political  orators  of  America  who  have  unfolded  the  principles 
of  our  constitution  with  more  power  and  beauty ;  and  the  masculine 
vigor  of  Daniel  Webster  forcibly  reminds  one  of  the  lion-hearted  Rich- 
ard, in  Scott's  Crusaders,  whose  muscular  power  was  so  effective  that 
he  would  sever  a  massive  bar  of  iron  with  his  broad-sword  as  readily  as 
the  woodman  rends  a  sapling  with  a  hedging-bill ;  while  the  rhetorical 


DANIEL   WEBSTER.  421 

power  of  Edward  Everett  resembles  the  sultan  Saladin,  with  his 
nicely-curved  scimitar,  marked  with  meandering  lines,  who  applied  it? 
fine  edge  so  dexterously  to  a  silken  cushion,  that  it  seemed  rather  to 
fall  asunder  than  to  divide  by  force. 

The  eloquent  eulogy  of  Mr.  Webster,  named  at  the  head  of  this  arti- 
cle, was  pronounced  on  a  day  selected,  it  is  said,  as  peculiarly  suitable, 
for  the  reason  that  it  was  the  day  when  the  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  who  had  not  given  their  signatures  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  1776,  rendered  it  complete  by  affixing  their  names.  The  body 
of  Csesar  was  not  so  much  the  object  of  solemn  curiosity,  as  was  the 
eulogy  of  Mark  Antony  on  his  character ;  and,  if  possible,  as  intense 
was  the  interest,  on  this  occasion,  to  listen  to  Webster's  eulogy  on  the 
great  statesmen.  Never,  since  the  pathetic  oration  of  Morton  over  the 
remains  of  Warren,  Avas  there  a  more  thrilling  effort,  in  this  country, 
on  a  similar  occasion.  "Although  no  sculptured  marble  should  rise 
to  their  memory,"  said  Webster,  "nor  engraved  stone  bear  record  of 
their  deeds,  yet  will  their  remembrance  be  as  lasting  as  the  land  they 
honored.  Marble  columns  may,  indeed,  moulder  into  dust,  time  may 
erase  all  impress  from  the  crumbling  stone  ;  but  their  fame  remains, — 
for  with  American  liberty  only  can  it  perish."  The  conception  of  the 
appellation  of  "the  godhke  Webster"  was  originated  by  the  delivery 
of  this  inimitable  eulogy.  The  editor  of  the  National  Philanthropist, 
the  first  temperance  editor  in  the  Union,  in  enlarging  on  its  extreme 
beauty,  in  that  journal,  on  the  sixth  day  of  August,  remarks  :  "To 
say  of  this  production  that  it  was  eloquent,  would  be  too  common  an 
expression  to  apply  to  such  a  performance.  It  was  profound, —  it  was 
subhme,^it  was  godlike."  This  remark  was  heralded  over  the  land 
as  of  party  origin,  and  was  long  the  source  of  levity  and  sarcasm.  It 
is  our  opinion  that  the  first  patriot  who  received  this  superlative  appel- 
lation was  Joseph  Warren,  as  may  be  seen  in  a  poetical  tribute 
written  shortly  after  his  decease,  and  appended  to  the  memoir  in  this 
volume. 

"It  has,  perhaps,"  remarks  Edward  Everett,  in  his  biography  of 
Webster,  "  never  been  the  fortune  of  an  orator  to  treat  a  subject  in  all 
respects  so  extraordinary  as  that  which  called  forth  the  eulogy  on 
Adams  and  Jefferson ;  a  subject  in  which  the  characters  commemo- 
rated, the  field  of  action,  the  magnitude  of  the  events,  and  the  peculiar 
personal  relations,  were  so  important  and  unusual.  Certainly,  it  is 
not  extravagant  to  add,  that  no  similar  effort  of  oratory  was  ever  more 
36 


422  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

completely  successful.  The  speech  ascribed  to  John  Adams,  in  the 
Continental  Congress,  on  the  subject  of  declaring  the  independence  of 
the  colonies, —  a  speech,  of  -which  the  topics,  of  course,  present  them- 
selves on  the  most  superficial  consideration  of  the  subject,  but  of  -Nvhich 
a  few  hints  on'y  of  what  was  actually  said  are  supplied  by  the  letters 
and  diai-ies  of  Mr.  Adams, —  is  not  excelled  by  anything  of  the  kind  in 
our  lano-uacre.  Few  things  have  taken  so  strong  a  hold  of  the  public 
mind.  It  thrills  and  delights  alike  the  student  of  history,  who  recog- 
nizes it  at  once  as  the  creation  of  the  orator,  and  the  common  reader, 
who  takes  it  to  be  the  composition,  not  of  Mr.  Webster,  but  of  Mr. 
Adams.  From  the  time  the  eulogy  was  delivered,  to  the  present  day, 
the  inquiry  has  been  often  made  and  repeated, —  sometimes  even  in 
letters  addressed  to  "Webster  himself, —  whether  this  exquisite  appeal 
is  his  or  Mr.  Adams'." 

Before  introducing  the  passage  from  Webster's  eulogy,  we  -will 
quote,  from  the  autobiography  of  John  Adams,  his  own  remarks  in 
relation  to  his  own  speech  on  that  august  occasion.  We  find  it  under 
date  of  July  1,  1776  :  "It  has  been  said,  by  some  of  our  historians, 
that  I  began  by  an  invocation  to  the  god  of  eloquence.  This  is  a  mis- 
representation. Nothing  so  puerile  as  this  fell  from  me.  I  began  by 
saying  that  this  was  the  first  time  of  my  life  that  I  had  ever  wished 
fcr  the  talents  and  eloquence  of  the  ancient  orators  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  for  I  was  very  sure  that  none  of  them  ever  had  before  him  a 
question  of  more  importance  to  his  country  and  to  the  world.  They 
■would,  ptobably,  upon  less  occasions  than  this,  have  begun  by  solemn 
invocations  to  their  divinities  for  assistance ;  but  the  question  before 
me  appeared  so  simple,  that  I  had  confidence  enough  in  the  plain 
understanding  and  common  sense  that  had  been  given  me,  to  believe 
that  I  could  answer,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  House,  all  the  arguments 
■which  had  been  produced,  notwithstanding  the  abilities  which  had  been 
displayed,  and  the  eloquence  with  ■which  they  had  been  enforced.  Mr. 
Dickinson,  some  years  afterwards,  published  his  speech.  I  had  made 
no  preparation  beforehand,  and  never  committed  any  minutes  of  mine 
to  writing.  But,  if  I  had  a  copy  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  before  me, 
■would  now,  after  nine-and-twenty  years  have  elapsed,  endeavor  to 
recollect  mine." 

For  masculine  power,  there  is  no  rhetoric  in  the  whole  range  of  our 
national  oratory  excelhng  the  imagined  speech  of  our  great  Nestor, 
which  is  here  introduced  with  the  preceding  supposed  remarks  of  John 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  423 

Dickinson,  of  Delaware,  an  over-cautious  member  of  the  same  patriotic 
assembly,  ^Yllo,  though  he  never  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, stated  afterwards  that  he  was  the  only  member  who  marched  to 
face  the  enemy. 

In  allusion  to  the  Continental  Congress,  which  was  about  to  decide 
a  question  involving  the  fate  of  the  colonies,  Mr.  Webster  says : 
"  Let  us  open  their  doors,  and  look  in  upon  their  deliberations.  Let 
us  survey  the  anxious  and  care-worn  countenances,  let  us  hear  the 
firm-toned  voices,  of  this  band  of  patriots. 

"Hancock  presides  over  the  solemn  sitting;  and  one  of  those  not 
yet  prepared  to  pronounce  for  absolute  independence  is  on  the  floor, 
and  is  urging  his  reasons  for  dissenting  from  the  declaration  : 

"  '  Let  us  pause  !  This  step,  once  taken,  cannot  be  retraced.  This 
resolution,  once  passed,  will  cut  off  all  hope  of  reconciliation.  If  success 
attend  the  arms  of  England,  we  shall  then  be  no  longer  colonies,  with 
charters,  and  with  privileges  ;  these  will  all  be  forfeited  by  this  act ; 
and  we  shall  be  in  the  condition  of  other  conquered  people,  at  the 
mercy  of  the  conquerors.  For  ourselves,  we  may  be  ready  to  run  the 
hazard, —  but  are  we  ready  to  carry  the  country  to  that  length  7  Is 
success  so  probable  as  to  justify  it  1  Where  is  the  military,  where  the 
naval  power,  by  which  we  are  to  resist  the  whole  strength  of  the  arm 
of  England  1  —  for  she  will  exert  that  strength  to  the  utmost.  Can  we 
rely  on  the  constancy  and  perseverance  of  the  people  ?  or  will  they 
not  act  as  the  people  of  other  countries  have  acted,  and,  wearied  with 
a  long  war,  submit,  in  the  end,  to  a  worse  oppression  1  ,  While  we 
stand  on  our  old  ground,  and  insist  on  redress  of  grievances,  we  know 
we  are  right,  and  are  not  answerable  for  consequences.  Nothing, 
then,  can  be  imputable  to  us.  But  if  we  now  change  our  olyect, 
carry  our  pretensions  further,  and  set  up  for  absolute  independence,  we 
shall  lose  the  sympathy  of  mankind.  We  shall  no  longer  be  defending 
what  we  possess,  but  struggling  for  soijiething  which  we  never  did 
possess,  and  which  we  have  solemnly  and  uniformly  disclaimed  all 
intention  of  pursuing,  from  the  very  outset  of  the  troubles.  Aban- 
doning thus  our  old  ground,  of  resistance  only  to  arbitrary  acts  of 
oppression,  the  nations  will  believe  the  whole  to  have  been  mere  pre- 
tence, and  they  will  look  on  us,  not  as  injured,  but  as  ambitious, 
subjects.  I  shudder,  before  this  responsibility.  It  will  be  on  us,  if, 
relinquishing  the  ground  we  have  stood  on  so  long,  and  stood  on  so 
safely,  we  now  proclaim  independence,  and  carry  on  the  war  for  that 


424  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

object,  -while  tliese  cities  burn,  these  pleasant  fields  whiten  and  bleach 
with  the  bones  of  their  owners,  and  these  streams  run  blood.  It  will 
be  upon  us,  it  will  be  upon  us,  if,  failing  to  maintain  tliis  unseasoned 
and  ill-judged  declaration,  a  sterner  despotism,  maintained  by  military 
power,  shall  be  established  over  our  posterity, —  when  -y^e  ourselves, 
given  up  by  an  exhausted,  a  harassed,  a  misled  people,  shall  have 
expiated  our  rashness  and  atoned  for  our  presumption,  on  the  scaf- 
fold ! ' 

"  It  was  for  Mr.  Adams  to  reply  to  arguments  like  these.  We 
know  his  opinions,  and  we  know  his  character.  He  would  commence 
with  his  accustomed  directness  and  earnestness  : 

"  '  Sink  or  swim, -live  or  die,  survive  or  jierish,  I  give  my  hand  and 
my  heart  to  this  vote.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that,  in  the  beginning,  we 
aimed  not  at  independence.  But  there 's  a  divinity  which  shapes  our 
ends.  The  injustice  of  England  has  driven  us  to  arms  ;  and,  blinded  to 
her  o-\vn  interest  for  our  good,  she  has  obstinately  persisted,  till  independ- 
ence is  now  within  our  grasp.  We  have  but  to  reach  forth  to  it,  and 
it  is  ours.  ^Tiy,  then,  should  we  defer  the  declaration  ?  Is  any  man 
so  weak  as  now  to  hope  for  a  reconciliation  with  England,  which  shall 
leave  either  safety  to  the  country  and  its  liberties,  or  safety  to  his  own 
life,  and  his  own  honor  'I  Are  not  you,  sir,  who  sit  in  that  chair, — 
is  not  he,  our  venerable  colleague  near  you, —  are  you  not  both  already 
the  proscribed  and  predestined  objects  of  punishment  and  of  ven- 
geance 7  Cut  off  from  all  hope  of  royal  clemency,  what  are  you,  what 
can  you  be,  while  the  power  of  England  remains,  but  outlaws  7  If  we 
postpone  independence,  do  we  mean  to  carry  on,  or  to  give  up,  the 
war  7  Do  we  mean  to  submit  to  the  measures  of  Parliament,  Boston 
Port  Bill  and  all  7  Do  we  mean  to  submit,  and  consent  that  we  our- 
selves shall  be  ground  to  powder,  and  our  country  and  its  rights 
trodden  down  in  the  dust  7  I  know  we  do  not  mean  to  submit.  We 
never  shall  submit.  Do  we  intend  to  violate  that  most  solemn  obhga- 
tion  ever  entered  into  by  men,  that  plighting,  before  God,  of  our  sacred 
honor  to  Washington,  when,  putting  him  forth  to  incur  the  dangers  of 
war,  as  well  as  the  political  hazards  of  the  times,  we  promised  to  adhere 
to  him,  in  every  extremity,  with  our  fortunes  and  our  lives  7  I  know 
there  is  not  a  man  here  who  would  not  rather  see  a  general  conflagra- 
tion sweep  over  the  land,  or  an  earthquake  sink  it,  than  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  that  phghted  faith  fall  to  the  ground.  For  myself,  having, 
twelve  months  ago,  in  this  place,  moved  you  that  George  Washington 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  425 

be  appointed  commander  of  tlie  forces,  raised  or  to  be  raised,  for 
defence  of  American  liberty,  may  my  right  band  forget  ber  cunning, 
and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  hesitate  or  -svaver 
in  the  support  I  give  him.  The  war,  then,  must  go  on.  We  must 
fight  it  through.  And  if  the  war  must  go  on,  why  put  off  longer  the 
declaration. of  independence?  That  measure  will  strengthen  us.  It 
will  give  us  character  abroad.  The  nations  will  then  treat  with  us, 
which  they  never  can  do  while  we  acknowledge  ourselves  subjects,  in 
arms  against  our  sovereign.  Nay,  I  maintain  that  England,  herself, 
will  sooner  treat  for  peace  with  us  on  the  footing  of  independence, 
than  consent,  by  repealing  her  acts,  to  acknowledge  that  her  whole 
conduct  towards  us  has  been  a  course  of  injustice  and  oppression. 
Her  pride  will  be  less  wounded,  by  submitting  to  that  course  of  things 
which  now  predestinates  our  independence,  than  by  yielding  the  points 
in  controversy  to  her  rebellious  subjects.  The  former  she  would 
regard  as  the  result  of  fortune  ;  the  latter  she  would  feel  as  her  own 
deep  disgrace.  Wliy,  then, —  why,  then,  sir,  do  we  not,  as  soon  as 
possible,  change  this  from  a  civil  to  a  national  war  1  And,  since  we 
must  fight  it  through,  why  not  put  ourselves  in  a  state  to  enjoy  all  the 
benefits  of  victory,  if  we  gain  the  victory  7 

"  '  If  we  fail,  it  can  be  no  worse  for  us.  But  we  shall  not  fail.  The 
cause  will  raise  up  armies  ;  the  cause  will  create  navies.  The  people, 
the  people,  if  we  are  true  to  them,  will  carry  us,  and  will  carry  them- 
selves, gloriously,  through  this  struggle.  I  care  not  how  fickle  other 
people  have  been  found.  I  know  the  people  of  these  colonies  ;  and  I 
know  that  resistance  to  British  aggression  is  deep  and  settled  in  their 
hearts,  and  cannot  be  eradicated.  Every  colony,  indeed,  has  expressed 
its  willingness  to  follow,  if  we  but  take  the  lead.  Sir,  the  declaration 
will  inspire  the  people  with  increased  courage.  Instead  of  a  long  and 
bloody  war  for  restoration  of  privileges,  for  redress  of  grievances,  for 
chartered  immunities,  held  under  a  British  king,  set  before  them  the 
glorious  object  of  entire  independence,  and  it  will  breathe  into  them 
anew  the  breath  of  life.  Read  this  declaration  at  the  head  of  the  army ; 
every  sword  will  be  drawn  from  its  scabbard,  and  the  solemn  vow 
uttered,  to  maintain  it,  or  to  perish  on  the  bed  of  honor.  Publish  it 
from  the  pulpit ;  religion  will  approve  it,  and  the  love  of  religious  lib- 
erty will  cling  round  it,  resolved  to  stand  with  it,  or  fall  with  it.  Send 
it  to  the  public  halls ;  proclaim  it  there  ;  let  them  hear  it  who  heard 
the  first  roar  of  the  enemy's  cannon;  let  them  see  it  who  saw  their 
36* 


426  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

brothers  and  their  sons  fall  on  the  field  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  in  the 
streets  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  the  very  walls  will  cry  out  in 
its  support. 

"  '  Sir,  I  know  the  uncertainty  of  human  affairs,  but  I  see,  I  see 
clearly,  through  this  day's  business.  You  and  I,  indeed,  may  rue  it. 
We  may  not  live  to  the  time  when  this  declaration  shall  be  made  good. 
We  may  die ;  die,  colonists  ;  die,  slaves  ;  die,  it  may  be,  ignominiously 
and  on  the  scaffold.  Be  it  so.  Be  it  so.  If  it  be  the  pleasure  of 
Heaven  that  my  country  shall  require  the  poor  offering  of  my  life,  the 
victim  shall  be  ready  at  the  appointed  hour  of  sacrifice,  come  when 
that  hour  may.  But.  while  I  do  live,  let  me  have  a  country, —  or, 
at  least,  the  hope  of  a  country, —  and  that  a  free  country  ! 

"  '  But,  whatever  may  be  our  fate,  be  assured,  be  assured,  that 
this  declaration  will  stand.  It  may  cost  treasure,  and  it  may  cost 
blood ;  but  it  will  stand,  and  it  will  richly  compensate  for  both. 
Through  the  thick  gloom  of  the  present,  I  see  the  brightness  of  the 
future,  as  the  sun  in  heaven.  We  shall  make  this  a  glorious,  an 
immortal  day.  When  we  are  in  our  graves,  our  children  will  honor  it. 
They  will  celebrate  it,  with  thanksgiving,  with  festivity,  with  bonfires, 
and  illuminations.  On  its  annual  return,  they  will  shed  tears, —  copi- 
ous, gushing  tears, —  not  of  subjection  and  slavery,  not  of  agony  and 
distress,  but  of  exultation,  of  gratitude,  and  of  joy.  Sir.  before  God, 
I  believe  the  hour  is  come.  My  judgment  approves  this  measure,  and 
my  whole  heart  is  in  it.  All  that  I  have,  and  all  that  I  am,  and  all 
that  I  hope,  in  this  life,  I  am  now  ready  here  to  stake  upon  it ;  and  I 
leave  off,  as  I  begun,  that,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  the 
declaration.  It  is  my  living  sentiment,  and,  by  the'blessing  of  God, 
it  shall  be  my  dying  sentiment; — independence  noio,  and  inde- 
pendence FOREVER.'  " 

Daniel  Webster  was  a  son  of  Hon.  Ebenezer  Webster ;  was  born  in 
Salisbury,  N.  H.,  Jan.  18,  1782,  and  was  the  ninth  of  ten  children. 
That  portion  of  his  native  place  is  now  a  part  of  Franklin.  His  mother 
was  Abigail  Eastman,  the  second  wife,  and  a  lady  of  superior  intellect. 
The  house  in  which  he  was  born  has  been  demolished,  and  not  a  vestige 
of  it  remains,  but  the  cellar.  The  old  elm,  planted  by  his  father 
sixty  years  ago,  near  the  paternal  dwelhng,  with  its  luxuriant 
branches,  still  flourishes  there ;  and,  not  far  distant,  runs  Punch  Brook, 
now  diminished  to  a  little  rivulet.  The  old  well,  in  which  hung  an 
iron-bound  bucket,  remains,  with  water  as  pure  as  ever.     The  house 


DANIEL  "WEBSTER.  427 

in  -whicli  Daniel  was  born  stood  on  the  north  road,  far  up  the  western 
hill  bordering  the  valley  of  the  Merrimac.  In  his  youthful  days,  he 
showed  great  eagerness  for  learning,  and  his  constitution  ayqs  thought 
too  frail  for  any  physical  pursuit ;  therefore,  more  advantages  were  ren- 
dered to  him  than  to  the  other  boys  of  the  family.  His  first  teacher 
was  Thomas  Chase.  He  could  read  tolerably  well,  and  wrote  a  fair 
hand,  but  spelling  was  not  his  forte.  His  second  master  was  James 
Tappan,  now  living,  at  an  advanced  age,  in  Gloucester,  Mass.  His 
qualifications  as  a  teacher  far  exceeded  those  of  Mr.  Chase.  The 
worthy  veteran,  now  dignified  with  the  title  of  Colonel,  feels  a  pride, 
it  may  well  be  supposed,  in  the  fame  of  his  quondam  friend.  At  this 
period  he  contracted  a  great  passion  for  books,  having  access  to  the 
library  of  Thomas  W.  Thompson,  a  young  lawyer  who  boarded  in  his 
father's  family;  and  it  is  related,  that,  before  he  was  fourteen  years 
of  age,  he  became  very  familiar  with  the  Bible  and  the  poetry  of  Isaac 
Watts,  and  could  recite  the  whole  of  Pope's  Essay  on  Man.  On  the 
25th  of  May,  1796,  his  father  mounted  his  horse,  and  young  Daniel 
mounted  another,  when  they  proceeded  to  Exeter  Academy,  under  the 
supervision  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Abbot.  Mr.  Webster  relates  of  himself 
at  this  time,  in  his  autobiography  :  "My  first  lessons  in  Latin  were 
recited  to  Joseph  Stevens  Buckminster,  at  that  time  an  assistant  at  the 
academy.  I  made  tolerable  progress  in  all  the  branches  I  attended  to 
under  his  instruction ;  but  there  was  one  thing  I  could  not  do, —  I 
could  not  speak  before  the  school.  The  kind  and  excellent  Buck- 
minster, especially,  sought  to  persuade  me  to  perform  the  exercise 
of  declamation,  like  the  other  boys, —  but  I  could  not  do  it.  Many  a 
piece  did  I  commit  to  memory,  and  rehearse  in  my  own  room,  over 
and  over  again ;  but,  when  the  day  came,  when  the  school  collected, 
when  my  name  was  called,  and  I  saw  all  eyes  turned  upon  my  seat,  I 
could  not  raise  myself  from  it.  Sometimes  the  masters  frowned; 
sometimes  they  smiled.  Mr.  Buckminster  always  pressed  and  en- 
treated, with  the  most  winning  kindness,  that  I  would  only  venture 
out ;  but  I  could  not  command  sufficient  resolution, —  and,  when  the 
occasion  Avas  over,  I  went  home,  and  wept  bitter  tears  of  mortifica- 
tion." The  editor  acknowledges  the  liberal  use  of  Everett's  Memoir 
and  March's  Reminiscences  of  the  great  statesman;  and  the  fol- 
lowing detail  of  further  incidents  in  his  early  life  he  gleans  from 
Professor  Edwin  D.  Sanborn,  who  received  the  relation  from  the  lips 
of  Mr.  Webster,  and  wrote  the  detail  on  the  same  day  : 


428  THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS. 

"From  the  day  when  he  entered  Exeter  Academy,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  to  this  hour,  his  life  has  been  one  uninterrupted  scene  of 
mental  toil.  Aged  men,  -who  were  familiar  with  his  early  life,  men- 
tion, among  their  earhest  recollections  of  his  childhood,  a  fondness  for 
books  above  his  years.  His  father  kept  open  door  for  all  travellers. 
The  teamsters,  who  came  from  the  north,  were  accustomed  to  say, 
when  they  arrived  at  Judge  Webster's  house,  '  Come,  let  us  give  our 
horses  some  oats,  and  go  in  and  hear  little  Dan  read  a  Psalm.'  They 
always  called  for  him  ;  and,  leaning  upon  their  long  whip-stocks,  list- 
ened with  delighted  attention  to  the  elocution  of  the  young  orator.  This 
fondness  for  books  first  prompted  his  father  to  give  him  a  better  edu- 
cation than  the  district  school  afforded.  At  Exeter,  he  had  no  peer  in 
successful  and  accurate  study.  His  residence  there  was  brief.  The 
limited  means  of  his  father  would  not  warrant  the  expense  of  a  con- 
tinued residence  at  that  academy,  A  cheaper  method  of  preparing  him 
for  college  was  devised.  He  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Wood,  of  Boscawen,  who  received  pupils  into  his  family  on  very 
moderate  terms.  On  entering  this  family,  his  father  revealed  to  him 
his  intention  of  sending  him  to  college.  The  announcement  was 
received  with  unbounded  exultation.  No  Roman  consul  ever  received 
with  greater  joy  a  senatorial  decree  for  a  triumph  !  Under  Dr.  Wood's 
tuition,  with  but  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  rudiments  of  the  Latin 
tongue,  he  read  one  hundred  verses  of  Virgil  at  a  lesson.  He  not  only 
read  but  interpreted  the  poet.  He  understood  and  relished  his  polished 
diction.  The  Enghsh  dress  which  the  young  student  put  upon  the 
old  Roman  became  him.  His  recreations  then  were  the  same  which 
have  occupied  his  leisure  hours  in  later  life.  In  his  rambles  among 
the  neighboring  woods,  his  rifle  was  his  constant  companion : 

'  linoque  solebat  et  hamo 


Decipere,  et  calamo  salientes  ducere  pisces.' 

"  His  kind  Mentor  once  ventured  to  suggest  his  fears  lest  young 
Daniel's  example,  in  devoting  so  much  time  to  his  favorite  amusements, 
might  prove  injurious  to  the  other  boys.  He  did  not  complain  that 
his  task  was  neglected,  or  that  any  lesson  was  imperfectly  prepared. 
This  suggestion  was  sufficient.  The  sensitive  boy  could  not  bear  the 
suspicion  of  any  dereliction  of  duty.  The  next  night  was  devoted  to 
study.  No  sleep  visited  his  eyes.  His  teacher  appeared,  in  the  morn- 
ing, to  hear  his  recitation.   He  read  his  hundred  lines,  without  mistake. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  429 

He  was  nowliere  found  tripping  in  syntax  or  prosody.  As  his  teacher 
was  preparing  to  leave,  young  Daniel  requested  him  to  hear  a  few 
more  lines.  Another  hundred  was  read.  Breakfast  was  repeatedly 
announced.  The  good  doctor  was  impatient  to  go,  and  asked  his  pupil 
how  much  further  he  could  read.  '  To  the  end  of  the  twelfth  book  of 
the  ^neid,'  was  the  prompt  reply.  The  doctor  never  had  occasion  to 
reprove  him  again.  His  study  hours,  ever  after,  were  sacred.  In 
less  than  a  year,  he  read,  with  his  teacher,  Virgil  and  Cicero ;  and,  in 
private,  two  large  works  of  Grotius  and  Puifendorf,  written  in  Latin. 
During  the  month  of  July,  his  father  called  him  home  to  assist  him 
on  the  farm.  At  this  time  of  hfe,  young  Daniel  had  but  a  slender 
frame,  and  was  not  able  to  endure  much  fatigue.  The  trial  of  a  single 
half-day  brought  the  boy  home  with  blistered  hands  and  wearied  limbs. 
The  next  morning,  his  father  gave  him  his  httle  bundle  of  books  and 
clothes,  and  bade  him  seek  his  old  teacher  again.  Dr.  Wood  met  him 
with  a  cordial  greeting,  on  his  return,  and  assured  him  that,  with  hard 
study,  he  might  enter  college  at  the  next  commencement.  He  then 
had  two  months  to  devote  to  Greek ;  and  he  had  not  yet  learned  the 
alphabet.  With  characteristic  energy,  he  grappled  with  the  task,  and 
achieved  a  victory  of  which  few  can  boast.  What  one  of  those  college 
idlers,  who  talk  so  flippantly  about  the  idleness  of  Daniel  Webster  when 
a  student,  has  prepared  himself  for  a  like  station  in  two  short  months  7 
The  students  of  that  day  were  deprived  of  many  of  the  comforts  and 
luxuries  of  hfe  which  are  now  so  liberally  enjoyed.  They  usually 
travelled  on  horseback.  Their  dress  was  entirely  of  domestic  manu- 
facture. When  Daniel  Webster  went  to  college,  he  took  the  least  val- 
uable of  his  father's  horses,  which  would  not  be  missed  from  the  farm, 
and,  depositing  his  scanty  wardrobe  and  library  in  a  pair  of  saddle-bags, 
set  out  for  Hanover.  Scarcely  had  he  lost  sight  of  his  father's  house, 
when  a  furious  north-east  storm  began  to  beat  upon  the  solitary  trav- 
eller. The  rain  poured  down  incessantly  for  two  days  and  nights. 
A  necessity  was  laid  upon  him  to  be  present  at  the  commencement  of 
the  term.  He,  therefore,  made  such  speed  as  he  could,  with  his  slow- 
paced  Rozinante,  over  bad  roads,  through  the  pelting  storm,  and  reached 
the  place  at  the  close  of  the  second  day,  if  not  a  '  sorrowful  knight,' 
at  least,  in  a  sorrowful  condition.  He  joined  his  class  the  next  day, 
and  at  once  took  the  position  in  it  which  he  has  since  held  in  the  intel- 
lectual world.  By  the  unanimous  consent,  both  of  teachers  and  class- 
mates, he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  associates  in  study ;  and  was  as  far 


430  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

above  them  then,  in  all  that  constitutes  human  gi'eatness,  as  he  is  now. 
After  a  residence  of  two  years  at  college,  he  spent  a  -vacation  at  home. 
He  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  literature,  and  enjoyed  the  victories  of 
intellectual  eifort.  He  loved  the  scholar's  life.  He  felt  keenly  for  the 
condition  of  his  brother  Ezekiel,  who  was  destined  to  remain  on  the  farm, 
and  labor  to  lift  the  mortgage  from  the  old  homestead,  and  furnish  the 
means  of  his  brother's  support.  Ezekiel  was  a  farmer  in  spirit  and  in 
practice.  He  led  his  laborers  in  the  field,  as  he  afterwards  led  his  class 
in  Greek.  Daniel  knew  and  appreciated  his  superior  intellectual 
endowments.  He  resolved  that  his  brother  should  enjoy  the  same 
privileges  with  himself  That  night,  the  two  brothers  retired  to  bed, 
but  not  to  sleep.  They  discoursed  of  their  prospects.  Daniel  utterly 
refused  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  his  brother's  labor  any  longer.  They  were 
united  in  sympathy  and  aflfection,  and  they  must  be  united  in  their 
pursuits.  But  how  could  they  leave  their  beloved  parents,  in  age  and 
solitude,  with  no  protector  1  They  talked  and  wept,  and  wept  and 
talked,  till  dawn  of  day.  They  dared  not  broach  the  matter  to  their 
father.  Finally,  Daniel  resolved  to  be  the  orator  upon  the  occasion. 
Judge  Webster  was  then  somewhat  burdened  with  debt.  He  was 
advanced  in  age,  and  had  set  his  heart  upon  having  Ezekiel  as  his 
helper.  The  very  thought  of  separation  from  both  his  sons  was  painful 
to  him.  When  the  proposition  was  made,  he  felt  as  did  the  patriarch 
of  old,  when  he  exclaimed,  'Joseph  is  not  *  *  *  and  will  ye 
also  take  Benjamin  away  7'  A  family  council  was  called.  The 
mother's  opinion  was  asked.  She  was  a  strong-minded,  energetic 
woman.  She  was  not  bhnd  to  the  superior  endowments  of  her  sons. 
With  all  a  mother's  partiality,  however,  she  did  not  over-estimate  their 
powers.  She  decided  the  matter  at  once.  Her  reply  was  :  '  I  have 
lived  long  in  the  world,  and  have  been  happy  in  my  children.  If 
Daniel  and  Ezekiel  will  promise  to  take  care  of  me  in  my  old  age,  I 
■will  consent  to  .the  sale  of  all  our  property  at  once,  and  they  may 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  that  which  remains  after  our  debts  are  paid.' 
This  was  a  moment  of  intense  interest  to  all  the  parties.  Parents  and 
children  all  mingled  their  tears  together,  and  sobbed  aloud,  at  the 
thought  of  separation.  The  father  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  the  sons 
and  the  ad^dce  of  his  wife.  Daniel  returned  to  college,  and  Ezekiel 
took  his  little  bundle  in  his  hand,  and  sought,  on  foot,  the  scene  of  his 
preparatory  studies.  In  one  year  he  joined  his  younger  brother  in 
college.     His  intellect  was  of  the  highest  order.     In  clear  and  com- 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  431 

prehensive  views  of  the  subjects  studied,  he  had  no  equal.     He  was 
deficient  in  no  branch  of  study  pursued  in  college.     He  was  distin- 
guished for  classical  literature.     He  also  availed  himself  of  private 
instruction  in  some  departments  of  study.     Professor  Shurtleff  then 
had  a  class  of  students  reciting  to  him,  privately,  in  theology.     Ezekiel 
Webster  joined  that  class,  and  wrote  dissertations  upon  subjects  pro- 
posed by  the  professor,  who  still  speaks,  with  unabated  admiration,  of 
his  character,  as  an  earnest,  truthful,  and  successful  student.     I  once 
asked  the  same  venerable  teacher  of  the  deportment  of  the  younger 
brother  in  college.     He  replied  :  '  0,  sir,  Daniel  was  as  regular  as  the 
sun.     He  never  made  a  misstep  ;  he  never  stooped  to  do  a  mean  act ; 
he  never  countenanced,  by  his  presence  or  by  his  conversation,  any 
college  irregularities.'     After  graduating,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen, 
Daniel  Webster  took  charge  of  the  academy  in  Fryeburg,  Me.     He  left 
his  father's  house  again  on  horseback,  with  his  whole  worldly  effects  in  a 
pair  of  saddle-bags.     His  salary  was  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a 
year.     From  such  an  income,  how  much,  think  you,  would  one  of  our 
modern  dandies  save,  after  supporting  himself  as  a  gentleman  should 
live?     Besides  the  severe  labors  of  the  school,  INIr.  Webster  devoted 
his  evenings  to  a  still  more  irksome  piece  of  drudgery.     He  recorded 
deeds  in  the  county  records  for  a  moderate  compensation.     He  trans- 
cribed, on  an  average,  three  deeds  each  evening ;  and  two  large  foUos 
now  exist,  in  his  hand-WTiting,  as  indubitable  proofs  of  his  industry. 
He  received  high  commendation  for  his  fidelity  as  a  teacher.     The 
records  of  the  trustees  bear  testimony  to  their  unqualified  approbation 
of  his  labors,  and  their  sincere  regret  at  his  departure.     At  the  close 
of  the  year,  he  visited  his  brother  in  college ;  and,  after  paying  his 
own  debts,  gave  to  Ezekiel  the  results  of  his  year's  labor,  which 
amounted  to  one  hundred  dollars.     The  attachment  of  these  brothers  to 
each  other  was  truly  remarkable.     They  kept  no  separate  purse,  till 
they  were  established  in  business.     They  labored  cheerfully  for  each 
other.      Daniel   submitted  to   the  drudgery  of   copying  deeds,   and 
encroached  upon  the  hours  due  to  sleep  to  secure  the  means  of  his 
brother's  education.     Ezekiel  taught  an  evening  school  for  sailors,  in 
Boston,  in  addition  to  the  fatigues  of  a  large  private  school  by  day,  to 
save  money  to  defray,  in  part,  his  brother's  expenses  in  completing  his 
professional  education." 

We  have  seen  a  very  impressive  funeral  oration  on  Ephraim  Simonds, 
a  member  of  the  senior  class  of  Dartmouth  College,  who  died  at  Han- 


432  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

over,  April,  18,  1801,  delivered  by  Mr.  Webster,  who  was  also  a 
member  of  the  same  class.  We  will  quote  a  passage  from  the  exor- 
dium :  "All  of  him  that  was  mortal  now  lies  in  the  charnels  of  yonder 
cemetery.  By  the  grass  that  nods  over  the  mounds  of  Sumner,  ISIer- 
rill  and  Cook,  now  rests  a  fourth  son  of  Dartmouth,  constitutuig  another 
monument  of  man's  mortality.  The  sun,  as  it  sinks  to  the  ocean,  plays 
its  departing  beams  on  his  tomb,  but  they  reanimate  him  not.  The 
cold  sod  presses  on  his  bosom ;  his  hands  hang  down  in  weakness.  The 
bird  of  the  evening  shouts  a  melancholy  air  on  the  poplar,  but  her 
voice  is  stillness  to  his  ears.  While  his  pencil  was  drawing  scenes  of 
future  felicity, —  while  his  soul  fluttered  on  the  gay  breezes  of  hope, — 
an  unseen  hand  drew  the  curtain,  and  shut  him  from  our  view."  Our 
young  orator,  at  this  time,  had  been  so  inspired  with  the  brilliant  and 
fervid  style  of  President  Wheelock,  that  he  gave  stronger  indications 
of  rising  to  eminence  in  poetry,  than  in  law  or  pohtics.  The  first  pub- 
lished oration  of  Webster  was  delivered  at  Hanover,  July  4, 1800.  It 
may  be  found  in  the  library  of  the  Antiquarian  Society. 

Mr.  Webster  completed  his  college  course  in  August,  1801,  and 
became  a  student  of  law  in  the  office  of  Thomas  W.  Thompson,  the 
next-door  neighbor  of  his  father,  who  was  afterwards  a  senator  in  Con- 
gress. He  remained  in  his  office  as  a  student  till,  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
March,  "  he  felt  it  necessary  to  go  somewhere,  and  do  something  to 
earn  a  little  money; "  on  which,  as  before  related,  he  became  preceptor 
of  an  academy,  where,  among  other  mental  exercises,  he  committed  to 
memory  Fisher  Ames'  celebrated  speech  on  the  British  treaty;  and  he 
has  been  heard  to  say,  relates  Everett,  that  few  things  moved  him  more 
than  the  perusal  of  this  celebrated  speech.  In  September,  1802,  Mr. 
Webster  returned  to  Salisbury,  and  resumed  his  studies  under  Mr. 
Thompson,  with  whom  he  remained  for  eighteen  months. 

Daniel  Webster  went  to  Boston  in  July,  1804,  and  became  a  stu- 
dent of  Christopher  Gore,  where  he  engaged,  with  devoted  interest,  in 
the  study  of  special  pleading.  In  March,  1805,  he  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  Sufiblk  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  At  this  period,  he 
was  offered  the  clerkship  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  Hills- 
borough county,  N.  H.,  which  he  at  first  was  ready  to  accept ;  but  Mr. 
Gore  opposed  it,  appealing  to  the  ambition  of  his  pupil,  says  March ;  — 
once  a  clerk,  he  always  would  be  a  clerk,  with  no  step  upward.  "Go 
on,"  said  Mr.  Gore,  "  and  finish  your  studies.  You  are  poor  enough, 
but  there  are  greater  evils  than  poverty.     Live  on  no  man's  favor. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  433 

What  bread  you  do  eat,  let  it  be  the  bread  of  independence.  Pursue 
your  profession ;  make  yourself  useful  to  your  friends,  and  a  little  formi- 
dable to  your  enemies,  and  you  have  nothing  to  fear."  His  father  was 
one  of  the  judges  of  this  court,  and  was  very  earnest  that  Daniel  should 
accept  the  station.  Having  concurred  in  the  advice  of  Christopher 
Gore,  he  said  to  his  father,  "  I  mean  to  use  my  tongue  in  the  courts, 
—  not  my  pen ;  to  be  an  actor,  not  a  register  of  other  men's  actions ;  " 
to  which  his  venerable  father  replied  :  "  Well,  my  son,  your  mother 
has  always  said  that  you  would  come  to  something,  or  nothing, —  she 
was  not  sure  which.  I  think  you  are  now  about  settling  that  doubt 
for  her." 

Immediately  on  his  admission  to  the  bar,  Mr.  Webster  went  to 
Amherst,  N.  H.,  where  his  father's  court  was  in  session.  From  that 
place  he  went  home  with  his  father.  He  had  intended  to  establish 
himself  at  Portsmouth,  which,  aS  the  largest  town,  and  the  seat  of  the 
foreign  commerce  of  the  State,  opened  the  widest  field  for  practice. 
But  filial  duty  kept  him  nearer  home.  His  father  was  now  infirm 
from  the  advance  of  years,  and  had  no  other  son  at  home.  Under  these 
circumstances,  Mr.  Webster  opened  an  office  at  Boscawen,  not  far  from 
his  father's  residence,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  in  this 
retired  spot.  Judge  Webster  lived  but  a  year  after  his  son's  entrance 
upon  practice, —  long  enough,  however,  says  Everett,  to  hear  his  first 
argument  in  court,  and  to  be  gratified  with  the  confident  predictions  of 
his  future  success. 

It  is  related,  on  the  best  authority,  that  at  his  first  term  he  had  no 
case  for  trial,  that  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  address  the  court  at 
Amherst ;  but  he  had  an  important  motion  to  make,  not  in  the  order 
of  the  docket,  for  which  he  had  made  elaborate  preparation.  Not 
being  familiar  Avith  the  course  of  business,  and  having  seen  no  favora- 
ble opportunity  to  introduce  and  argue  his  motion,  after  waiting  the 
whole  term,  till  the  court  stood  on  its  adjournment,  he  rose,  and  stated 
to  the  court,  that  he  had  hoped  for  an  opportunity  to  bring  his  motion 
before  the  court,  and  had  prepared  himself  to  argue  it,  but  that  he  now 
saw  there  was  no  time  for  the  purpose.  Nevertheless,  he  was  unwilling 
to  omit  altogether  acquainting  the  court  with  his  case.  With  this  intro- 
duction, he  proceeded  to  make  a  short  statement  of  the  circumstances  of 
his  case,  and  the  remedy  for  which  he  had  proposed  to  call  upon  the 
court ;  but,  at  that  stage  of  the  court,  he  would  not  undertake  to  argue 
it,  though  he  had  prepared  himself  for  the  purpose.  When  he  had 
87 


434  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

resumed  his  seat,  the  chief-justice,  Timothy  Farrar,  turning  to  his 
associates,  remarked,  in  an  undertone,  which  was,  however,  overheard, 
"That  young  man's  statement  is  a  most  unanswerahle  argument/' 
and  immediately  granted  his  motion.  Mr.  Webster  has  been  frequently 
heard  to  remark  that  this  incident  has  had  a  marked  influence  on  his 
efforts  in  after  life.  It  is  related  of  his  early  appearance  in  pleading  at 
court  in  his  native  State,  that  in  the  onset  there  would  be  an  indication 
of  restlessness ;  and  he  would  move  his  feet  about,  and  run  his  hand 
up  over  his  forehead  through  his  Indian-black  hair,  and  lift  his  upper 
lip,  and  show  his  teeth,  which  were  as  white  as  those  of  a  hound ;  and 
then  he  would  roll  on  in  such  a  stream  of  eloquence,  that  his  power 
was  irresistible. 

Mr.  Webster  was  admitted  as  an  attorney  and  counsellor  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  in  May,  1807 ;  and  in  September 
of  that  year,  after  having  become  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church  of  Salisbury,  his  native  town,  on  the  13th  day  of  that  month, 
when  the  Rev.  Thomas  Worcester  was  pastor,  he  removed  from  Bos- 
cawen  to  Portsmouth,  where  he  remained  for  nine  successive  years.  It 
is  mentioned  by  Mr.  March,  as  a  singular  fact  in  his  professional  life, 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  occasions  on  which  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  attorney -general  of  the  United  States  for  the  time  being, 
he  has  hardly  appeared  ten  times  as  junior  counsel.  Mr.  Webster  was 
married  in  June,  1808,  to  Grace,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Mr.  Fletcher, 
of  Hopkinton,  by  whom  he  had  five  children, —  Grace,  Fletcher,  Julia, 
Charles,  and  Edward,  who  died  in  the  Mexican  war.  After  the 
decease  of  his  wife,  he  married  a  second  time, —  Caroline,  daughter  of 
Hermon  Leroy,  of  New  York  city. 

Mr.  Webster  was  elected  to  Congress,  for  the  Federal  party  of  that 
day,  November,  1812 ;  and  continued  four  years  in  the  house,  and  was 
appointed  by  Henry  Clay,  then  Speaker,  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  foreign  affairs.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  the  Rock- 
ingham Convention,  which  met  at  Brentwood,  Aug.  5,  1812,  and  pre- 
pared a  memorial  to  President  INIadison,  remonstrating  against  the  war 
with  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Webster  was  not  a  member  of  Congress  when 
the  war  was  declared,  nor  in  any  other  public  station.  The  principal 
subjects  on  which  he  addressed  the  house,  during  the  18th  Congress, 
were  his  own  resolutions,  the  increase  of  the  navy,  the  repeal  of  the 
embargo,  and  an  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  chair,  on  a  motion  for 
the  previous  question.     His  speeches  on  these  questions  raised  him  to 


DANIEL   AVEBSTER.  435 

the  front  rank  of  debaters.  He  cultivated  friendly  relations  on  both 
sides  of  the  house,  and  gained  the  personal  respect  even  of  those  with 
■whom  he  most  diifered.  Mr.  Webster,  in  1814,  opposed  the  project 
for  a  Bank  of  the  United  States,  with  a  capital  of  fifty  millions,  as 
unsound  in  its  principles,  and  sure  to  increase  the  derangement  of  the 
currency.  In  the  intervals  of  Congress,  Mr.  Webster  was  occupied, 
at  Portsmouth,  in  the  practice  of  law.  The  destruction  of  his  house, 
furniture,  library,  and  many  valuable  manuscripts,  in  the  extensive 
fire  that  occurred  in  December,  1813,  had  so  embarrassed  his  circum- 
stances, that  he  found  it  his  duty  to  endeavor  to  improve  his  condition. 
On  the  return  of  the  peace,  Mr.  Webster  was  active  in  relation  to 
the  constitutionality  of  the  tarifi"  policy,  and  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments. 

Mr.  AYebster  removed  to  Boston  in  the  year  1818,  when  commenced 
a  period  of  about  six  years'  retirement  from  active  political  life,  during 
which  time,  with  a  single  exception,  he  filled  no  public  office,  and 
devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his  duties  as  a  lawyer.  It  was  accord- 
ingly within  this  period  that  his  reputation  in  his  profession  was  estab- 
lished. A  large  share  of  the  best  business  of  New  England  passed 
into  his  hands ;  and  the  veterans  of  the  Boston  bar  admitted  him  to  an 
entire  equality  of  standing  amongst  them.  Mr.  Webster,  on  the  sepa- 
ration of  Maine,  was  elected  to  the  Massachusetts  convention  on  revis- 
ing the  State  constitution,  in  1820,  when  he  exhibited  great  intellectual 
abihty,  and  with  the  most  eminent  success.  In  1822  he  was  elected 
by  the  people  of  Boston  to  the  State  Legislature,  at  which  period  he 
was  also  one  of  the  framers  of  the  city  charter  for  Boston ;  and  in 
November  of  this  year  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  Congress,  as  suc- 
cessor of  Benjamin  Gorham.  We  find  the  following  reminiscence  of 
Mr.  Webster,  in  relation  to  this  period  :  "It  has  so  happened."  once 
said  Mr.  Webster,  "  that  all  the  public  services  which  J  have  rendered 
in  the  world,  in  my  day  and  generation,  have  been  connected  with  the 
general  government.  I  think  I  ought  to  make  an  exception.  I  vfas 
ten  days  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  and  I  turned  my 
thoughts  to  the  search  of  some  good  object,  in  which  I  could  be  useful 
in  that  position ;  and,  after  much  reflection,  I  introduced  a  bill,  which, 
with  the  general  consent  of  both  houses  of  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature, passed  into  a  law,  and  is  now  a  law  of  the  State,  which  enacts 
that  no  man  in  the  State  shall  catch  trout  in  any  other  manner  than 
with  the  ordinary  hook  and  line.     With  that  exception,  I  never  was 


43G  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS, 

connected,  for  an  hour,  vrith  any  State  government,  in  my  life.  I 
never  held  office,  high  or  low,  under  any  State  government.  Per- 
haps that  was  my  misfortune.  At  the  age  of  thirty,  I  was  in  New 
Hampshire,  practising  law,  and  had  some  chents.  John  Taylor  Oil- 
man, who  for  fourteen  years  was  Governor  of  the  State,  thought  that, 
youno'  man  as  I  was,  I  might  be  fit  to  be  an  attorney-general  of  the 
State  of  Kew  Hampshire,  and  he  nominated  me  to  the  council ;  and 
the  council,  taking  it  into  their  deep  consideration,  and  not  happening 
to  be  of  the  same  politics  of  the  governor  and  myself,  voted,  three  out 
of  five,  that  I  was  not  competent, —  and,  very  likely,  they  were  right. 
So,  you  see,  I  never  gained  promotion  in  any  State  government." 

Mr.  Webster  was  again  elected  to  Congress  for  Sufiblk ;  and  so 
great  a  favorite  had  he  become,  that  the  choice  was  unanimous,  with 
the  exception  of  three  votes.  In  1826  he  was  reelected  to  the  house ; 
but,  before  taking  his  seat,  he  was  elected,  by  the  Legislature,  to  the 
Senate  in  Congress,  in  .place  of  Elijah  H.  Mills, —  which  station  he 
filled  until  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  under  President  Har- 
rison, in  1841.  He  was  succeeded  by  Abel  P.  Upshur  in  1844,  and 
was  reelected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  1845,  which  station  he  occupied 
until  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  State,  under  President  Fillmore, 
in  1850 ;  and  never,  since  the  days  of  Jefferson,  the  first  incumbent, 
has  a  president  of  this  Union  been  honored  with  a  more  profound  and 
sagacious  counsellor  than  Daniel  Webster. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1839,  Mr.  Webster  crossed  the  Atlantic, 
making  a  tour  through  England,  Scotland,  and  France.  His  atten- 
tion was  drawn  to  the  agriculture  of  England  and  Scotland ;  to  the 
great  subjects  of  currency  and  exchange ;  to  the  condition  of  the  labor- 
ing classes ;  and  to  the  practical  efiect  on  the  politics  of  Europe  of  the 
system  of  the  continental  alliance.  No  traveller  from  this  country 
has,  probably,  ever  been  received  with  equal  attention,  says  Everett, 
in  the  highest  quarters  in  England.  Courtesies  usually  extended  only 
to  ambassadors  and  foreign  ministers  were  advanced  to  him.  His 
table  was  covered  with  invitations  to  the  seats  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry ;  and  his  company  was  eagerly  sought  at  the  public  entertain- 
ments Avhich  took  place  while  he  was  in  the  country.  Among  the 
eminent  men  with  whom  he  contracted  intimacy,  may  be  named  the 
late  Lord  Ashburton.  A  mutual  regard,  of  more  than  usual  warmth, 
arose  between  them.  This  circumstance  was  well  understood  in  the 
higher  circles  of  English  society :  and  when,  two  years  later,  a  change 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  43T 

of  administration  in  both  countries  brouglit  the  parties  to  which  they 
were  respectively  attached  into  power,  the  friendly  relations  well 
known  to  exist  between  them  were,  no  doubt,  among  the  motives  which 
led  to  the  appointment  of  Lord  Ashburton  as  special  minister  to  the 
United  States.  When  the  Whig  party  came  into  power,  in  the  year 
1841,  Mr.  Webster  displayed  extraordinary  sagacity  in  the  nego- 
tiation of  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  on  the  adjustment  of  the 
long-contested  question  of  the  north-eastern  boundary,  which  height- 
ened his  renown  for  diplomatic  skill. 

When  Mr.  Webster  was  elected  to  Congress  over  Jesse  Putnam,  in 
1822,  he  exhibited  the  same  energy  of  chai-acter  in  behalf  of  his  coun- 
try that  had  previously  made  him  the  great  leader  among  leaders. 
He  labored  for  suffering  Greece ;  on  the  tariff  law  of  1824  ;  effected  a 
complete  revision  of  the  law  for  the  punishment  of  crimes  against  the 
United  States ;  gave  a  speech  on  the  Congress  of  Panama ;  and  argued 
on  the  revision  of  the  tariff  law,  and  the  embarrassments  of  the  contest. 
His  manly  course  in  the  administrations  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren, 
in  relation  to  the  veto  of  the  bank,  the  rise  and  progress  of  nullifica- 
tion, the  force  bill,  the  removal  of  the  deposits,  the  expunging  resolu- 
tion, and  the  sub-treasury  system,  are  identified  with  his  history.  We 
do  not  forget  his  interest  in  other  great  national  topics,  such  as  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  the  war  with  Mexico,  the  Oregon  question, 
revival  of  the  sub-treasury  system,  and  repeal  of  the  tariff  of  1842 ; 
on  a  territorial  government  for  the  Mexican  provinces,  on  a  constitu- 
tion of  State  government  adopted  by  California  prohibiting  slavery,  on 
the  anti-slavery  agitation  relative  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  and  the 
Compromise,  and  his  great  speech  for  the  Union.  We  would  have  our 
readers  recur  to  Everett's  political  biography  of  Daniel  Webster,  for  a 
development  of  his  action  on  these  great  national  topics. 

"Where  is  a  nobler  passage  than  this  of  Webster:  "I  am,"  says 
Webster,  "where  I  have  ever  been,  and  ever  mean  to  be.  Standing 
on  the  platform  of  the  general  constitution, —  a  platform  broad  enough, 
and  firm  enough,  to  uphold  every  interest  of  the  whole  country, —  I 
shall  still  be  found.  Intrusted  with  some  part  in  the  administration 
of  that  constitution,  I  intend  to  act  in  its  spirit,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
those  who  framed  it.  I  would  act  as  if  our  fathers,  who  formed  it  for 
us,  and  who  bequeathed  it  to  us,  were  looking  on  me, —  as  if  I  could 
see  their  venerable  forms  bending  down  to  behold  us,  from  the  abodes 
above.  I  would  act,  too,  as  if  the  eye  of  posterity  was  gazing  on  me. 
37* 


438  THE    IIUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

"  Standing  thus,  as  in  tlie  full  gaze  of  our  ancestors  and  our  pos- 
terity,—  having  received  this  inheritance  from  the  former,  to  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  latter,  and  feeling  that  if  I  am  formed  for  anj  good,  in 
my  day  and  generation,  it  is  for  the  good  of  the  -\vhole  country, — 
no  local  policy  or  local  feeling,  no  temporary  impulse,  shall  induce  me 
to  yield  my  foothold  on  the  constitution  and  the  Union. 

"I  came  into  public  life  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  On 
that  broad  altar  my  earliest  and  all  my  public  vot\'S  have  been  made. 
I  propose  to  serve  no  other  master.  So  far  as  depends  on  any  agency 
of  mine,  they  shall  continue  united  States, —  united  in  interest  and 
affection,  —  united  in  everything  in  regard  to  vrhich  the  constitution 
has  decreed  their  union, —  united  in  war,  for  the  common  defence,  the 
common  renown,  and  the  common  glory, —  and  united,  compacted,  knit 
firmly  together,  in  peace,  for  the  common  prosperity  and  happiness  of 
ourselves  and  our  children." 

Judge  Story  related,  one  time,  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  that  his 
great  expression  was,  "It  is  admitted."  As  he  was  a  powerful 
reasoner,  it  was  often  remarked,  "Once  admit  his  premises,  and  you 
are  forced  to  his  conclusions;  therefore,  deny  everything  he  says." 
Said  Daniel  Webster  to  Story,  "When  Judge  Marshall  says,  'It  is 
admitted,  sir,'  I  am  prepared  for  a  bomb  to  burst  over  my  head,  and 
demolish  all  my  points."  May  not  the  same  remark  be  made  of 
Webster,  the  invincible  defender,  as  of  Marshall,  the  profound 
expounder,  of  the  constitution  ? 

The  address  of  Mr.  Webster,  pronounced  on  Bunker  Hill,  June  17, 
1825,  it  is  said  was  modelled,  e'^en  to  its  best  passages,  in  Marshpee 
Brook, —  the  orator  catching  trout  and  elaborating  sentences,  at  the 
same  time.  It  is  further  related,  that,  as  the  orator  drew  in  some 
trout  particularly  large,  he  was  heard  to  exclaim,  "  Venerable  men ! 
you  have  come  down  to  us  from  a  former  generation.  Heaven  has 
bounteously  lengthened  out  your  lives,  that  you  might  behold  this 
joyous  day."  Says  Webster,  in  another  passage  of  the  same  para- 
graph: "Yonder  proud  ships,  by  a  felicity  of  position,  appropriately 
lying  at  the  foot  of  this  mount,  and  seeming  fondly  to  cling  around  it, 
are  not  means  of  annoyance  to  you,  but  your  country's  own  means  of 
distinction  and  defence." 

We  find  in  Everett's  biography  of  Webster  some  excellent  remarks 
on  the  preparation  of  orators  for  public  speaking,  where,  in  allusion  to 
Mr.  Webster,  he  says:  "It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  an  orator  like 


DANIEL   WEBSTER.  439 

Mr.  Webster  is  slavishly  tied  clown,  on  any  occasion,  to  his  manuscript 
notes,  or  to  a  niemorlter  repetition  of  their  contents.  It  may  be 
presumed  that,  in  many  cases,  the  noblest  and  the  boldest,  the  last 
and  warmest  tints  thrown  upon  the  canvas,  in  discourses  of  this  kind, 
were  the  unpremeditated  inspiration  of  the  moment  of  delivery.  The 
opposite  view  would  be  absurd ;  because  it  would  imply  that  the  mind, 
under  the  high  excitement  of  delivery,  was  less  fertile  and  <3reative 
than  in  the  repose  of  the  closet.  A  speaker  could  not,  if  he  attempted 
it,  anticipate,  in  his  study,  the  earnestness  and  fervor  of  spirit  induced 
by  actual  contact  with  the  audience ;  he  could  not,  by  any  possibility, 
forestall  the  sympathetic  influence  upon  his  imagination  and  intellect 
of  the  listening  and  applauding  throng.  However  severe  the  method 
required  by  the  nature  of  the  occasion,  or  dictated  by  his  own  taste, 
a  speaker  like  Mr.  Webster  will  not  confine  himself  '  to  pouring  out 
fervors  a  week  old.'  "  In  another  passage  of  this  memoir,  Mr.  Everett, 
in  further  enlarging  on  this  subject,  says  that  no  one  will  think  that 
the  entire  apostrophe  to  Warren,  in  his  first  Bunker  Hill  oration,  as  it 
stands  in  the  reported  speech,  was  elaborated  and  committed  to  memory. 
In  fact,  there  is  a  slight  grammatical  inaccuracy,  caused  by  passing 
from  the  third  person  to  the  second  in  the  same  sentence,  which  is  at 
once  the  natural  consequence  and  the  proof  of  an  unpremeditated 
expansion  or  elevation  of  the  preconceived  idea.  We  see  the  process. 
When  the  sentence  commenced,  "  But,  ah  !  him  !  "  it  was  evidently  in 
the  mind  of  the  orator  to  close  it  by  saying,  "How  shall  I  speak  of 
him?"  But,  in  the  progress  of  the  sentence,  forgetful  —  unconscious 
—  of  the  grammatical  form,  but  mefttiag  with  the  thought, —  behold- 
ing, as  he  stood  upon  the  spot  where  the  hero  fell,  his  beloved  and 
beautiful  image  rising  from  the  ground, —  he  can  no  longer  speak  of 
him.  Willing  subject  of  his  own  witchery,  he  clothes  his  conception 
with  sensible  forms,  and  speaks  to  the  glorious  being  whom  he  has 
called  back  to  life.  He  no  longer  attempts  to  discourse  of  Warren  to 
the  audience ;  but,  passing,  after  a  few  intervening  clauses,  from  the 
third  person  to  the  second,  he  exclaims,  "How  shall  I  struggle  with 
the  emotions  that  stifle  the  utterance  of  thy  name  !  Our  poor  work 
may  perish,  but  thine  shall  endure !  This  monument  may  moulder 
away,  the  solid  ground  it  rests  upon  may  sink  down  to  a  level  with  the 
sea,  —  but  thy  memory  shall  not  fail !  " 

We  concur  with  Edward  Everett  in  what  he  remarks  of  Webster's 
famous  reply  to  Ilayne,  when  he  says  :  "Of  the  eflcctivcness  of  Mr. 


440  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTOX   ORATORS. 

"Webster's  manner  in  many  parts,  it  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to 
give  any  one  not  present  the  faintest  idea.  It  has  been  my  fortune  to 
hear  some  of  the  ablest  speeches  of  the  greatest  living  orators  on  both 
sides  of  the  -water  ;  but  I  must  confess  I  never  heard  anything  which 
so  completely  realized  my  conception  of  what  Demosthenes  Avas  when 
he  delivered  the  oration  for  the  crown." 

"Sprung  from  a  revolutionary  stock,"  said  Caleb  Gushing,  in  a 
review  of  Webster's  speeches,  "nurtured  in  the  very  domains  of  'the 
mountain  goddess,  Liberty,'  he  rose  to  fame  and  usefulness  in  the 
bosom  of  his  native  State.  So  surely  as  the  bright  stars  shall  move 
on  untiringly  in  their  celestial  paths  on  high  to  glad  the  eye  and 
lead  the  footsteps  of  unborn  generations  of  men, —  so  surely  as  genius, 
honor,  patriotism,  will  continue  to  be  prized  on  earth  when  the  passions 
of  the  hour  shall  have  fretted  themselves  into  extinction  and  oblivion, 
—  so  sure  is  it  that  the  time  will  come  when  New  Hampshire  will 
esteem  it  her  pride  and  her  glory  to  have  given  birth  and  maturity  to 
Daniel  Webster.  And  yet,  such  are  the  corruptions  of  party,  and 
such  the  infamy  to  which  it  sometimes  degrades  the  daily  press,  that, 
as  Mr.  Webster  feelingly  remarked  in  his  speech  at  Concord,  it  has 
been  his  fortune,  whether  in  public  hfe  or  out  of  it,  to  be  pursued  by 
a  degree  of  reproach  and  accusation  in  his  native  State  such  as 
never  fell  to  the  lot  of  any  other  of  her  public  men. 

"Of  the  speeches  delivered  by  Mr.  Webster  in  the  Senate,  those 
devoted  to  the  great  constitutional  questions  display  Mr.  Webster 
without  a  competitor.  By  a  succession  of  unrivalled  speeches  in  expo- 
sition of  disputed  texts  or  constructions  of  the  constitution, —  by  the 
profound  knowledge  of  historical  facts  displayed  in  them,  the  acuteness, 
sagacity  and  comprehensiveness  of  view  which  they  exhibit,  and  the 
patriotic  zeal  Avhich  animates  them  in  every  line, —  he  has  earned  for 
himself  a  most  peculiar  and  most  exalted  position  in  the  public  eye,  as 
the  great  expounder  and  champion  of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Union. 
So  long  as  the  government  of  the  United  States  shall  endure,  or  the 
memory  of  its  honor  and  its  liberty  survive  the  overthrow  of  its  insti- 
tutions,—  so  long  as  our  example  shall  occupy  a  page  in  the  history 
of  human  freedom, —  so  long  must  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Webster  be 
read,  studied,  admired.  On  these  he  may  confidently  rely  for  the 
respect  and  applause  of  his  country,  while  living;  on  these,  for  a  fame 
lasting  as  the  undying  spirit  of  constitutional  liberty  itself  Neither 
in  the  Philippic  orations  of  Demosthenes,  nor  in  the  consular  ones  '^f 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  441 

Cicero,  nor  in  whatever  class  among  tlie  speeches  of  Burke,  or  Pitt, 
or  Canning,  is  there  anything  more  thoroughly  imbued  and  saturated 
with  the  very  essence  of  immortality  than  in  these  constitutional 
speeches  of  Daniel  Webster. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  characteristic  traits  of  Mr.  Webster's  speeches, — 
whether  at  the  bar,  in  political  assemblies,  or  in  Congress, —  that  there 
is  nothing  in  them  discursive  ;  no  digressions  from  the  straightforward 
path  of  his  argument,  no  mere  episodes  of  embellishment,  no  common- 
place arts  of  oratory.  They  are  models  of  severe  unity  of  design,  of 
consummate  and  beautiful  simplicity  of  execution,  like  some  master- 
piece of  statuary  carved  in  the  blended  grace  and  majesty  of  antique 
art.  He  sends  forth  no  scattered  rays,  to  dazzle  with  their  brilliancy, 
and  bewilder  while  they  dazzle, —  but  pours  a  steady  stream  of  light, 
concentrated  in  a  broad  beam  of  effulgence  upon  the  point  he  would 
illumine.  His  mind  never  stops  on  the  course,  like  Atalanta,  to  gather 
the  golden  fruits  which  glitter  in  its  path,  and  thus  ultimately  lose  the 
prize  of  the  race  in  pursuit  of  the  delusive  temptations  of  the  moment. 
For  this  reason,  it  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  any  of  his  more  elabo- 
rate efforts  by  bare  extracts,  when  every  sentence  is  an  essential  part 
of  one  grand  whole,  and  nothing  can  be  spared  from  the  finished  per- 
fection of  the  work,  nothing  added,  without  marring  its  excellent  sym- 
metry. Yet,  amid  all  the  dignity,  strength  and  singleness,  which 
distinguish  his  productions,  there  is  an  occasional  vividness  of  imagery, 
so  apposite,  that  it  seems  to  be  innate  in  the  very  substance  of  the 
matter,  rather  than  a  mere  illustration, —  like  the  native  lustre  of  a 
gem,  belonging  to  the  primitive  organization  of  its  elements.  It  is  not 
difficult,  therefore,  to  select  passages  which,  fragments  though  they  be, 
are  beautiful  and  striking  in  themselves,  and  bear  witness  what  that  is 
of  which  they  are  but  severed  parts.  You  do  not  see  the  magnificent 
temple,  in  its  admirable  whole ;  but  even  the  solitary  column,  the 
broken  frieze,  torn  from  its  pediment,  bespeak  the  grandeur  of  the 
Parthenon.  The  following  passage  elucidates  a  great  principle,  by  a 
happy  recurrence  to  historical  facts  : 

"  '  We  are  not  to  wait  till  great  public  mischiefs  come,'  says  Web- 
ster,—  'till  the  government  is  overthrown,  or  liberty  itself  put  ia 
extreme  jeopardy.  We  should  not  be  worthy  sons  of  our  fathers, 
were  we  so  to  regard  great  questions  affecting  the  general  freedom. 
Those  fathers  accomplished  the  Revolution  on  a  strict  question  of  prin- 
ciple.    The  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  asserted  a  right  to  tax  the 


442  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

colonies,  in  all  cases  -whatsoever ;  and  it  was  precisely  on  this  question 
that  they  made  the  Revolution  to  turn.  The  amount  of  taxation  was 
trifling;  but  the  claim  was  inconsistent  with  liberty, —  and  that  was, 
in  their  eyes,  enough.  It  was  against  the  recital  of  an  act  of  Parlia- 
rfient,  rather  than  against  any  suffering  under  its  enactments,  that 
they  took  up  arras.  They  went  to  war  against  a  preamble.  They 
fought  seven  years  against  a  declaration.  They  poured  out  their  treas- 
ures and  their  blood,  like  water,  in  a  contest  in  opposition  to  an  asser- 
tion which  those  less  sagacious,  and  not  so  well  schooled  in  the  princi- 
ples of  civil  liberty,  would  have  regarded  as  barren  phraseology,  or 
mere  parade  of  words.  They  saw,  in  the  claim  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, a  seminal  principle  of  mischief — the  germ  of  unjust  power; 
they  detected  it,  dragged  it  forth  from  underneath  its  plausible  dis- 
guises, struck  at  it, —  nor  did  it  elude  either  their  steady  eye  or  their 
well-directed  blow,  till  they  had  extirpated  and  destroyed  it,  to  the 
smallest  fibre.  On  this  question  of  principle,  while  actual  suffering 
was  yet  afar  off",  they  raised  their  flag  against  a  power,  to  which,  for 
purposes  of  foreign  conquest  and  subjugation,  Rome,  in  the  height  of 
her  glory,  is  not  to  be  compared, —  a  power  which  has  dotted  over  the 
surface  of  the  whole  globe  with  her  possessions  and  military  posts, — 
"whose  morning  drum-beat,  following  the  sun,  and  keeping  company 
with  the  hours,  circles  the  earth  daily  with  one  continuous  and 
unbroken  strain  of  the  martial  airs  of  England.'  " 

The  manners  of  Daniel  Webster  in  public  speaking  are  remarkable. 
"It  is  in  reply  that  he  comes  out  in  the  majesty  of  intellectual 
grandeur,"  says  Col.  Knapp,  "  and  lavishes  about  him  the  opulence 
of  intellectual  wealth ;  it  is  when  the  darts  of  the  enemy  have  hit 
him,  that  he  is  all  might  and  soul ;  it  is  then  that  he  showers  down 
words  of  weight  and  fire.  Hear  him  then,  and  you  will  say  that  his 
eloquence  is  founded  on  no  model,  ancient  or  modern,  however  strong 
may  be  the  resemblance  to  any  one  of  them ;  that  he  never  read  the 
works  of  a  master  for  imitation ;  —  all  is  his  own,  excellences  and 
defects.  He  resembles  no  American  orator  we  have  ever  heard.  He 
does  not  imitate  any  one  in  the  remotest  degree :  neither  the  Addiso- 
nian eloquence  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  which  was  the  day-spring  in  a 
pure  and  vernal  atmosphere,  full  of  health  and  beauty ;  nor  does  he 
strive  for  the  sweetness  of  Fisher  Ames,  whose  heart,  on  all  great 
occasions,  grew  liquid,  and  he  could  pour  it  out  like  water.  Ames 
waved  the  wand  of  the  enchantress,  and  a  paradise  arose,  peopled  with 


DANIEL   WEBSTER.  443 

etliereal  beings,  all  engaged  in  pursuing  an  immortal  career."  In  Mr. 
Webster's  eloquence,  one  is  sensible  that  there  is  a  vast  and  indefinite 
back-ground  of  character.  The  oratory  is  but  as  a  little  jet  out  of  a 
great  reservoir,  from  Avhich  it  is  not  missed.  He  would  at  times  over- 
whelm you,  and  draw  himself  back  again  before  you  recovered  your 
self-possession.  The  orator  is  but  a  fraction  of  the  man, —  the  man 
standing  indefinitely  great  behind  the  mere  orator.  He  is  delightfully 
felicitous  in  illustration.  Plow  efiective,  for  instance,  the  passage 
where,  in  remarking  on  the  vast  extent  of  this  republic,  the  two  great 
seas  of  the  world  washing  the  one  and  the  other  shore,  in  the  concep- 
tion of  which,  says  Webster,  we  may  realize  the  beautiful  description 
of  the  ornamental  edging  of  the  buckler  of  Achilles  : 

'  Now  the  broad  shield  complete  the  artist  crowned, 
With  his  last  hand,  and  poured  the  ocean  round  ; 
In  living  silver  seemed  the  waves  to  roll. 
And  beat  the  buckler's  verge,  and  bound  the  whole.' 

"The  person  of  Mr.  Webster  is  singular  and  commanding,"  says 
Knapp.  "His  height,  above  the  ordinary  size,  about  five  feet  eleven 
inches.  He  is  broad  across  the  chest,  and  stoutly  and  firmly  built ; 
but  there  is  nothing  of  clumsiness  either  in  his  form  or  gait.  His 
head  is  very  large ;  his  forehead  high,  with  good-shaped  temples.  He 
has  a  large,  black,  solemn-looking  eye,  that  exhibits  strength  and 
steadfastness,  which  sometimes  burns,  but  never  sparkles.  His  lips, 
when  his  countenance  is  in  repose,  shut  close  —  Lavater's  mark  of 
firmness ;  but  the  changes  of  his  lips  make  no  small  part  of  the  strong 
and  varied  expressions  of  his  face.  His  hair  is  of  a  raven-black,  of  great 
thickness,  and  is  generally  worn  rather  short ;  his  eyebrows  are  thick, 
more  than  commonly  arched,  and  bushy, —  which,  on  a  slight  contrac- 
tion, give  his  features  the  appearance  of  sternness.  But  the  general 
expressi(in  of  his  face,  after  it  is  properly  examined,  is  rather  mild  and 
amiable  than  otherwise.  His  movements  in  the  senate-chamber  and  in 
the  street  are  slow  and  dignified.  His  voice,  once  heard,  is  always 
remembered  ;  but  there  is  no  peculiar  sweetness  in  it ;  —  its  tones  are 
rather  harsh  than  musical ;  —  still,  there  is  great  variety  in  them. 
Some  have  a  most  startling  penetration ;  others,  of  a  softer  character, 
catch  the  ear,  and  charm  it  down  to  the  most  perfect  attention.  His 
voice  has  nothing  of  that  monotony  which  palls  upon  the  ear ;  it  may 
be  heard  all  day  without  fatiguing  the  audience.     His  emphasis  is 


444  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

strong,  and  his  enunciation  clear,  and  so  distinct  that  not  a  syllable 
escapes  any  of  his  hearers.  The  compass  of  his  voice  is  so  great,  that 
it  fills  any  room,  however  large,  with  perfect  ease  to  himself;  and 
Willis,  our  native  poet,  who  saw  him  nearly  twenty  years  after  the 
graphic  description  of  Knapp  was  written,  says :  "  Sombre  as  the  lines 
of  his  face  are,  unlighted  with  health  or  impulse,  the  eyes  so  cavern- 
ous and  dark,  the  eyelids  so  livid,  eyebrows  so  heavy  and  black,  and 
the  features  so  habitually  gi-ave, —  it  is  a  face  of  strong  affections, 
genial,  and  foreign  to  all  unkindness.  There  is  not  a  trace  in  it  where 
a  pettishness  or  a  peevishness  could  lodge,  and  no  means  in  its  sallow 
muscles  for  the  expression  of  an  intellectual  littleness  or  perversion.  It 
is  all  broad  and  majestic,  all  expansive  and  generous.  The  darkness  in 
it  is  the  shadow  of  a  Salvator  Rosa, —  a  heightening  of  grandeur,  with- 
out injury  to  the  clearness.  His  physical  superiority  and  noble  dispo- 
sition are  in  just  balance  with  his  mind.  Webster,  incapable  of  the 
forecast  narrowness  which  makes  the  scope  of  character  converge  when 
meridian  ambition  and  occupation  fill  it  no  longer,  will  walk  the  broad- 
ening path  that  has  been  divergent  and  liberalizing  from  his  childhood 
to  the  present  hour,  till  he  steps  from  its  expanding  lines  into  his 
grave."  At  the  festival  of  the  Sons  of  New  Hampshire,  General  Dear- 
born said  of  Daniel  Webster,  "  that,  on  all  occasions  when  he  put  forth 
the  full  energies  of'  his  mind,  he  appeared  in  the  senate-chamber  like 
the  lion-hearted  Richard  in  the  tournament  of  Ashley  de  la  Zouch, 
ready  to  meet  all  combatants ;  and  woe  betide  those  who  received  the 
ponderous  and  crushing  blows  of  his  mighty  intellectual  mace!  "  Mr. 
Webster  was  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
Massachusetts  Historical,  New  England  Genealogic,  and  American 
Antiquarian  Societies. 

Mr.  Webster  was  a  remarkable  exemplification  of  an  opinion  which 
he  expressed  to  Rev.  Samuel  K.  Lothrop,  whose  church,  in  Brattle- 
street,  he  attended,  and  also  Trinity  church,  during  over  thirly  years' 
residence  in  Boston,  that,  "  what  a  man  does  for  others,  not  what 
others  do  for  him,  gives  immortality."  Our  unrivalled  statesman  died 
at  his  residence  in  Marshfield,  October  24,  1852.  The  immediate 
cause  of  his  decease  was  hemorrhage  from  the  stomach  and  bowels, 
owing  to  a  morbid  state  of  the  blood,  consequent  upon  a  disease  of  the 
liver.  There  was,  also,  dropsy  on  the  abdomen.  The  cerebral  organs 
were  of  the  very  largest  known  capacity,  exceeding,  by  thirty  per 


SAMUEL  LORENZO    KNAPP.  445 

centum,  the  average  weight  of  the  human  brain,  and,  it  is  said,  -with 
only  two  exceptions, —  those  of  Cuvier  and  Dupuytren, —  the  largest 
of  which  there  is  any  record.  On  the  day  of  the  interment,  the  body 
was  placed  upon  a  bier  on  the  lawn  in  front  of  his  mansion,  beneath 
the  branches  of  a  large  poplar  tree.  The  cover  of  the  coffin  was  re- 
moved, and  the  body  appeared  attired  in  Mr.  Webster's  favorite  suit, — 
a  blue  coat,  bright  buttons,  white  vest,  white  pantaloons,  white  silk 
gloves,  patent  leather  gaiter  boots,  and  a  white  neckerchief,  with  wide 
collar  turned  over.  The  coffin,  or  metallic  burial-case,  was  similar  in 
its  outlines  to  the  human  form  when  placed  in  a  horizontal  or  recum- 
bent position,  and  consisted  of  an  upper  and  lower  shell.  The  case 
was  enamelled  inside  and  out,  and  was  thoroughly  air-tight.  Upon 
the  body  was  a  wreath  of  beautiful  flowers,  wrought  by  a  girl  ten 
years  of  age,  and  another  of  oak  leaves  and  acorns ;  a  pyramid  bouquet 
of  everlasting  flowers,  and  another  of  flowers,  plucked  and  wrought 
by  Ellen  Fletcher,  a  niece  of  Mr.  Webster,  consisting  of  the  common 
and  New  Holland  myrtle,  in  which  were  inwrought  snow-white  roses, 
and  the  clematis  specanium,  placed  on  the  breast  of  the  corpse.  The 
tomb  of  Daniel  Webster  is  in  the  old  Winslow  burying-ground  at 
Marshfield ;  and,  "  from  the  deck  of  every  ship,  bound  into  or  out  of 
the  city  with  which  he  was  so  long  connected,"  said  the  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Alden,  at  his  funeral,  "  and  with  whose  prosperity,  up  to  his  death,  he 
was  identified,  his  tomb  shall  be  visible  while  time  shall  last."  Since 
the  decease  of  Daniel  Webster  there  have  been  published  more  ser- 
mons, eulogies,  and  orations  on  his  character,  than  have  ever  appeared 
in  relation  to  any  eminent  public  man,  excepting,  only,  the  immortal 
Washington. 


SAMUEL  LORENZO  KNAPP. 

AUGUST  5,   1826.    EULOGY  ON  ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON. 

Was  born  at  Newburyport,  in  1784 ;  and  was  educated  at  Phillips' 
Academy,  in  Exeter,  where  he  shone  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
scholars,  especially  in  declamation.     He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
38 


446  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

lege  in  1804,  Avlien  he  entered  on  the  study  of  law,  under  Chief  Justice 
Parsons,  at  Newburyport,  and  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Gen. 
Amasa  Davis.  He  Avas  an  eminent  counsellor,  and  Tvas  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature.  During  the  late  war  with  Great  Bi'itain, 
he  commanded  a  regiment  of  State  militia,  in  defence  of  the  coast.  In 
1824  he  became  editor  of  the  Boston  Gazette ;  and  conducted,  also,  the 
Boston  Monthly  Magazine,  one  of  the  most  refined  periodicals  of  polite 
literature,  abounding  in  his  own  tasteful  contributions.  In  1826  Col. 
Knapp  established  the  National  Republican,  which  existed  only  two 
years,  when  he  resumed  the  profession  of  law,  at  New  York.  An 
anecdote  is  related  of  Mr.  Knapp,  that  a  certain  pubhsher  of  a  peri- 
odical clipped  off  the  end  of  a  contribution  from  his  pen,  because  it  was 
taking  up  too  much  space, —  Avho,  when  remonstrated  with  for  putting 
"a  full  stop"  to  his  article  where  there  should  have  been  only  a 
comma,  after  several  abortive  attempts  at  pacification,  said,  "  0  !  let  it 
go  in,  Knapp ;  let  it  go  in  !  It  is  well  enough  as  it  is ;  just  look  at  it ; 
see,  now  ;  —  beside,  you  know,  nobody  will  read  it.  So,  what 's  the 
odds,  Knapp?"  The  whole  article  was  indignantly  withdrawn.  He 
was  not  always  verbally  accurate  ;  but  his  diction  was  easy  and  grace- 
ful, and  he  gathered  metaphors  for  illustration  Avith  as  much  ease  and 
taste  as  a  florist  selects  the  beauties  of  the  garden  and  the  meadow. 
He  was  honored  with  the  personal  friendship  and  intimacy  of  Arch- 
bishop Cheverus ;  at  whose  suggestion  he  received  the  degree  of  doctor 
of  laws  from  the  college  at  Paris,  in  France.  His  biographical  memoir 
of  the  venerable  prelate  was  one  of  the  most  elegant  performances  of 
that  sort.  He  was  one  of  the  best  writers  of  eulogiums  and  sketches 
of  character  in  the  Union.  His  work  on  eminent  lawyers,  statesmen, 
and  men  of  letters,  now  out  of  print,  is  a  model  for  writers  of  biography. 
He  was  a  very  popular  public  speaker,  being  very  fluent,  easy,  winning, 
and  graceful.  He  was  rich  in  anecdote,  grave,  lively  and  humorous. 
He  had  a  decided  disrelish  for  the  technicalities  of  law ;  and  the  best 
of  his  days  were  devoted  to  literature.  Long  after  the  writings  of  the 
puny  revilers  of  American  genius  shall  have  supplied  the  grocer  with 
wrappings,  and  the  book-Avorm  Avith  food,  the  Lectures  on  American 
Literature,  by  S.  L.  Knapp,  will  have  a  place  in  the  library  of  the 
scholar,  and  minister  to  the  instruction  of  young  persons.  In  defend- 
ing the  literary  reputation  of  others,  he  has  given  a  Avork  on  which  his 
own  fame  may  securely  rest.  He  w"as  author  of  The  Bachelors,  and 
Other  Tales,  founded  on  American  Incident  and  Character ;  Advice 


WILLIAM   POWELL   MASON.  447 

in  the  Pursuits  of  Literature  ;  Lives  of  Aaron  Burr,  Andrew  Jackson, 
Daniel  Webster,  and  Thomas  Eddy;  and  several  political  orations. 
He  was  the  editor  of  Hinton's  United  States,  and  the  Library  of  Use- 
ful Knowledge.  .  He  was  author,  also,  of  Travels  of  Ali  Bey  in  Boston 
and  its  vicinity ;  The  Genius  of  Free  Masonry,  or  a  Defence  of  the 
Order ;  Female  Biography  of  Different  Ages  and  Nations ;  Public 
Character,  comprising  Sketches  drawn  from  the  Living  and  the  Dead. 
He  died  at  Hopkinton,  Mass.,  July  8,  1838,  aged  fifty-four. 


WILLIAM   POWELL   MASON. 

JULY  4,  1827.     FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"There  are  periods  of  the  world,"  says  Mr.  Mason,  "and  portions 
of  the  earth,  in  which  whole  generations  of  men  may  go  down  silently 
and  unnoticed  to  their  graves,  and  at  least  enjoy  the  privilege  of  being 
forgotten ;  when,  if  they  may  not  dare  to  expect  the  praises  of  pos- 
terity, they  may  yet  hope  to  escape  its  reproaches.  But  such  is  not 
the  period  in  which  we  live,  nor  such  the  country  we  inhabit. 

"I  will  not  endeavor  to  stimulate  you  to  the  performance  of  your 
duties,  by  promising  you  an  immortality  of  fame  in  after  ages.  No ; 
this  is  your  birth-right ;  you  cannot  lose  it.  Neglect  these  duties, 
ruin  your  country,  and  disappoint  the  world ;  —  yet,  fear  not,  your 
names  shall  be  immortal, —  as  immortal  as  your  ancestors'.  On  the 
same  page  of  history  on  which  their  names  and  deeds  are  recorded, 
and  in  as  imperishable  characters,  shall  yours,  also,  be  inscribed. 
And  when  the  future  heroes  of  far-distant  centuries  shall  turn  back  to 
that  page  for  stimulants  to  their  exertions,  future  statesmen  and 
patriots  look  there  for  lessons  of  wisdom  and  virtue,  and  the  future 
poet  draw  thence  a  noble  theme  for  his  aspiring  muse,  your  name 
shall  not  be  passed  by  unnoticed  by  them ;  the  same  voices  that  swell 
with  praises  and  benedictions  to  the  memories  of  your  ancestors  shall 
load  yours  with  execrations  and  contempt.  Let  us,  my  countrymen, 
escape  so  disgraceful  an  immortality.  Let  us  avert  so  disastrous  a 
termination  of  our  hitherto  brilliant  career.     Let  us  turn  "from  the 


448  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

contemplation  of  the  deeds  and  virtues  of  our  ancestors,  from  felicita- 
tions on  our  own  liappy  circumstances,  and  from  musings  on  the  many 
bright  and  glowing  objects  which  spread  themselves  out  in  the  splendid 
prospect  before  us,  and  endeavor  to  expose,  whilst  we  may  yet  avoid 
them,  some  of  the  rocks  and  precipices  which  lay  in  our  path,  and 
which  are  not  the  less  dangerous  because  they  are  decked  with  flowers. 
The  moralist  truly  tells  us,  that  the  most  perfect  things  of  this  world 
yet  carry  with  them  the  taint  of  imperfection.  The  all-glorious  works 
of  nature  require  the  constantly  sustaining  and  corrective  hand  of 
their  great  Creator.  And  in  man,  and  in  all  the  labor  of  his  hands 
and  all  the  emanations  of  his  mind,  are  contained  the  seeds  of  decay 
and  dissolution.  We  may  not  hope  to  obtain  for  ourselves,  or  our 
country,  an  exemption  from  this  universal  law ;  but  we  may  hope  to 
effect  what  is  within  the  power  of  man  to  do,  what  it  was  meant  he 
should  do.  We  may  hope,  by  constant  watchfulness  and  exertions,  to 
repress  the  growth  of  every  noxious  principle  in  our  nature,  and  to 
stimulate  and  quicken  into  perfect  operation  all  the  great  and  noble 
ones." 

William  Powell  was  a  son  of  Hon.  Jonathan  Mason,  and  born  in 
Boston ;  and  was  prepared  for  college  under  Rev.  Dr.  Prentiss,  of 
Medfield.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1811,  at  which  time 
he  engaged  in  a  conference  respecting  the  character  of  New  England, 
as  resulting  from  the  ci\al,  literary  and  religious  institutions  of  our 
forefathers.  He  read  law  under  Hon.  Charles  Jackson ;  commenced 
the  practice  of  law  as  partner  with  Hon,  Wilham  Sullivan  ;  is  a  coun- 
sellor-at-law ;  and  married  Hannah,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Dennison 
Rogers.  At  the  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall,  on  the  day  of  the  delivery 
of  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article,  Hon.  James  Savage  pubHcly 
gave  the  sentiment,  that  the  orator  is  the  Mason  who  builds  by  prin- 
ciple an  edifice  that  shall  last  till  doomsday.  Mr.  Mason  was  a 
Boston  representative,  and  editor  of  Reports  of  Cases  in  the  U.  S. 
Circuit  Court,  from  1816  to  1830,  comprising  the  Decisions  of  Judge 
Story,  in  5  vols.  8vo.  They  will  honorably  class,  for  learning  and 
daily  practice,  with  the  ablest  reports  of  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Mason 
was  seven  years  treasurer  and  secretary  of  the  Social  Law  Library. 


BRADFORD  SUMNER. — NATHANIEL  GREENE.        449 
t 

BRADFORD   SUMNER. 

JULY  4,  1828.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  in  Taunton,  Mass.  ;  educated  at  tlie  academy  under  Mr. 
Doggett,  and  graduated  at  Brown  University,  in  1808 ;  was  a  tutor 
in  that  college  for  nearly  two  years ;  and  read  law  with  Hon.  Theron 
Metcalf  during  a  portion  of  his  novitiate  ;  settled  in  Boston ;  and  mar- 
ried Amelia  Bertody.  Is  a  counscllor-at-law ;  and  was  a  Boston 
representative  in  1826.  He  delivered  an  address  for  the  Massachu- 
setts Peace  Society,  in  1831,  which  was  published.  Mr.  Sumner  is 
eminent  for  chamber  counsel,  of  truly  estimable  character,  and  has 
frequently  been  a  candidate  for  Congress,  and  for  the  mayoralty  of 
Boston;  but,  not  being  of  the  popular  party,  was  always  defeated. 
He  is  a  decided  friend  of  popular  education,  and  has  been  twice  elected 
to  the  school  committee. 

In  his  oration  on  national  independence,  Mr.  Sumner  advances  an 
opinion  that  should  ever  impress  the  public  mind :  "I  would  not  pre- 
dict the  dismemberment  of  our  Union  at  any  future  period.  I  would 
gladly  indulge  the  belief  that  such  an  event  could  never,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  come  to  pass.  But  nothing  is  more  certain,  and  nothing 
more  obvious  to  the  common  observer,  than  that  all  the  virtue,  and  all 
the  wisdom,  and  all  the  patriotism,  that  we  can  ever  hope  to  exercise 
as  a  nation,  will  be  necessary  to  that  equal  adjustment  of  general  laws 
to  the  various  rights  and  interests  of  the  people  which  alone  can  pre- 
serve our  Union." 


NATHANIEL   GREENE. 

JAN.   8,   1828.    ON  THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

Was  born  at  Boscawen,  N.  II.,  May  20,  1797,  and  was  son  of 
Nathaniel  Greene,  a  reputable  counsellor  in  that  town  at  the  period 
when  Daniel  Webster  opened  an  office  there.  Owing  to  the  pecuniary 
reverses  and  subsequent  death  of  his  father,  in  1807,  Nathaniel  found 
himself  without  a  home,  dependent  solely  on  his  widowed  mother,  and 
his  own  exertions,  for  support.  Having  made  good  progress  at  the 
38* 


450  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

village  school  of  his  native  town  during  the  short  period  of  his  element- 
ary course,  he  was  enabled  to  procure  a  situation  in  a  variety  store ; 
but  the  business  of  measuring  tape  and  weighing  tea  vras  uncongenial 
to  his  mind.  He  had  read  the  ]\Iemoirs  of  Franklin,  and  it  became  the 
great  object  of  his  ambition  to  be  an  editor.  He  was  entirely  absorbed 
in  this  desire ;  and  the  mode  of  effecting  it  was  the  great  theme  of  his 
thoughts  by  day  and  dreams  by  night.  At  length,  a  prospect  opened 
to  his  delighted  vision.  The  famous  Isaac  Hill,  who  afterwards  rose  to 
the  highest  eminence  in  political  life,  established  a  Democratic  paper, 
in  May,  1809,  at  Concord,  entitled  the  New  Hampshire  Patriot. 
This  paper  was  taken  where  young  Greene  was  a  clerk,  and  he  pored 
over  it  with  great  enthusiasm ;  and,  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1809,  he 
proposed  his  service  to  ]\Ir.  Hill,  who  received  him  as  an  apprentice  to 
the  printing  business.  He  continued  nearly  two  years  in  this  office ; 
when,  finding  the  prospect  of  promotion  too  remote  from  the  editorial 
station,  he  engaged  in  a  neighboring  office,  where,  at  the  premature 
age  of  fifteen,  he  became  editor  of  the  Concord  Gazette,  until  January, 
1814,  when  he  removed  to  Portsmouth,  where,  until  the  next  year,  he 
assumed  the  charge  of  the  New  Hampshire  Gazette,  published  by 
Messrs.  Beck  &  Foster.  In  April.  1815,  he  removed  to  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  where  he  was  in  the  employ  of  Burrell  &  Tileston,  for  a  period 
of  two  years,  having  the  entire  charge  of  the  Haverhill  Gazette,  pub- 
lished by  them,  which  he  ably  conducted.  In  May,  1817,  Mr.  Greene 
made  his  first  appearance  as  an  editor  and  publisher  in  his  own  name, 
and  on  his  own  account,  in  a  new  Democratic  paper,  the  Essex  Patriot, 
which  he  conducted  until  invited  to  Boston,  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing another  Democratic  journal  in  that  city.  He  complied  with 
this  invitation,  and  established  the  Boston  Statesman,  which  was 
issued  Feb.  G,  1821,  semi-weekly,  then  tri-weekly,  and,  finally,  daily. 
It  soon  became  the  leading  Democratic  journal  of  the  State,  and  bore 
the  same  relation  to  this  party  as  had  the  old  Independent  Chronicle 
to  the  Bepublican  party,  and  exercised  a  controlling  influence  on  the 
pohtics  of  the  nation.  It  has  ever  been  strong  for  the  union  of  the 
States. 

Here  we  cannot  resist  the  desire  to  remark,  that,  however  much  the 
two  great  national  parties  of  Whig  and  Democratic  may  be  at  variance 
on  the  modes  of  public  policy,  no  candid  mind  can  doubt  that  patriotic 
love  of  country  is  the  moving  motive  of  all  the  conscientious  leaders  of 
conflicting  national  policy.     Is  it  not  a  question  whether  the  democracy 


NATHANIEL   GREENE.  451 

of  Thomas  Jefferson  -was  far  more  profound  and  conservative  than  the 
democracy  of  Andrew  Jackson,  and  whether  the  Whig  party  of  the 
present  day  is  not  more  democratic  than  was  the  Federal  party  under 
John  Adams  ?  Indeed,  it  is  our  decided  opinion,  that  the  unrestrained 
freedom  of  party  pohtical  discussion  in  our  land  has  strengthened  the 
bonds  of  the  national  union  ;  and  we  heartily  respond  to  the  opinion  of 
the  immortal  Jefferson,  that  "  so  we  have  gone  on,  and  so  we  shall  go 
on,  puzzled  and  prospering  beyond  example  in  history ;  and  shall  con- 
tinue to  grow,  to  multiply,  and  to  prosper,  until  we  exhibit  an  associa- 
tion powerful,  wise,  and  happy  beyond  what  has  yet  been  seen  by  men." 

The  Statesman  was  not  a  source  of  pecuniary  profit.  Mr.  Greene, 
having  always  been  a  decided  advocate  for  regular  nominations,  and 
a  firm  supporter  of  the  accustomed  usages  of  the  Democratic  party, 
warmly  sustained  the  nomination  of  William  H.  Crawford,  in  1823, 
for  the  presidency.  In  this  year,  Mr.  Greene  was  lieutenant  of  a 
militia  company,  and  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
company ;  but  military  habits  were  not  congenial  to  his  taste,  and  he 
soon  laid  aside  the  musket.  At  this  period,  a  majority  of  the  people 
of  New  England  were  advocates  of  John  Quincy  iVdams ;  and  the 
Boston  Statesman  felt  the  blighting  influence  of  its  unpopular  cause, 
in  the  diminution  of  its  patrons,  and  the  loss  of  business.  The  termi- 
nation of  that  contest  having  evinced  that  Andrew  Jackson,  although 
at  the  time  without  a  party  in  New  England,  had  received  a  larger 
number  of  Democratic  votes  than  any  other  candidate,  Mr.  Greene 
directly  assumed  that  fact  as  the  most  effective  nomination  that  could 
be  given,  and  pointed  him  out  as  the  most  suitable  representative  of  all 
those  who  had  opposed  Adams,  and  who,  remarks  the  Democratic 
Review,  "  were  resolved  to  mark  their  indignant  dissatisfaction  at  the 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Adams  had  been  elected  by  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, by  a  determined  opposition  to  his  administration."  However 
much  the  ire  of  the  Democracy  may  have  been  excited  at  this  decision  of 
the  house,  we  merely  inquire  whether  they  would  not  have  pursued  the 
same  course  in  like  circumstances.  From  that  moment,  the  Statesman 
gave  to  the  cause  of  AndrcAV  Jackson,  says  the  Democratic  Review, 
"a  firm,  consistent,  able  and  efiicient  support,  through  the  whole 
struggle  which  resulted  in  his  election  in  the  year  1828  ;  "  at  which 
period  Mr.  Greene  was  involved  in  great  pecuniary  loss,  and  in  debt  to 
a  large  amount. 

Mr.  Greene  married  Susan,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Batchelder. 


452  '        TUE    HUNDRED    EOSTOX    ORATORS. 

of  Haverhill;  and  their  son,  William  B.,  educated  at  West  Point,  for- 
merly a  lieutenant  in  the  U.  S.  army,  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Brook- 
field,  Mass.,  and  married  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Robert  G.  Shaw,  of 
Boston. 

While  editor  of  the  Statesman,  Mr.  Greene,  by  an  intense  applica- 
tion to  books,  acquii'ed  a  fine  taste  for  polite  literature,  and  made 
himself  fiimiliar  with  several  languages.  In  1833  he  pubhshed  an 
address  delivered  before  the  jNIassachusetts  Charitable  Mechanic  Asso- 
ciation. In  1836  he  published  a  compendious  History  of  Italy,  trans- 
lated from  the  Italian.  He  was  translator,  also,  of  Tales  from  the 
German,  2  vols.,  pubhshed  in  183T;  and  in  1843  he  published  Tales 
and  Sketches  from  the  German,  Italian,  and  French.  He  has  been  a 
contributor  to  several  annuals,  and  has  a  fine  poetic  fancy. 

Nathaniel  Greene,  iij  the  year  1829,  was  appointed  the  post-master 
of  Boston,  which  station  he  occupied  until  the  accession  of  Gen.  Harri- 
son to  the  presidency,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  George  William 
Gordon ;  —  and,  although  this  was  one  of  the  first  public  removals  of 
the  new  administration,  yet  one  of  the  last  measures  of  President 
Tyler  was  to  reinstate  Mr.  Greene  in  the  same  office,  which  he  occu- 
pied until  after  the  election  of  Zachary  Taylor,  who  appointed  William 
Hayden,  a  former  editor  of  the  Boston  Atlas,  as  his  successor ;  but, 
upon  the  rejection  of  the  latter  by  the  Senate,  Mr.  Gordon  was  again 
appointed,  in  1850.  INIr.  Greene  had  the  reputation  of  conducting 
this  department  to  the  entire  approval  of  the  national  executive,  and, 
by  his  urbane  and  conciliatory  deportment,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
pubhc  in  Boston ;  and  his  consistent  and  untiring  devotion  to  the 
Democracy  will  ever  endear  his  name  to  the  party.  It  was  declared 
of  him,  in  a  toast  at  the  public  festival  after  the  delivery  of  the  oration 
at  the  head  of  this  article,  that  he  ' '  has  portrayed  the  principles  of 
Jackson  Democracy  with  an  eloquence  and  spirit  corresponding  with 
the  talents  and  fortitude  exhibited  by  the  editor  of  the  Boston  States- 
man." Since  his  retirement  from  public  life,  Mr.  Greene  has  taken 
the  tour  of  Europe. 

In  the  course  of  remarks  on  the  battle  of  Xew  Orleans,  Mr.  Greene 
eloquently  urges,  in  the  oration,  that  the  brightest  flower  in  Jackson's 
wreath  of  victory  was,  that  "he  knew  not  only  to  conquer,  but  to 
spare.  In  the  trying  moment  of  victory,  when  the  mind  is  peculiarly 
liable  to  excess,  he  evinced  a  tenderness  for  human  life  which  does 
honor  to  his  heart,  and  adds  lustre  to  his  triumph.     The  crisis  is  past, 


JOSEPH   HARDY   PHIXCE.  453 

and  the  country  is  saved ;  he  Avill  not  pursue  a  flying  enemy,  to  swell 
the  tide  of  victory  by  the  unnecessary  effusion  of  human  blood, — 
humanity  is  not  compelled  to  weep  over  the  laurels  of  victory.  His 
country  had  intrusted  to  his  hands  the  lives  of  her  bravest  defenders, 
and  he  was  not  unmindful  of  tlie  sacred  trust.  He  watched  over  them 
with  paternal  care  ;  and  it  was  his  greatest  pride  to  restore  them 
unharmed  to  the  country  they  had  honored,  to  the  sacred  homes  they 
had  so  gallantly  protected.  This  it  is  which  so  richly  entitles  General 
Jackson  to  the  praise  bestowed  upon  his  victorious  companions-in- 
arms, '  The  gratitude  of  a  country  of  freemen  is  yours,  yours  the 
applause  of  an  admiring  world.'  How  changed  is  the  scene,  this  day, 
at  New  Orleans  !  There  is  no  longer  the  stern  look,  the  anxious 
brow,  the  tear  in  woman's  eye.  All,  all  are  joyful,  and  festivity  and 
triumph  rule  the  hour.  The  people  crowd  around,  and  hail  their 
deliverer.  The  men  who  stood  by  his  side  when  the  battle  raged 
hasten  to  press  the  hand  that  waved  encouragement  to  their  hearts  in 
that  awful  moment.  Mothers,  in  the  fulness  of  their  gratitude,  come 
forward  to  present  their  children  for  the  blessing  of  the  hero  who  saved 
the  sons  of  Louisiana  from  slavery,  and  her  daughters  from  violation. 
They  will  say  to  him,  '  We  remember  that,  on  the  night  when  the 
enemy  landed,  and  you  led  your  forces  forth  to  meet  him,  you  told  us 
"  The  enemy  shall  never  reach  :the  city;  "  and  well  was  your  pledge 
redeemed.  "We  offer  to  you  the  warm  tribute  of  our  gratitude,  and 
will  teach  our  children  and  our  children's  children  to  cherish  the 
memory  of  their  benefactor.'  " 


JOSEPH   HARDY   PRINCE. 

JULY  4,  1828.     FOR  THE   WASHINGTON   SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Salem,  and  son  of  Capt.  Henry  Prince.  He  read  law 
with  Hon.  John  Pickering,  after  having  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1819,  and  practised  law  in  Boston.  Was  a  representative  for 
Salem  in  1825.  Was  appointed  an  inspector  of  customs  in  1834. 
He  was  private  secretary  for  Com.  Elliot,  of  the  frigate  Constitution, 
in  1835,  on  the  voyage  to  France,  for  the  return  of  Hon.  Edward 
Livingston,   the  American  minister,   owino-  to  differences  with  that 


454  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

nation.  He  pursued  the  practice  of  law,  and  in  1848  -was  appointed 
to  the  surveyor's  department  of  customs,  at  Boston.  Mr.  Prince  lias 
ever  been  tenaciously  devoted  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  was  an 
early  advocate  for  Andrew  Jackson.  After  the  delivery  of  the  oration 
at  the  head  of  this  article,  Avhen  Andrew  Dunlap  moved  that  a  copy 
be  requested  for  the  press,  Mr.  Prince  said,  "  If  I  have  done  anything 
towards  re-kindling  the  fire  of  the  old  Democracy,  if  I  have  contrib- 
uted a  pebble  to  the  pile  in  the  cause  of  principle  against  corruption,  I 
shall  be  satisfied."  The  reply  to  objections  to  the  qualifications  of  the 
old  Roman  for  the  presidency  is  thus  impassionedly  poured  out  in 
caustic  severity : 

"  Stand  forth,  ye  spawners  of  fustian  romance  and  lascivious  lyric! 
ye  ribald  rhymesters  of  Dusky  Sally !  ye  professors  of  rhetoric !  ye  mod- 
ern Priscians  !  tear  from  the  brow  of  the  war-worn  veteran  and  patriot 
their  hard-earned  laurels !  Vindicate  your  claims  to  political  promotion 
and  civil  honors  !  I  would  be  the  last  to  decry  the  cultivation  of  a 
correct  and  elegant  literature.  It  is  our  Corinthian  column,  that  gives 
grace  and  dignity  to  our  institutions,  and  adorns  and  elevates  national 
character.  We  have  yet  to  see  our  Augustan  age, —  the  age  Avhen 
Roman  literature  flourished,  and  Roman  freedom  drooped.  It  is  true 
that  men  distinguished  as  orators,  poets  and  philosophers,  have  risen 
among  us ;  but  we  have  not  yet  produced  that  constellation  of  literary 
genius  which  is  to  guide  and  direct  posterity.  Our  business  has  been 
to  cement  and  strengthen  the  fabric,  not  to  adorn  it.  There  is  a  char- 
latanism of  literature  which  enervates  the  intellect,  and  renders  men 
unfit  for  the  arena  of  the  world, —  incapable  of  leading  in  government. 
I  would  apply  to  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  characters  of  your  mere 
man  of  literature  and  statesman  the  just  and  happy  remark  of  a  very 
great  man  —  INIr.  Brougham  —  on  the  expediency  of  making  clergy- 
men magistrates.  It  is,  that  the  combination  produces  what  the 
alchemists  call  a  tertian  quid,  with  very  little,  indeed,  of  the  good 
qualities  of  either  ingredient,  and  no  little  of  the  bad  ones  of  both, 
together  with  new  evils,  superinduced  by  the  commixture.  The 
remark  is  equally  just  and  applicable  on  either  side  of  the  water, —  on 
the  banks  of  the  Thames,  or  on  those  of  the  Charles, —  in  the  Middle- 
sex of  England,  or  the  Middlesex  of  Massachusetts.  Who  were  the 
ethereal  spirits  that  achieved  your  Revolution  7  Who  were  your  John 
Hancocks  and  your  Patrick  Henrys  ?  Who  were  most  of  the  immortal 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  7     They  formed  their  esti- 


JAMES  DAVIS  KNOWLES.  N  455 

mates  of  human  character,  not  from  books  alone,  but  from  a  close 
observation  of  men  in  all  ages,  in  all  times.  When  Themistocles  was 
asked  to  play  on  the  lute,  he  replied,  '  I  cannot  fiddle,  but  I  know 
how  to  make  a  small  city  a  great  one.'  He  could  not  sing  lascivious 
lyrics,  but  he  had  a  practical  knowledge  of  mankind.  It  is  true  that 
the  Republican  candidate  is  not  familiar  with  the  lucubrations  of  a 
parson.  He  was  not  nurtvired  in  the  groves  of  the  academy.  He  has 
never  sported  with  Amaryllis  in  the  shade,  or  with  the  tangles  of  a 
Nereis'  hair ;  but  he  has  the  great  talent  of  leading  men,  whether  in 
the  council  or  the  field.  He  had  not  a  wealthy  aristocracy  to  stand 
his  sponsors  at  the  baptismal  font,  nor  the  nurses  of  an  imperial  court 
to  amuse  him  with  the  innocent  ribbons  of  royalty.  No ;  the  son  of 
the  west  practised  on  the  useful  precepts  of  the  Spartan  chief,  that 
the  child  should  be  instructed  in  the  arts  which  will  be  useful  to  the 
man.  At  an  early  period  of  life  he  gave  presages  of  his  future  emi- 
nence. Emerging  from  obscurity,  fatherless,  motherless,  friendless, 
without  a  drop  of  his  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living  creature,  he  has 
exhibited  the  spectacle  of  a  man  bufieting  the  waves  of  fortune,  strug- 
gling with  and  surmounting  the  trying  vicissitudes  of  place  and  con- 
dition. Like  the  mighty  rivers  of  our  country,  whose  sources  are 
in  the  dark  and  hidden  retreats  of  the  mountains,  whose  grandeur  owes 
nothing  to  art,  dashing  before  their  impetuous  tide  rocks,  hills  and 
forestSj  he  stands  the  object  of  our  gaze  and  admiration." 


JAMES  DAVIS   KNOWLES. 

JULY   4,    1828.    FOR  THE   BAPTIST  CHURCHES,  BOSTON. 

Was  born  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  July,  1798,  and  the  second  son  of 
Edward  Knowles,  a  worthy  mechanic;  married  Susan  E.,  daughter 
of  Joshua  Langley,  of  that  city,  in  1826.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  twelve  years  of  age,  and  he  was  shortly  apprenticed  to  a  printer, 
where,  by  great  diligence,  he  was  enabled  to  become  a  contributor  of 
prose  and  verse  to  newspapers,  often  attributed  to  writers  of  maturity. 
In  July,  1819,  Mr.  Knowles  was  an  associate  editor  of  the  R.  I. 
American.  He  often  struck  the  lyre ;  and  among  the  most  felicitous 
efforts  of  his  muse  may  be  classed  his  stanzas  attempting  to  supply  the 


456  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

deficiency  of  Gray's  Elegy  in  religious  sentiment,  -^vhieh,  in  point  of 
beauty  and  tenderness,  may  well  compare  with  the  sweet  flowers  of  the 
English  poet.  While  employed  as  editor,  so  carefully  did  he  improve 
every  leisure  moment,  that  he  would  have  his  Greek  grammar  upon 
the  table  at  the  time  of  his  meals.  To  see  this  young  man  as  intently 
occupied  in  mental  nourishment  as  he  could  be  in  his  repast  for  phys- 
ical nutriment,  was  often  a  subject  of  remark  by  his  companions,  and 
he  soon  became  as  familiar  with  that  language  as  he  was  with  Latin 
and  French ;  indeed,  his  progress  in  study  was  so  efficient,  that  he 
was  admitted  to  college  in  advance  of  the  customary  period.  He 
earned  the  expenses  of  his  education  at  Columbian  College,  mainly  as 
editor  of  the  Columbian  Star,  established  at  Washington,  in  1822.  He 
had  entered  the  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  at  Philadelphia,  in 
1821,  conducted  by  William  Staughton.  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Irah  Chase. 
On  taking  his  degree,  December,  1824,  he  was  elected  a  tutor  of  the 
college,  which  station  he  occupied  until  his  ordination  as  pastor  of  the 
Second  Baptist  Church  in  Boston,  Dec.  28,  1825. 

While  a  student  at  college,  he  delivered  an  oration,  July  4,  1823, 
at  the  request  of  the  Eusonian  and  the  Ciceronian  societies,  which  is 
a  pure  specimen  of  polite  composition,  breathing  the  fervor  of  chaste 
and  patriotic  sentiment.     We  glean  from  it  this  choice  passage : 

"  Montgomery  has  beautifully  described  Columbus,  while  meditating 
on  his  great  expedition,  as  gazing  Avith  eager  anticipation  towards  the 
new  world  which  he  hoped  to  discover. 

'  "  Light  of  heaven  !  "  he  cried  ; 
"  Lead  on  ;  I  go  to  win  a  glorious  bride, 
By  nature  nursed  beyond  the  jealous  sea,  — 
Descried  to  ages,  but  betrothed  to  me."  ' 

This  bride  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  found  on  these  unvisited  shores.  On 
her  shady  bowers  no  rude  spoiler  had  intruded.  Xone  of  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  Old  World  had  found  their  way  into  her  bosom.  She  was 
worthy  to  be  the  bride  of  our  forefathers,  and  to  become  tbe  mother 
of  a  race  of  freemen." 

Of  Mr.  Knowles'  published  sermons,  we  have  no  knowledge  of 
more  than  two,  one  of  which  was  before  the  Boston  Baptist  As- 
sociation, September  16,  1829.  In  the  same  year,  he  published 
Memoirs  of  Ann  Hasseltine  Judson,  missionary  to  Burmah,  —  a  pro- 
duction which  will  render  his  name  imperishable.     In  1832  he  was 


JAMES  DAVIS   KNOWLES.  457 

elected  Professor  of  Pastoral  Duties  and  Sacred  Rhetoric,  in  the  New- 
ton Theological  Seminary,  and  his  inaugural  address  on  the  Importance 
of  Theological  Institutions  was  printed.  In  1829  he  published  also  a 
Fast  sermon,  entitled  "  Spirituous  Liquors  Pernicious  and  Useless." 
Mr.  Knowles,  as  a  sermonizer,  was  so  smooth  and  insinuating,  that  he 
captivated  many,  despite  his  distant  and  unsocial  habits ;  but  he  was 
warm  in  his  aflfections  toward  a  few  intimate  friends.  He  was  of  such 
keen  sensibility,  that  an  unkind  glance  would  offend  him ;  and  a  base 
slander  on  his  faultless  habits  probably  induced  him  to  leave  the  pas- 
toral office.  Is  it  not  questionable  whether  the  spirit  of  discipline,  in 
many  Baptist  churches,  is  worthy  the  mantle  of  Roger  Williams  7 

He  occupied  the  professorship,  with  close  devotion  and  abihty,  until 
his  decease,  which  occurred  May  9,  1838,  on  his  return  from  the  Mis- 
sionary Baptist  Convention,  at  New  York.  His  death  was  caused  by 
a  violent  attack  of  the  confluent  small-pox ;  and,  to  avoid  the  contagion 
of  his  remains,  they  were  laid  in  the  grave  at  midnight.  A  devoted 
friend  of  Professor  Knowles,  residing  at  Newton,  wrote  the  following 
effusion  from  the  heart,  on  the  impulse  of  the  calamity : 

"  They  bore  him  at  midnight  alone  midst  the  gloom 

In  which  night's  sable  pall  had  bound  him  ; 
No  solemn  obsequies  were  sung  at  his  tomb,  — 

No  kindred  nor  friends  stood  around  him. 
No  eulogy  we  would  pronounce  on  his  name, 

Nor  praises  of  flattery  give  ; 
No  tombstone  we  'd  raise  to  emblazon  his  fame,  — 

Without  them  his  -virtues  will  live. 
His  memory,  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  his  friends, 

Shall  live  when  the  marble  hath  perished  ; 
The  influence  he  shed,  as  the  dews  which  descend, 

Shall  Avater  the  plants  which  he  nourished." 

The  oration  pronounced  by  Mr.  Knowles,  at  the  rehgious  celebration 
of  independence,  in  the  year  1828,  on  the  perils  and  safeguards  of 
American  liberty,  clearly  evinces  that  his  tact  as  editor  in  the  political 
field  was  equal  to  his  ability  in  the  more  elevated  sphere  of  divinity. 
The  passage  on  the  danger  from  ambitious  and  unprincipled  political 
aspirants  is  worthy  of  any  statesman. 

One  of  the  strongest  indications  of  the  vigorous  advance  of  biblical 
and  classical  literature  in  our  republic  is  the  establishment  of  quarterly 
periodicals  in  the  principal  religious  sects,  comprising  contributions  of 
the  highest  oi'der  of  intellect.  The  Congregationahsts  have  their 
Bibliotheca  Sacra  and  the  New  Englander ;  the  Unitarians  have  their 
39 


458  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Examiner,  ■wliich,  for  refinement,  rivals  the  North  American;  the 
Episcopalians  have  their  Church  Review;  the  Methodists  have  their 
Quarterly  Review;  the  Lutherans  have  their  Mercersburg  Review; 
the  Presbyterians  have  their  Princeton  Review ;  the  Roman  Catholics 
have  their  Brownson's  Review ;  there  is  the  Universalist  Quarterly ; 
and  the  Baptists  have  their  Christian  Review,  radiating  the  light  of 
Newton  Theological  Seminary.  Professor  Knowles  was  the  first 
editor,  on  its  establishment,  in  1836,  and  exhibited  in  its  management 
great  learning  and  energy.  The  pastors  of  every  church  should  advise 
their  people  to  receive  in  their  families  the  favorite  quarterly  of  tneir 
denomination,  as  a  powerful  aid  to  religious  and  patriotic  progress; 
and  more  especially  should  it  be  in  the  hands  of  every  student  in 
divinity. 

As  the  annalist  of  the  life  and  times  of  Roger  Williams,  were  James 
Davis  Knowles  a  novitiate  of  Camden,  or  Leland,  he  could  not  have 
gathered  around  him  a  greater  mass  of  antiquarian  lore.  He  is  the 
first  extended  biographer  of  this  father  of  the  doctrine  that  the  civil 
power  has  no  control  over  the  rehgious  opinions  of  men ;  and  has  elab- 
orated a  memoir  that  Robert  Southey,  of  England,  gave  up  in  despair, 
for  want  of  materials ;  and  our  own  Jeremy  Belknap,  and  more  recently, 
Francis  Greenwood,  also  abandoned,  chiefly  for  similar  reasons.  The 
public  good  requires  a  new  edition  of  this  work,  with  additions ;  and 
no  author  can  write  a  memoir  of  Roger  Williams,  without  recourse  to 
this  production.  Mr.  Knowles  remarks  that  the  principles  of  Roger 
Williams  are  destined  to  spread  over  the  earth.  The  State  which  he 
founded  is  his  monument.  Her  sons,  when  asked  for  a  record  of  Roger 
Williams,  may  point  to  her  history,  unstained  by  a  single  act  of  perse- 
cution,—  to  her  prosperity,  her  perfect  freedom,  her  tranquil  happi- 
ness ;  and  may  reply,  in  the  spirit  of  the  epitaph  on  the  tomb  of  Sir 
Christopher  Wren,  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  "Look  around." 

It  is  pleasant  to  glance  at  this  work.  Roger  Williams  was  banished 
by  the  General  Court,  Nov.  3,  1635  ;  and  often  remarked  of  Gov. 
Winthrop,  that,  though  he  were  carried  with  the  stream  for  banishment, 
he  tenderly  loved  him  to  his  last  breath.  He  first  pitched  and  began 
to  plant  at  Seekonk ;  and,  in  referring  to  his  situation  at  this  time,  he 
wrote,  alluding  to  the  Indians  : 

"  God's  providence  is  rich  to  his,  — 
Let  none  distrustful  be  ; 
In  wilderness,  in  great  distress. 
These  ravens  have  fed  me." 


JAMES   DAVIS   KNOWLES.  459 

It  was  probably  in  the  summer  of  1636  that  Roger  Williams 
removed  to  the  spot  near  the  mouth  of  Washassuck  river,  beside  a 
spring;  to  which,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  "God's  merciful  provi' 
dence  to  him  in  his  distress,"  he  gave  the  name  of  Providence.  In  1643 
Wilhams  proceeded  to  England,  and  obtained,  by  the  aid  of  Sir  Henry 
Vane,  a  charter  for  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island.  It  was  at  this  period 
that  he  wrote  his  celebrated  work,  entitled  "The  Bloody  Tenet  of 
Persecution  for  Cause  of  Conscience,"  etc.,  in  which  he  maintained  the 
absolute  right  of  every  man  to  a  full  hberty  in  religious  concernments. 
Mr.  Knowles  says  that  Williams  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
writer,  in  modern  times,  who  decidedly  supported  this  opinion.  Bishop 
Heber  concedes  this  point  to  Jeremy  Taylor,  in  the  Liberty  of  Proph- 
esying ;  but  all  the  toleration  urged  by  Taylor  Avas  for  those  Christians 
only  who  unite  in  the  confession  of  the  apostles'  creed.  There  is  a 
passage,  however,  in  More's  Utopia,  written  one  hundred  years  before 
Williams'  day,  which  is  said  to  anticipate  everything  included  in  the 
principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  at  the  present  day.  But  then 
Sir  James  Mackintosh  questioned  whether  extravagances  were  not 
introduced,  in  other  parts  of  Utopia,  to  screen  the  bold  idea,  and  call  the 
whole  a  rare  sport  of  wit.  Even  Locke,  in  his  Essay  on  Toleration, 
goes  only  for  a  limited  liberty ;  and  we  must  yield  the  palm  to  Roger 
Williams,  as  the  first  decided  advocate. 

The  origin  of  this  work  is  too  singular  to  be  lost.  A  person  who 
was  confined  in  Newgate,  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions,  wrote  a 
paper  against  persecution.  Not  having  the  use  of  pen  and  ink,  he 
wrote  the  arguments  in  milk,  on  sheets  of  paper  brought  to  him  by  the 
woman,  his  keeper,  from  a  friend  in  London,  as  the  stopples  of  his 
milk-bottle.  In  such  paper,  written  with  milk,  nothing  will  appear ; 
but  the  way  of  reading  it  by  fire  being  known  to  his  friend  who  received 
the  papers,  he  transcribed  and  kept  them.  This  essay  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Cotton,  of  Boston.  He  wrote  a  reply,  of  which  Roger  Williams'  book 
is  an  examination.  The  title — "The  Bloody  Tenet" — is  a  fanciful 
reference  to  the  circumstance  that  the  original  paper  of  the  prisoner 
was  written  with  milk.  "  These  arguments  against  such  persecution, 
and  the  answer  pleading  for  it,  written,  as  love  hopes,  from  godly  inten- 
tions, hearts  and  hands,  yet  in  a  marvellous  different  style  and  man- 
ner :  —  the  arguments  against  persecution,  in  milk;  the  answer  for  it,  as 
I  may  say,  in  bloocl.^'  Mr.  Cotton  wrote  a  reply,  to  which  ho  gave 
the  quaint  and  punning  title,  "The  Bloody  Tenet  Washed  and  made 


460  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

White  in  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb."  Williams  rejoined  in  the  same 
strain :  '-The  Bloody  Tenet  yet  INIore  Bloody,  by  Mr.  Cotton's  Endeavor 
to  Wash  it  \\niito." 

Roger  Williams  enjoyed  the  personal  friendship  of  John  Milton  and 
Oliver  Cromwell,  which  no  doubt  had  a  tendency  to  rouse  his  ardor  for 
universal  toleration.  He  had  a  passion  for  poetry;  and  the  specimens 
which  his  Key  to  the  Indian  Languages  exhibits,  though  superior  to 
much  of  the  contemporary  rhyme  in  Morton's  Memorial  and  Mather's 
Magnaha,  are  inferior,  in  real  poetic  feeling  and  expression,  to  much  of 
his  prose  writings. 

"  I  have  heard  ingenuous  Indians  saye. 

In  debts  they  could  not  sleepe ; 
How  far  Tvorse  are  such  English,  then, 

Who  love  in  debt  to  keepe  ? 
If  debts  of  pounds  cause  restless  nights, 

In  trade  with  man  and  man. 
How  hard  's  the  heart  that  millions  owes 

To  God,  and  yet  sleepe  can  ? 
Debts  paid,  sleep  's  sweete ; 
Sins  paid,  death  's  sweete  ; 
Death's  night  then  's  turned  to  light ; 

Who  dies  in  sinne  unpaid,  that  soul 
Has  lio;hts  eternal  night." 


JOHN  WARREN   JAMES. 

MARCH  4,   1829.     INAUGURATION  OF  PRESIDENT  JACKSON. 

In  the  spirited  oration  of  Mr.  James,  we  have  an  illustration  of  the 
fact  that  "  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  New  England  have  exhib- 
ited a  lofty  and  generous  democratic  spirit  in  every  period  of  their 
pohtical  history,  whether  colonial  or  republican ;  and  the  endeavor 
to  perpetuate  the  existence  of  aristocracy  among  our  people  was  as 
clear  under  the  royal  race  of  the  English  Stuarts,  as  during  the  Con- 
federation or  the  Revolution.  At  the  time  when  King  James  the 
First,  of  England,  was  reproving  his  Parliament  for  presuming  to 
meddle  in  matters  of  state  above  their  capacity,  forbidding  his  subjects 
in  general  even  to  discourse  of  such  affairs,  and  the  homihes  of  the 
church  were  inculcating  passive  obedience  to  the  divine  right  of  kings, 


JOHN  WARREN  JAMES.  461 

the  democracy  of  Boston,  in  the  course  of  the  three  first  years  of  their 
nevr  settlement,  bid  his  majesty  open  and  repeated  defiance.  They  set 
aside  his  i-oyal  charter,  estabhshed  a  House  of  llepresentatives,  took 
into  their  own  hands  the  choice  of  governor,  deputy-governor  and 
assistants,  and  fined  the  executive  council  for  disobeying  their  com- 
mands. 

"A  policy  of  a  very  different  complexion  was  shortly  after  pursued 
by  a  sinister  junto  at  the  same  settlement.  This  party  gave  its  sanc- 
tion to  a  compact  with  certain  persons  of  quality  in  the  mother  coun- 
try, among  whom  were  the  Lords  Say  and  Brooke,  to  induce  their 
emigration  to  Boston  on  certain  conditions,  among  which  were  these : 
That  the  new  commonwealth,  to  be  instituted  for  the  accommodation 
of  their  lordships,  should  consist  of  two  distinct  ranks,  —  the  first  to  be 
hereditary  gentlemen,  and  the  second  common  freeholders ;  and  that 
the  governor  should  always  be  chosen  from  the  rank  of  hereditary 
gentlemen. 

' '  These  propositions  were  accordingly  assented  to  by  one  of  the 
Boston  clergymen  of  that  day,  who,  in  behalf  '  of  such  leading  men  as 
he  thought  meet  to  consult  withal,'  admitted  that  the  two  ranks  of  gen- 
tlemen, and  of  the  common  people,  mentioned  by  their  lordships,  were 
sanctioned  both  by  Scripture  and  the  light  of  nature ;  and  the  rev- 
erend politician  adds  this  declaration  :  Democracy  I  do  not  conceive 
that  ever  God  did  ordain  as  a  fit  government,  either  for  church  or  com- 
monwealth ;  for,  if  the  people  are  governors,  who  shall  be  governed '? 

' '  It  does  not  appear  that  the  people  of  Boston  assented  to  this  inter- 
pretation of  the  laws  of  nature  and  revelation  ;  for  they  established  a 
government  on  the  principles  of  a  pure  democracy,  which  was  continued 
for  two  centuries,  and  then  abandoned  from  necessity. 

"  To  say  nothing  of  the  Tories  of  the  Revolution,  to  whom  these 
doctrines  were  regularly  transmitted,  and  passing  over  the  well-known 
sentiments  in  favor  of  a  distinction  of  ranks  avowed  by  the  Presiden- 
tial successor  of  Washington,  as  well  as  his  recognition  of  an  existing 
absolute  oligarchy,  we  find  opinions  expressed  in  the  convention  that 
formed  the  federal  constitution  quite  repugnant  to  the  general  sentiment 
of  the  people. 

'  •'  Some  of  the  most  able  of  that  illustrious  body  announced  as 

settled  maxims  that,  as  all  communities  divide  themselves  into  the  few 

and  the  many,  and  as  there  has  always  been  an  aristocracy  in  every 

government,  ancient  or  modern,  the  peoi^le  would  never  be  safe,  unless 

30* 


462  '  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

this  aristocracy  were  gratified  witli  honors  and  emoluments ;  and  that 
■we  must  proceed  to  the  confines  of  a  monarchical,  if  we  would  have  a 
solid  republican  government.  Others  thought  that  monarchy  would  be 
the  best  government,  if  we  could  have  a  House  of  Peers ;  but  we  were 
too  poor  for  that,  as  there  were  not  in  the  whole  confederacy  one  hun- 
dred gentlemen  of  sufiicient  fortune  to  establish  a  nobility ;  and  it  was 
insisted  that  the  executive  arid  senatorial  branches  of  government  ought 
to  be  a  wealthy  aristocracy,  and  chosen  for  life.  In  fact,  a  strong  party 
in  that  convention,  representing  a  stronger  out  of  it,  indicated  in  their 
opinions  but  little  sympathy  with  the  temper  of  the  people,  manifestly 
undervalued  their  capacity,  and  displayed  a  rooted  prejudice  in  favor 
of  the  European  theories  of  government,  founded  on  the  assumption 
of  that  incapacity. 

"But  they  were  afterwards  taught  their  best  lessons  in  the  school 
of  the  people  ;  and,  with  whatever  contempt  a  portion  of  these  accom- 
phshed  statesmen  might  have  regarded  the  favorite  maxim  of  Locke, 
that '  the  science  of  politics  is  nothing  more  than  common  sense  applied 
to  public  aifairs,'  still  there  were  some  among  them  who  profited  by  the 
instruction,  and  became  ornaments  to  the  republican  party  of  a  subse- 
quent period.  They  lived  long  enough  to  discover  that  too  much  reli- 
ance might  be  placed  on  the  patriotism  of  the  government,  and  too 
little  on  the  wisdom  of  the  governed. 

"The  menibers  of  this  convention  were  all  republicans,  so  far  as 
they  yielded  their  reluctant  assent  to  the  forms  of  the  republican  frame 
of  government  which  they  had  recommended  to  their  countrymen. 
Yet  it  was  obvious  that  an  anti-republican  spirit  might  be  infused  into 
its  administration ;  and  one  of  its  most  distinguished  framers,  at  the 
time  of  its  ratification,  declared  that  its  character  would  depend  upon 
its  construction, 

"Experience  soon  justified  the  prophetic  declaration.  The  spirit 
of  the  people,  as  expressed  in  that  instrument,  was  exorcised  by  the 
genius  of  philology,  and  their  will  interpreted  until  it  passed  their 
comprehension.  A  technical  system  of  construction  was  established, 
which,  like  the  royal  prerogative  claimed  by  the  Tudors  and  Stuarts  of 
England,  contains  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  latent  powers ;  so  that  its 
authors,  as  this  power  is  to  be  usurped  by  rulers,  or  liberty  dispensed 
to  the  people,  have  found  means  to  take  by  the  spirit  what  they  are 
denied  by  the  letter,  and  withhold  by  the  letter  what  is  given  by  the 
Bpii'it. 


JOHN   WARREN   JAMES.  463 

"  It  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  infer,  from  these  remarks,  that  the 
same  projects  which  gilded  the  visions  of  the  advocates  of  hereditary 
gentlemen  among  the  Puritans,  or  of  the  hereditary  and  legislative 
aristocracy  among  the  members  of  the  federal  convention,  are  still 
entertained  by  the  existing  opponents  of  democratic  principles.  We 
need  not  do  such  injustice  to  their  probity  or  their  understandings. 
This  wary  and  temporizing  class  of  society  take  special  care  to  change 
their  means,  and  modify  their  ends,  according  to  the  exigencies  of  their 
situation ;  but  the  spirit  that  inspires  them  is  ahvays  and  everywhere 
the  same.  Towering  in  their  '  pride  of  place,'  it  is  the  instinct  of 
these  well-trained  falcons  of  the  State  to  wanton  at  large  in  airy 
circles,  before  they  stoop  to  their  quarry." 

We  here  quote  a  passage  of  great  power,  equally  adapted  to  the  two 
great  political  parties  of  the  Union,  which  should  be  emblazoned  in 
every  town-house  and  ward-room,  or  at  every  depository  of  the  ballot- 
box  :  "If  you  leave  the  tents  of  your  fathers,  where  will  you  go 7 
Would  you  seek  shelter  for  your  republican  principles  —  would  you 
teach  your  children  to  seek  shelter  for  theirs  —  with  those  temporary 
combinations  of  men,  for  temporary  purposes,  which,  like  the  mountain 
torrent,  rise  and  rage,  and  die  away  with  the  tempest  that  gives  them 
birth  ?  Or  will  you  join  such  associations  as  are  made  up  of  unpopu- 
lar minorities,  who  have  lost,  because  they  did  not  deserve,  the  public 
esteem  ;  and  of  seceders  from  your  own  party,  whose  principles  were 
too  lax  for  confidence,  or  whose  aims  were  too  high  for  gratification  ?• 
Are  these  the  new  principles  you  would  purchase  at  the  expense  of 
old?  For  such  novelties,  are  you  prepared  to  make  concessions  of 
principle,  to  conciliate  mutual  interests,  and,  to  carry  a  single  point  on 
which  you  agree,  hazard  a  multitude  on  which  you  differ  ?- 

"Is  it  for  this  you  are  ready  to  go  where  the  best  creed  of  the  day 
will  be  that  which  will  carry  the  vote  of  the  day ;  where  the  shortest 
road  to  power  will  be  made  the  right  road ;  where  the  friendship  of 
the  people  must  be  abandoned  for  the  patronage  of  the  great,  and  you 
must  become  the  pliant  followers  of  men,  instead  of  the  proud  votaries 
of  principle ;  where  those  the  most  unlike  the  lion  will  take  the  lion's 
share  ;  where  you  will  be  insensibly  led  o|j  to  support  indiscriminately 
any  administration  that  will  indiscriminately  support  you ;  —  a  course 
that  banishes  integrity  and  confidence  out  of  public  proceedings,  and 
confounds  the  best  men  with  the  worst,  and  is  a  general  previous  sanc- 
tion to  misgovernment ;  where  pubhc  spirit  is  swallowed  up  in  cabal, 


4C4  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

and  party  sinks  into  faction ;  and  where,  after  having  been  tost  about 
among  the  shifting  eddies  of  interest,  and  made  dizzy  -with  a  wild  rota- 
tion of  opinions,  you  are  prepared  to  become  a  mere  free-thinker  in  pol- 
itics, ready  to  propagate  any  doctrine  that  stands  highest  in  the  price- 
current  of  the  day  7  In  short,  fellow-citizens,  as  you  cherish  a  manly 
pride  in  the  stability  of  a  consistent  scheme  of  politics,  continue  to 
resist  the  predatory  incursions  of  disappointed  seceders,  hair-brained 
visionaries,  and  time-serving  adventurers  from  broken-down  minorities, 
who  would  come  among  you  to  delude  the  weak,  and  to  defame  the 
strong ;  and  may,  in  the  end,  as  heretofore,  drive  you  from  the  vantage- 
ground  of  victory,  and  confound  you  with  successive  hordes  of  such 
disorganizing  and  restless  spirits  as  the  great  Scottish  novelist  describes 
in  one  of  his  graphic  fictions, —  men  who  '  will  run  with  the  hare  and 
hunt  with  the  hound,  and  be  Whig  or  Tory,  saint  or  sinner,  as  the  wind 
stands.'  " 

John  Warren  James  was  born  in  Boston,  in  the  year  1802,  and  was 
the  youngest  son  of  Serg.  Benjamin  James,  who  was  engaged  in  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age.  Among  the 
throng  of  spectators  on  Copps  Hill,  was  a  young  female,  gazing  with 
intense  interest  to  learn  the  result.  This  young  person  Avas  Eunice 
Jennison,  who  afterwards  was  married  to  the  young  sergeant,  his 
father.  He  received  his  elementary  education  at  Master  Tileston's 
school,  and  pursued  the  higher  branches  at  the  Providence  Academy; 
after  which,  he  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  under  the  guidance  of  Wil- 
liam Thurston,  a  respectable  counsellor  at  Boston.  He  was  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  Boston  Debating  Society,  and  his  name  is  the  first 
entered  on  the  roll  of  members.  He  was  one  of  the  readiest  dis- 
putants of  the  club ;  and  it  was  by  the  animated  discussions  among 
them,  on  the  expediency  of  a  city  charter  imposing  new  municipal 
restraints,  that  the  change  from  toAvn  government  was  hastened.  ]\Ir. 
James  was  admitted  a  counsellor-at-law  at  the  Sufiblk  bar,  in  1823, 
and  his  success  as  advocate  for  a  free  bridge  to  South  Boston  prompted 
his  nomination  to  the  State  Senate  in  1827 ;  but  his  election  was 
defeated.  He  was  for  ten  years  a  member  of  the  city  Council,  and 
prepared  the  report  on  th(^  condition  of  the  House  of  Reformation 
for  Juvenile  Ofienders,  established  in  1826, —  a  document  of  great 
value,  for  an  elaborate  exhibition  of  the  proper  management  of  such 
an  institution.  Mr.  James,  from  a  long  experience  in  municipal  affairs, 
became  remarkably  familiar  with  municipal  duties  ;    and,  though  often 


JOUN  WARREN  JAMES.  465 

in  the  minority,  his  persuasive  arguments,  advanced  -with  peculiar 
fluency,  often  restrained  the  majority  from  the  exercise  of  too  great  a 
sweep  of  power,  and  he  has  done  as  much  to  reform  city  abuses  as  any 
member  of  the  municipality.  In  1827  Mr.  James  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Boston  Association  of  the  Friends  of  Ireland  for  Catholic 
Emancipation, —  and  their  great  object  was  granted  by  the  British 
government  in  the  year  succeeding. 

Mr.  James  was  an  active  leader  of  the  Democracy ;  and  the  address  to 
the  people  on  behalf  of  the  Democratic  legislative  convention  in  Boston, 
extending  over  ten  closely-printed  columns  of  the  Statesman  of  July 
12,  1828,  was  the  production  of  his  hand.  It  is  a  remarkable  docu- 
ment, advocating  the  election  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  the  presidency ; 
and  was  said  to  have  been  the  means  of  the  appointment  of  Andrew 
Dunlap  to  the  office  of  U.  S.  District  Attorney,  it  being  supposed  that 
he  was  the  author.  In  this  elaborate  round  of  argument  from  the 
warm  advocate  of  Andrew  Jackson,  when  alluding  to  the  admiration  of 
the  intellectual  acquisitions  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  upon  which  his 
adherents  expatiated,  Mr.  James  says,  "  One  is  sometimes  led  to  sus- 
pect, while  listening  to  their  flagrant  panegyrics,  that,  instead  of  describ- 
ing that  devoted  public  spirit,  that  unclouded  understanding,  and  that 
knowledge  of  mankind,  peculiarly  becoming  the  chief  magistrate  of  a 
practical  and  unostentatious  people,  these  executive  admirers  were 
indulging  their  genius  in  encomiastic  disquisitions  on  a  modern  Pliny, 
or  another  Sir  William  Jones ; "  and,  in  enlarging  on  the  qualifications 
of  Andrew  Jackson,  Mr.  James  remarks,  that  "his  varied  and  success- 
ful avocations  in  the  camp,  the  senate,  and  the  forum,  have  contributed 
to  enlarge  his  views,  and  endow  him  with  a  fund  of  general  knowledge 
of  the  most  useful  and  practical  character.  As  a  writer,  he  thinks 
clearly,  and  expresses  his  thoughts  with  an  air  of  thorough  conviction, 
in  a  style  of  manly  simplicity  and  freedom."  Moreover,  Mr.  James 
says  that  ' '  Jackson  has  not  studied  men  through  the  spectacles  of 
books ;  and  would  reply  to  his  detractors  in  the  language  of  Hobbes,  a 
truly  learned  English  philosopher,  '  If  I  had  read  as  much  as  some 
others,  I  should  have  been  as  ignorant  as  they  are.'  The  dramatic 
terror  inspired  by  the  election  of  military  chiefs  to  the  presidency  must 
rapidly  pass  away,  after  escaping,  unscathed,  from  the  administrations 
of  such  generals  as  Washington,  Jackson,  Harrison  and  Taylor.  Wis- 
dom and  capacity  are  the  standards  in  the  selection  of  a  national  ruler, 
rather  than  one's  vocation. 


466  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

At  the  festival  in  "Washington  Garden,  after  the  dehvery  of  the 
oration  named  at  the  head  of  this  article,  Col.  C.  G.  Greene  gave  the 
complimentary  sentiment  to  the  orator  of  the  day,  that  "his  genius 
and  eloquence  will  be  associated  Avith  the  recollections  of  one  of  the 
most  glorious  triumphs  of  Democracy  —  the  inauguration  of  Andrew 
Jackson  ;"  and  Gov.  Marcus  Morton  has  been  heard  to  remark  of  Mr. 
James,  that  he  was  the  purest  belles  lettres  scholar  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Boston  Democracy. 

Mr.  James  was  a  tenacious  opponent  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
and  prepared  twenty-eight  resolutions,  adopted  at  a  meeting  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  March  31,  1834,  William  Foster  moderator,  declaring  that  a 
renewal  of  its  charter  would  be  injurious,  "as  it  drains  the  country  of 
its  gold  and  silver,  and  imposes  inconvertible  and  illegal  drafts  as  sub- 
stitutes, and  charges  the  government  giving  credit  to  such  paper  with 
deranging  the  currency;  it  establishes  a  standing  premium  for  the 
encouragement  of  forgery,  by  issuing  myriads  of  such  drafts,  bearing 
an  unknown  number  of  signatures ;  and  votes  away  its  funds  for  the 
detection  of  counterfeiters,  whose  paper  is  as  legal  as  the  drafts  they 
imitate, —  both  issues  being  unknown  to  the  law,  and  neither  party  pun- 
ishable for  the  offence, —  causing,  also,  revulsions  in  business,  by  abun- 
dant emissions  to-day  and  despotic  contractions  to-morrow."  These 
resolutions  were  sent  to  Congress,  together  with  a  memorial  signed  by 
George  Alexander  Otis,  and  nearlj-  three  thousand  residents  of  Boston. 

Mr.  James  was,  at  four  several  elections,  a  candidate  for  the  Boston 
mayoralty, —  first  in  1834 ;  but  the  Democracy  found  no  favor.  He 
married  Julia  B.,  the  only  child  of  Ralph  Huntington,  Esq.,  April 
14,  1836  ;  and  was  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  from 
1840  to  1849,  during  which  period  the  active  mind  of  Mr.  James  con- 
ceived the  philanthropic  object  of  an  institution  for  the  education  of 
persons  in  mature  life,  who,  from  poverty  and  other  causes,  had  never 
pursued  a  course  of  common,  school  education,  and  who  could  neither 
read  nor  write  in  any  language, —  and  more  especially  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  young  persons  of  both  sexes  not  admissible  to  public  schools. 
He  was  devotedly  seconded,  in  this  enterprise,  by  the  late  Dr.  John  D. 
Fisher,  Dr.  ^Valter  Channing,  and  George  B.  Emerson,  all  of  whom 
were  eminent  in  labors  of  philanthropy.  In  the  winter  of  1845,  they 
originated  the  Boston  Institution  for  the  Education  of  Adults,  which 
continued  in  active  operation  for  more  than  three  years.  Our  city 
government  granted  the  use  of  the  public  ward-rooms  during  evening 


JOHN    WARREN    JAMES.  467 

hours,  but  all  other  expenses  were  defrayed  by  the  society  and  its 
patrons.  In  the  onset,  it  was  delightful  to  observe  the  desire  of  people 
of  various  nations  to  receive  instruction.  Here  you  would  notice  the 
Irish,  French,  German  and  Italian,  acquiring  knowledge  with  the 
facility  of  youth,  diverted  from  the  haunts  of  city  vice.  Arrangements 
were  made  for  a  course  of  free  lectures  to  the  pupils,  on  Food  and 
Clothing,  Air  and  Ventilation,  Morals  and  Pohtical  Economy,  Human 
Physiology,  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Municipal  Law.  The  pro- 
gramme of  this  institution,  under  fourteen  specifications,  adopted  Jan. 
31,  1845,  is  a  model  for  every  city  and  town  in  the  Union.  Unsuc- 
cessful endeavors  have  been  devised  to  effect  the  adoption  of  evening 
adult  schools,  under  the  patronage  of  our  city  authorities ;  —  but,  to 
the  honor  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  be  it  recorded,  this  noble 
project  has  been  established  by  their  city  authorities,  and  thousands, 
of  many  nations,  are  reaping  its  benefits ;  and  they  and  their  posterity 
will  have  occasion  to  bless  the  generous  Bostonians  who  originated, 
here,  this  new  lever  of  moral  power.  The  period  is  not  remote  when 
our  municipality  will  adopt,  also,  this  useful  enterprise,  as  it  will 
diminish  the  incitements  to  crime  amongst  us, —  especially  as  a  statute 
has  been  recently  enacted  by  the  State  Legislature,  authorizing  every 
town  in  the  State  to  tax  the  inhabitants  for  the  support  of  such 
schools. 

Prompted  by  this  generous  spirit  of  philanthropy,  the  natural  germ- 
ination of  a  pure  scion  of  Bunker  Hill  stock,  Mr.  James  was  one  of 
the  originators  and  first  president  of  the  Boston  Association  of  the 
Friends  of  Ireland,  established  November,  1840, —  an  institution  of 
American  citizens  and  denizens,  and  natives  of  Ireland  not  naturalized, 
without  distinction  of  sect  or  party  (the  president  himself  being  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church),  for  purposes  connected  with 
the  sufiering  condition  of  the  oppressed  sons  of  Ireland.  On  the  22d 
of  February,  1841,  Mr.  James  reported' an  address,  of  seven  columns 
in  extent,  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Boston  Repeal  Association,  to 
be  presented  to  the  National  Bepeal  Association  of  Ireland,  wherein  he 
stated  that  for  some  time  the  people  of  Ireland  have  desired  a  parlia- 
mentary separation  from  Great  Britain,  as  the  only  means  of  indi- 
vidual comfort  or  national  prosperity.  "Anxious  to  be  united  by 
political  ties,  they  wish  to  be  legislatively  separated,  —  subject  to  one 
imperial  crown,  and  that  the  English,  yet  each  country  to  have  its 
own  domestic  parliament,  for  the  benefit  of  laws  especially  adapted  to 


468  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

the  peculiar  condition  of  each.  In  one  ^vord,  Ireland  demands  the 
restoration  of  her  ancient  constitution,  as  irrevocably  guaranteed  to  her 
by  the  English  Parliament  of  1782,  but  sacrilegiously  violated  by  the 
fraudulent  union  of  1800, —  of-^vhich  alone  they  demand  the  repeal, 
as  the  basis  of  a  new  union,  to  which  both  the  kingdoms  may  be  con- 
senting parties." 

This  document  was  read  to  the  National  Repeal  Association  of  Ire- 
land, at  their  meeting  in  Dublin,  April  16,  1841 ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  a  donation  of  one  hundred  pounds  was  announced  from  the  asso- 
ciation of  Boston,  which  was  received  with  enthusiastic  applause.  We 
find  it  remarked  in  Mooney's  History  of  Ireland,  that  "the  address 
drawn  up  by  John  Warren  James,  Esq.,  will  be  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  Ireland  while  there  is  one  memorial  of  her  history 
existing.  An  unexpected  vista  opened,  through  which  we  could  dis- 
tinctly see  our  road  to  freedom;" — and  Daniel  O'Connell  said,  at 
this  meeting  :  "  It  will  be  heard  of  along  the  ridges  of  the  Himma- 
laya  Mountains  ;  it  will  be  read  by  the  Royal  Irish  at  Chusan,  or  at 
China ;  it  will  be  known  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  it  will  cross  over 
to  South  America  ;  and  it  will  resound  again  through  the  regions  of 
North  America.  Wherever  the  English  language  is  known,  jt,  also, 
will  be  known, —  except  in  England,  where,  to  the  disgrace  of  that 
people  be  it  spoken,  their  ignorance  and  horrible  prejudices  are  too 
strong  to  permit  of  its  being  allowed  to  appear.  But  they  will  be  held 
up  to  scorn  and  contempt  wherever  it  is  seen.  The  world  will  wonder 
how  it  is  that  a  people  so  brave,  so  temperate,  so  generous,  and  so 
moral,  as  the  Irish,  have  suffered  so  much  persecution ;  and  that,  too, 
from  a  nation  who  have  never  at  any  time  inflicted  anything  but  mis- 
eries upon  us.  Yes ;  I  will  stand  on  that  document  as  on  a  pyramid, 
and,  looking  round  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  I  will  demand  of 
them  to  tell  me  a  single  good  act  which  England  ever  did  for  Ireland. 
I  tell  English  statesmen  that  one  thing  demonstrated  by  that  lengthy 
document  is  this, —  that  it  is  not  the  expression,  alone,  of  the  feehngs 
and  thoughts  of  one  individual,  but  that  it  expresses  the  feelings  and 
thoughts  of  the  country.  For  no  one  man  could  obtain  all  the  details 
requisite  to  enable  him  to  produce  that  document ;  they  must  be  the 
familiar  thoughts  of  the  people,  and  the  familiar  subject  of  conversation 
with  each  other.  It  proves  that  the  entire  American  mind  must  be 
impregnated  with  the  same  feeling  and  sentiments :  and  it  proves,  also, 
that  not  only  are  those  their  feelings,  but  they  are  ready  to  act  upon 


JOHN   WARREN   JAMES,  469 

them.  It  came  from  Boston,  the  birth-place  of  American  freedom, 
the  grave  of  English  tyranny;  the  spot  where  English  force  and 
violence  shot  down  the  unresisting  Americans,  and  the  spot  to  which 
the  defeated  English  troops  returned  in  disgrace  and  discomfiture, 
having  begun  the  fight  by  assassination,  and  ended  it  by  a  flight." 

We  will  quote  an  effective  appeal  to  Queen  Victoria,  from  the  elab- 
orate and  argumentative  "Address"  of  Mr.  James,  so  splendidly  pan- 
egyrized by  O'Conncll:  "Protection  and  allegiance  are  reciprocal. 
This  is  the  conditional  tie  between  the  governors  and  the  governed. 
What  has  England  done  to  discharge  her  part  of  this  condition  to  the 
allegiance  of  Ireland  ?  History  answers  the  question,  and  humanity 
blushes  at  the  response.  And  has  Ireland,  on  her  part,  been  a  disloyal 
kingdom  7  The  Tory  champion  of  English  loyalty  answers,  '  That 
noble  race  was  made  for  loyalty  and  religion.'  True;  always  true, 
and  emphatically  so  now.  The  Irish  are  as  loyal  as  generous  hearts 
and  warm  imaginations  can  make  them.  They  love  their  present  royal 
mistress,  as  they  ought  to  love  an  amiable,  upright,  and  liberal-minded 
sovereign.  Feeling  that  they  are  blessed  with  a  good  queen,  they  look 
for  a  completion  of  the  blessing  in  a  good  constitution.  Victoria  owes 
them  no  less  than  this,  as  a  debt  of  restitution  on  behalf  of  her  ances- 
tors. Irishmen  demand  no  less  than  this,  in  the  name  of  their  progen- 
itors, for  the  sake  of  the  present  generation,  and  in  mercy  to  their  pos- 
terity. And,  while  their  hearts  swell,  and  their  imaginations  kindle, 
with  the  cherished  anticipation  of  this  great  act  of  retributive  justice, 
it  is  but  natural  that  they  should  behold  in  their  youthful  sovereign 
what  the  greatest  of  orators  described  in  a  sister  potentate,  as  she 
appeared  to  him,  '  cheering  and  decorating  the  elevated  sphere  she  just 
began  to  move  in,  glittering  like  the  morning  star,  full  of  life  and 
splendor  and  joy.'  0  !  may  no  sinister  fortune  darken  this  splendid 
vision,  as  its  precursor  was  darkened ;  or  harden  the  royal  heart  to  the 
imperial  luxury  of  living  and  reigning  in  the  hearts  of  an  enfranchised 
people, —  a  people  whom  Titus  might  have  sighed  to  govern;  whom 
Henry  of  Navarre  would  have  struggled  through  a  life  of  warfare  to 
have  supplied  with  a  chicken  in  the  pot ;  whom  Alfred  would  have  given 
his  crown  to  have  liberated ;  and  to  whom  Washington  would  have  been 
the  father  ho  was  to  Americans,  and  have  gone  down  to  the  dust  of  the 
Emerald  Isle  with  the  prophetic  consciousness  that  the  redeemed  of 
no  age  or  nation  would  so  consecrate  his  memory,  or  defend  his  acqui- 
sitions, as  the  coming  generations  of  free  and  happy  Irishmen." 
40 


470  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS, 

JAMES   TRECOTHIC   AUSTIN. 

JULY   4,  1829.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"  Massachusetts  is  the  mother  of  the  Revolution,"  says  Mr.  Aus- 
tin. "  Her  efforts  in  its  commencement  are  too  honorable  to  be  omitted 
in  the  heraldry  of  her  fame.  Earliest  and  alone,—  ^Yithout  aid,  Avithout 
alhes,  connections  or  confederacy, —  singly,  by  her  own  will,  she  dissolved 
the  royal  powers  within  her  own  territory  and  over  her  0"^\'n  people, 
and  assumed  to  herself  the  prerogative  of  independence.  When  her 
congress  of  delegates  assembled  at  Watertown,  in  defiance  of  the  royal 
charter,  and  spurned  the  representatives  of  the  crown,  and  assumed 
the  powers  of  civil  government,  and  took  possession  of  the  public  treas- 
ury, and  levied  taxes,  and  estabhshed  a  navy,  and  commissioned  that 
American  vessel  of  war  that  first  captured  a  British  ship  on  the 
ocean,  and  erected  maritime  courts,  and  appointed  judges,  and  admin- 
istered justice  to  belligerent  and  neutral  by  the  law  of  nations,  and 
raised  an, army,  and  nominated  ofBcers,  and  gathered  soldiers  under  the 
pine-tree  banner  of  Massachusetts,  and  poured  out  a  rich  libation  of 
blood  on  the  battle-field  of  freedom,  the  colonial  character  was  at  an 
end.  The  Revolution  had  begun.  The  State  was  then  free,  sovereign, 
and  independent. 

'  '•  Bring  to  the  imagination  that  band  of  determined  men,  assembled 
at  Watertown,  unarmed  and  defenceless,  witliin  cannon-shot  of  a  disci- 
plined army ;  their  fortunes  in  the  camp  of  a  miUtary  commander,  whose 
dignity  they  had  offended :  their  persons  liable  to  be  seized  and  sent  to 
Europe,  as  traitors ;  their  conduct  impeached  in  a  public  proclamation, 
and  two  of  them  proscribed  as  rebels,  whose  offences  were  too  heinous 
for  the  pardon  of  the  king.  Judge  of  their  anxiety,  in  that  time  that 
tried  men's  souls ;  their  immense  responsibiUty  to  the  country,  whose 
destiny  they  directed ;  to  their  children,  for  the  protection  that  was 
due  to  them ;  to  posterity,  for  that  political  condition  which  would  be  a 
legacy  of  honor  or  of  shame ;  to  their  God,  before  whom  they  were 
answerable,  and  felt  themselves  answerable,  for  all  the  blood  of  a  war 
they  might  accelerate  or  prevent.  How  indistinct  their  vision  of  the 
future,  even  when  a  strong  faith  threw  its  light  upon  their  souls  !  How 
difficult  their  task  to  keep  up  the  courage  of  the  timid,  the  hopes  of 
the  desponding,  the  strength  of  the  feeble ;  to  enhghten  the  ignorant, 


JAMES   TRECOTHIC   AUSTIN.  471 

restrain  the  rash,  supply  the  destitute,  and  impart  to  all  the  pure 
motives  which  consecrate  success.  Here  was  no  mad  ambition,  no  lust 
of  power,  no  allurement  of  interest,  no  scheme  of  personal  distinction. 
Few  of  them  are  remembered  in  history.  Yet  these  are  they  whose 
light  gave  promise  of  a  coming  dawn.  If  they  recede  from  the  gen- 
eral gaze,  it  is  in  the  noon-tide  splendor  of  a  brighter  day. 

*  They  set  as  sets  the  morning  star,  •which  goes 
Not  down  behind  the  darkened  west,  nor  hides 
Obscured  among  the  tempests  of  the  sky, 
But  melts  away  into  tlie  light  of  heaven.' 

"  Had  these  men  proved  incompetent  to  the  task,  the  battle  for  that 
generation  would  have  been  lost  when  it  began.  Independence  might, 
indeed,  have  been  obtained,  for  no  foreign  power  could  long  hold  a  con- 
tinent in  its  grasp  ;  but  the  struggle  must  have  been  made  in  this  age, 
and  not  that ;  and  the  desolation  of  civil  war,  which  marks  the  times 
of  our  forefathers,  would  have  been  the  melancholy  history  of  our 
own." 

James  Trecothic,  the  son  of  Jonathan  Loring  Austin,  was  born  in 
Boston,  January,  1784,  and  early  entered  the  Latin  School,  where  he 
received  a  Franklin  medal.  We  find,  in  the  Independent  Chronicle, 
the  youthful  oration  of  Master  Austin,  gracefully  spoken,  July  6, 
1798,  at  this  school,  then  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Samuel  Hunt,  it 
being  the  town  visitation  of  the  public  schools.  This  performance  of  a 
youth  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  written  by  himself  and  revised  by 
his  father,  is  a  striking  instance  of  precocity : 

"  The  anticipation  of  this  anniversary  ever  excites  in  our  youthful 
bosoms  the  most  pleasing  reflections.  On  this  day,  honored  Avith  the 
presence  of  our  political  fathers  and  generous  patrons,  our  little  hearts 
palpitate  with  various  emotions.  Emulous,  on  the  one  hand,  to  exhibit 
to  your  approbation  the  various  improvements  we  have  made  in  our 
several  classes  ;  and,  on  the  other,  to  cultivate  with  greater  ardor  those 
seeds  of  literature  planted  by  your  munificent  hand  in  this  primary 
garden  of  science. 

"From  the  first  settlement  of  this  country,  the  education  of  youth 
claimed  the  particular  attention  of  our  venerable  ancestors ;  but  since 
the  American  Revolution,  it  has  merited  a  preeminent  distinction,  and 
a  more  equal  and  diffusive  distribution  of  learning, — especially,  in  this 
metropolis,  has  been  considered  by  you  as  highly  important  to  the  secu- 
rity, happiness  and  freedom,  of  the  community. 


472  TEE   HUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

"As  ignorance  is  the  fatal  weapon  which  tyrants  wield  with  so  much 
success,  to  enslave  and  debase  mankind,  so  learning,  like  the  flaming 
sword  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  protects  the  fair  tree  of  Liberty,  and 
repels  every  invader  who  dares  to  violate  even  the  most  tender  branch. 
Education  inspires  the  mind  with  those  exalted  sentiments  which  add 
lustre  to  virtue,  veneration  to  the  Christian,  and  dignity  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the  patriot. 

""While,  therefore,  with  so  bountiful  a  hand,  you  are  desirous  to 
make  the  respective  stages  of  education  pleasing  and  agreeable, —  while 
your  liberal  efforts  are  intended  to  embellish  the  youthful  mind,  and 
supply  it  with  rational  and  useful  entertainment, —  it  behoves  us  not  to 
be  unmindful  of  the  blessings  we  enjoy.  Here,  we  may  lay  a  founda- 
tion on  which  the  faculties  of  the  human  mind  may  rise  to  their  highest 
elevation.  Cultivated  in  so  luxuriant  a  garden,  we  may  here  become 
invigorated  with  those  vital  principles  which,  under  proper  direction, 
will  enable  us  to  fulfil  the  benevolent  designs  of  public  schools,  gratify 
the  ardent  wishes  of  our  indulgent  parents,  encourage  the  efforts  of 
our  kind  preceptors,  and  enable  us,  through  life,  to  serve  our  God  and 
country  with  reputation. 

' '  Much,  respected  sir,  is  due  to  your  unabated  efforts  in  effecting 
the  laudable  designs  of  our  indulgent  patrons.  On  you  devolves  the 
task,  the  important  task,  '  to  rear  the  tender  thought, —  to  teach  the 
young  idea  how  to  shoot.'  To  your  patience,  to  your  assiduity  and 
zeal,  we  are  greatly  indebted  for  smoothing  the  paths  of  science,  by 
accurately  impressing  on  our  minds  the  highly  necessary  rules  and 
principles  of  grammar,  whereby  we  are  enabled  to  discern  the  beauties 
of  Cicero,  of  Virgil,  of  Horace,  and  of  Homer.  Long,  sir,  may  you 
continue  the  ornament  of  your  profession,  and  your  pupils  ever  revere 
those  virtues  so  highly  recommended  by  your  precepts,  so  eminently 
displayed  by  your  example. 

"In  addition  to  the  advantages  of  literature,  may  we  never  be 
unmindful  of  the  blessings  of  liberty.  "We  dwell  with  admiration  on 
the  record  of  that  persevering  fortitude,  and  those  heroic  actions,  which, 
under  the  blessing  of  Heaven,  completed  the  freedom  and  independence 
of  our  country.  Our  youthful  bosoms  glow  with  ardor  at  the  recital 
of  those  noble  sentiments,  inspired  by  Heaven,  calculated  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  all  mankind.  The  impressions  they  leave  on  our  infant 
minds  we  trust  will  grow  with  our  growth,  and  ripen  with  our  years. 
A  frequent  recurrence  to  those  sublime  principles  which  led  to  our 


JAMES  TRECOTHIC  AUSTIN.  473 

emancipation,  will  ever  inspire  us  to  chcrisli  with  care,  to  cultivate 
with  fervent  zeal,  and  to  transmit  the  rich  inheritance,  unimpaired,  to 
future  generations.  'Twas  here  the  celestial  spark  was  blown  into  a 
flame,  and,  like  the  lightning's  flash,  rushed  through  the  land,  made 
jarring  interests  cease,  and,  bj  the  Almighty's  fiat,  formed  the  won- 
drous union.  Quick  was  the  great  event,  on  flattering  wdngs,  wafted 
to  distant  shores,  where  nations,  who  for  ages  groaned  beneath  despotic 
sway,  leaped  in  their  chains,  poured  forth  their  warmest  blessings  on 
this  land,  and,  while  regretting  theirs,  extolled  our  fortune.  Soon, 
soon  may  bounteous  Heaven  dispel  those  mists  of  error  which  hold 
mankind  debased,  enslaved,  and  teach  them  to  revere  those  rights 
designed  by  God  to  sweeten  and  exalt  existence  here  below.  Colum- 
bia's favored  sons,  who  know  and  highly  prize  the  heavenly  gift,  will 
guard  it  safe  from  every  foreign  foe ;  and,  animated  with  their  father's 
fire,  will  even  dare,  in  its  defence,  to  die.  But  it  is  our  fervent  wish, 
aside  of  conquests  or  of  arms,  to  spread  both  far  and  near  its  genial 
influence  to  the  world  at  large." 

Mr.  Austin  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1802,  on  which  occa- 
sion he  gave  the  salutatory  oration.  He  studied  law  with  Hon.  Wil- 
liam Sullivan.  He  became  a  counsellor  at  the  bar;  and  married 
Catharine,  a  daughter  of  Vice-president  Elbridge  Gerry,  Oct.  3,  1806. 
He  was  editor  of  the  Emerald,  a  periodical  of  light  literature.  He 
became  the  town  advocate  in  1809,  and  an  aid  to  Governor  Gerry  in 
1812.  He  was,  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  county-attorney  for  Suf- 
folk, from  1812,  and  has  been  a  representative  and  senator.  He  was 
the  attorney-general  of  Massachusetts  from  1832  to  1843.  In  1820 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  for  revising  the  State  constitution. 
In  1835  he  was  president  of  the  Suffolk  bar. 

Mr.  Austin  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  for  Har- 
vard College  from  1826 ;  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  and  of  the  New  England  Genealogic  Historical  and  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Societies.  He  delivered  an  oration  at  Lexington, 
July  4,  1815,  which  was  published. 

Posterity  will  ever  remember  Col.  Austin,  as  author  of  the  Life  of 
Elbridge  Gerry,  embracing  contemporary  letters  to  the  close  of  the 
Revolution.  We  know  not  how  better  to  notice  this  companion  of 
kindred  biographers,  than  by  selecting  remarks  on  its  character  from 
the  North  American  Review :  "  It  is  neither  overloaded  with  specula- 
tion, nor  destitute  of  the  reflections  necessary  to  explain,  introduce, 
40* 


474  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

and  connect  the  letters  of  the  principal  personages  of  the  day.  Colonel 
Austin  has  avoided  an  error  exceedingly  obvious  in  the  composition  of 
a  Avork  of  this  kind, —  that  of  making  it  a  historical  sketch  of  the  Rev- 
olution. The  known  events  of  that  period  are  now  so  familiar,  that, 
however  natural  it  may  be  for  the  biographer  of  one  of  its  great  char- 
acters to  present  a  continuous  narrative  of  its  occurrences,  it  is  a  far 
more  judicious  course  —  and  it  is  that  pursued  by  Col.  Austin  —  to 
take  for  granted  that  the  reader  knows  the  history  of  the  Revolution, 
and  to  introduce  so  much  of  it  only  as  is  convenient  for  the  under- 
standing of  the  peculiar  action  of  his  hero,  and  the  material  for 
the  first  time  presented  to  the  reader.  On  a  few  occasions,  Col. 
Austin  has  indulged  in  reflections  of  his  own,  at  some  length ;  and  at 
these  times  has  discovered  no  little  vigor  and  originality  of  thought, 
and  pointedness  of  manner. 

"  Elbridge  Gerry  is  exhibited  to  us  as  the  confidential  associate  and 
coadjutor  of  the  great  leaders, —  as  a  distinguished  leader  himself;  and 
in  this  imposing  and  dignified  light  he  has  deduced  his  history  to  the 
termination  of  the  war.  There  is  a  portion  —  a  very  large  and  active 
portion  of  the  community  —  who  are  prepared,  already,  for  the  contin- 
uation of  the  narrative.  We  believe  no  man  now  finds  it  difiicult  to  do 
justice  to  those  who  opposed  or  who  advocated  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution. There  are  not  many  States  of  the  Union  to  which  this 
ought  to  be  a  more  tender  theme  than  to  Massachusetts.  The  conven- 
tion was  almost  equally  balanced, —  and  the  means  employed  to  produce 
the  desired  result  do  not  illustrate,  as  much  as  could  be  wished,  the 
power  of  pure  reason.  Still,  however,  we  believe  we  have  reached  an 
age  when  this  subject  could  be  treated,  without  risk  of  offence  in  any 
quarter.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  events  of  a  period  considerably 
subsequent,  in  relation  to  the  younger  portion  of  the  community,  who 
have  come  into  life  since  other  events  have  been  the  turning  points  of 
the  politics  of  the  country.  But,  inasmuch  as  some  of  the  politicians 
of  the  periods  specified  by  Col.  Austin  are  still  on  the  stage,  we  think 
he  has  acted  with  a  commendable  discretion,  in  pausing  at  the  close  of 
the  Revolution ;  and  we  are  quite  willing  to  rest  with  the  same  dis- 
cretion the  choice  of  the  moment  when  the  interesting  narrative  shall 
be  resumed,  prepared  to  welcome  it  whenever  he  shall  think  fit  to 
present  it  to  the  American  people."  The  American  Quarterly  Review, 
conducted  by  Robert  Walsh,  expresses  the  opinion,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  '-just  in  proportion  as  Elbridge  Gerry  was  viewed  as  a  party  leader, 


JAMES  TRECOTHIO  AUSTIN.  475 

and  defamed  and  misunderstood,  in  that  respect  was  it  material  —  if  his 
proceedings  and  dispositions  could  be  vindicated  or  set  in  a  favorable 
light  —  to  exhibit  his  entire  course  at  once,  leaving  no  scope  for  the 
suspicion  that  some  fear  or  mysterious  reluctance  was  felt  about  show- 
ing more  than  the  Revolutionary  man.  As  the  biography  now  rests, 
an  inveterate  Federalist,  of  the  old  school,  might  suggest  the  image  of 
Horace's  mermaid,  and  hint  that  it  was  well  not  to  uncover  the  lower 
extremities.  For  ourselves,  we  shall  candidly  say,  that,  in  the  number 
of  leaders  or  prominent  personages  in  the  momentous  party  contests 
of  the  interval  mentioned  above,  Mr.  Gerry  is  almost  the  only  one  of 
whose  merits  or  demerits  we  have  not  been  able  to  form  a  positive 
opinion ;  and  we  lament  still  more  the  continuance  of  tliis  difficulty, 
since  we  have  read  this  narrative  of  the  anterior  portion  of  his  exist- 
ence,—  for  it  certainly  has  inspired  us  with  a  high  idea  of  his  Revolu- 
tionary spirit  and  services,  and  does  prove,  as  his  biographer  suggests, 
'  the  validity  of  his  title  to  those  large  honors  which  his  country 
bestowed  upon  him.'  " 

Col.  Austin  was  a  tenacious  advocate  of  the  old  Republican  party,  and 
a  decided  opponent  of  the  old  Federal  party,  but  not,  it  is  said,  a  member 
of  the  Democratic  party ;  and,  on  the  amalgamation  of  the  Whig  and 
a  portion  of  the  Democratic  parties,  in  1827,  under  the  name  of  the 
National  Republican  party,  an  object  of  which  was  to  defeat  the  elec- 
tion of  Andrew  Jackson,  it  was  at  this  period  that  Mr.  Austin  united 
with  the  amalgamation.  The  high  spirit  of  Mr.  Austin,  in  vindication 
of  the  old  Republican  school,  was  strongly  evinced  in  his  articles  pub- 
hshed  in  the  Boston  Pntriot,  over  the  signature  of  Leolin,  in  the  year 
1811,  on  the  subject  of  resistance  to  laws  of  the  United  States,  con- 
sidered in  letters  to  the  Hon.  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  and  regarding  the 
proceedings  of  a  Federal  caucus  opposed  to  a  new  non-intercourse  act 
of  Congress,  which  Mr.  Austin  declared  would  have  a  tendency  to 
dissolve  the  Union,  and  lead  to  a  northern  confederacy.  In  allusion 
to  Mr.  Otis,  it  is  remarked  by  Mr.  Austin  that  an  orator  can  be  great 
only  when  advocating  a  good  cause.  "  The  position  is  illustrated  by 
the  gentleman.  Much  as  I  admire  his  talents,  delighted  as  I  am  in 
catching  the  music  of  his  mind,  on  this  occasion  I  confess  my  disap- 
pointment. The  eagle  of  elocjuence  labored  in  its  course.  We  neither 
discovered  the  feather  that  adorns  the  royal  bird,  nor  the  steady  pinion 
that  supports  his  flight.  The  gentleman  was  overwhelmed  between 
the  difficulties  of  denying  intentional  resistance,  and  thus  subjecting 
himself  to  the  charge  of  uttering  a  ridiculous  and  unmeaning  threat, 


4T6  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

or  of  justifying  opposition,  and  thus  incurring  the  disgrace  and  ruin 
of  premeditated  rebellion." 

Some  one  said  of  Col.  Austin,  that  he  is  small  in  stature,  but  large 
in  soul.  His  face  is  well  moulded,  long,  but  exceedingly  expressive, 
and  exhibits  the  man  of  energy.  It  is  strongly  marked  with  lines ; 
has  a  full,  piercing  eye,  and  something  of  a  sandy  complexion.  There 
can  be  no  mistake  about  his  talents ;  and  the  -vrhole  course  of  his  pro- 
fessional hfe  has  been  distinguished  for  decision,  correctness,  and 
despatch.  "When  absorbed  in  any  important  debate,  he  commands  the 
most  profound  attention.  He  has  been  a  decided  opponent  of  the 
measures  of  the  anti-slavery  party,  and  wrote  remarks  on  jNIr.  Chan- 
ning's  opinions  on  slavery,  published  in  1835,  and  a  review  of  his 
letter  to  Jonathan  Phillips,  published  in  1839.  Mr.  Austin  delivered 
a  famous  speech  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Dec.  7,  1837,  on  the  Alton  riot, 
which  was  published,  and  in  a  mote,  alluding  to  lawless  mobs,  he 
remarks :  "  The  blackened  and  battered  walls  of  the  Ursuline  Convent 
will  stand  by  the  half-raised  monument  of  Bunker  Hill, 

'  Like  a  miWewed  ear, 
Blasting  his  ^vliolesome  brother.' 

So  long  as  it  does  stand,  it  will  frown  contemptuously  on  any  attempt 
we  may  make  to  rebuke  the  violence  of  other  people,  or  to  admonish 
them  to  respect  the  sanctity  of  the  law."  His  arguments  on  the  con- 
vent riot,  in  the  trial  of  Buzzell,  were  printed  in  1834. 

Mr.  Austin  has  published  many  State  and  professional  documents, 
such  as.  The  Commonwealth's  Interest  in  the  Bridges  and  other  Ave- 
nues  into  Boston,  in  1835  ;  on  Enlarging  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas,  1834  ;  on  the  Expenses  of  Criminal  Justice,  1839 ; 
—  also,  an  Address  for  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Suppressing 
Intemperance ;  an  Address  for  the  Massachusetts  Mechanic  Associa- 
tion ;  and  has  been  a  contributor  to  the  Christian  Examiner. 

It  may  well  be  said  of  i\Ir.  Austin,  that,  as  counsellor  at  the  bar,  as 
county-attorney,  as  attorney-general,  as  a  State  senator,  as  an  overseer 
of  Harvard  College,  he  has  acquitted  himself  with  a  ready  capacity, 
and  in  a  manner  highly  honorable  to  himself,  and  to  the  great  benefit 
of  his  constituents.  Moreover,  as  a  Avriter  on  legal  and  political 
topics,  Mr.  Austin  has  been  equalled  by  but  few  competitors ;  and  in 
liis  dechning  life  may  ho  show  forth  to  the  public  eye  the  sequel  to  the 
Biography  of  Elbridge  Gerry,  a  venerable  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  thus  immortalized  in  the  annals  of  Republican  fame. 


CHARLES  GORDON  GREENE.  477 

CHARLES   GORDON   GREENE. 

JULY  4,  1829.    FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Boscawen,  N.  H.,  July  1,  1804,  and  a  son  of 
Nathaniel  Greene,  counsellor-at-law  in  that  town,  who  was  a  delegate 
to  the  convention  for  revising  the  State  constitution,  moderator,  and 
selectman,  and  brother  of  Hon.  Samuel  Greene,  late  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  in  New  Hampshire.  His  parents  visited 
Virginia  in  1811,  and  young  Charles  was  of  the  party.  In  1812  his 
father  deceased;  and  his  mother  returned  to  Boscawen  in  1813, 
when  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  his  brother  Nathaniel,  in  Haver- 
hill, Mass.,  subsequently  the  post-master  of  Boston,  who  sent  him  to 
Bradford  Academy,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Merrimac  : 

• 

"  Stream  of  my  fathers  !  sweetly,  still, 
The  sunset  rays  thy  valleys  fill." 

The  famous  preceptor,  Benjamin  Greenleaf, —  whose  pig-tailed  queue 
excited  a  reverence  as  profound  as  was  the  fear  of  the  tingling  ferule, 
and  whose  knowledge  in  arithmetic  renders  him  the  Hutton  of  New 
England, —  was  then  principal  of  this  institution.  Horace  Mann  once 
characterized  Master  Greenleaf  as  "  a  huge  crystallization  of  mathe- 
matics," and  whose  practical  arithmetics  make  the  best  accountants  in 
the  old  Bay  State. 

Young  Charles  was  early  initiated  to  the  printing  business,  in  his 
brother's  office,  at  Haverhill,  who  was  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Essex  Patriot ;  and  continued  his  apprenticeship  in  the  office  of  Mr. 
Lamson,  at  Exeter,  N.  H.  He  went  to  Boston  in  1822,  to  which  city 
his  brother  had  removed,  and  become  the  publisher  of  the  Boston 
Statesman ;  and  was  employed  in  this  establishment  until  1825,  when 
ho  settled  at  Taunton,  and  published  The  Free  Press  one  year  upon 
contract,  and  was  its  editor  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period.  He 
returned  to  Boston,  and  published  a  literary  journal, —  the  Boston 
Spectator, —  edited  by  Charles  Atwood,  Esq.,  when  it  was  united  with 
another  periodical,  and  Mr.  Greene's  interest  in  it  ceased.  He  directly 
resumed  an  engagement  with  the  Statesman,  which  continued  until 
1827,  when  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  became  partner  with 
James  A.  Jones,  Esq.,  in  the  National  Palladium,  a  daily  paper, 
which  was  the  first  in  Pennsylvania  to  advocate  the  election  of  Andrew 


478  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Jackson  to  the  presidency.  When  he  -withdrew  from  that  paper,  in 
December,  1827,  the  U.  S.  Gazette  remarked  of  him,  that  he  was  an 
able  champion  of  his  party,  greatly  endeared  by  his  conciliatory  and 
unobtrusive  deportment.  Previous  to  this  dissolution,  he  visited  Bos- 
ton, and  married  Miss  Charlotte  Hill,  of  that  city,  Oct.  24,  1827;  and 
in  the  succeeding  spring  -was  engaged  in  the  office  of  the  U.  S.  Tele- 
graph, at  Washington,  owned  and  conducted  by  Gen.  Duff  Green, 
■where  he  remained  until  after  the  election  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  the 
presidency,  "when  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  became  successor  to  his 
brother  Nathaniel,  as  joint  proprietor  and  publisher,  with  Benjamin 
True,  of  the  Statesman,  whose  interest  in  the  establishment  Mr. 
Greene,  in  a  few  years,  purchased,  when  he  became  sole  owner,  and, 
on  November  9th,  1831,  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Boston 
Morning  Post.  —  Was  Naval  Officer  for  Boston  in  1853. 

Col.  Greene  has  been  a  representative  in  the  Legislature  of  this 
State,  and  in  1848  was  an  aid  to  Gov.  Morton.  He  has  been  a  can- 
didate for  the  mayoralty  of  Boston,  and  for  Congress,  for  presidential 
elector,  and  for  the  State  Senate ;  —  but,  as  the  Democracy  is  rarely  a 
favorite  in  the  old  Bay  State,  a  private  station  is  his  post  of  honor,  as 
would  a  public  station  be  honored  in  his  election.  The  warmth  of  his 
zeal  in  favor  of  the  election  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  the  presidency  is 
strikingly  evinced  in  this  glowing  passage  from  an  oration,  delivered 
July  4,  1831 :  "His  race  is  run  out.  Not  a  drop  of  his  blood  will 
be  left  flowing  when  he  is  gone ;  not  a  lip  to  say,  '  I  glory  in  his 
memory,  for  he  was  my  kinsman.'  Is  it  not,  my  friends, —  is  it  not  a 
spectacle  to  move  and  touch  the  very  soul  7  If  there  be  moral  sub- 
limity in  anything,  it  is  in  unmingled  self-devotion  to  one's  country ; 
and  what  but  this  could  have  arrested,  on  the  very  threshold  of  the 
tomb,  the  feet  of  him,  who,  though  he  turns  to  bless  his  country  at 
her  call,  sees  no  child  nor  relative  leaning  forward  to  catch  the  mantle 
of  his  glory?" 

Col.  Greene  is  esteemed  as  much  for  his  blandness  and  affability  as 
he  is  for  candor  and  kindness  of  heart.  David  Henshaw  said  of  him : 
"  He  is  the  self-made,  self-taught  man, —  the  energetic  and  polished 
writer ;  he  shows  the  superiority  of  real  worth  over  fictitious  great- 
ness." ,  The  Daily  Post  is  the  leading  New  England  political  advocate 
of  the  Democracy,  which,  by  its  generous  spirit,  is  moulding  powerful 
influences  on  our  young  men ;  and  will  ever  be  famous  for  having 
perpetrated  a  greater  number  of  effective  witticisms  than  any  of  its 


CHARLES  GORDON  GREENE.  479 

rivals ;  and  the  general  good-nature  of  Mr.  Greene  is  emphatically 
characterized  in  the  remark  of  the  amiable  Mrs.  Partington,  avIio  said, 
"I  can't  see  the  use  of  people's  quarreUing.  It 's  very  strange  that 
they  can't  live  together  in  peace  and  concordance,  -without  all  this  bit- 
terness and  antimony."  We  would  not  assert  that  Mr.  Greene  is  the 
chronicler  of  Mrs.  Partington,  but  we  do  say  that  the  spirit  of  his  paper 
often  partakes  of  her  kindliness.  We  have  seen  the  puns  of  this  daily 
as  sensibly  affect  the  risibles  of  the  sedate  old  man  of  eighty,  as  they 
do  the  merry  youths  of  sixteen.  Indeed,  we  calinot  be  parted  from  the 
celebrated  Mrs.  Partington,  without  an  allusion  to  her  wedding.  "  I 
never  know'd  anything  gained  by  being  too  much  of  a  hurry,"  said 
the  old  lady.  "  When  me  and  my  dear  Paul  was  married,  he  was  in 
sich  a  tripidation  that  he  came  nigh  marrying  one  of  the  bride's-maids 
instead  of  me,  by  mistake.  He  was  sich  a  queer  man,"  she  continued; 
"why,  he  jined  the  fire  department;  and  one  night,  in  his  hurry,  he 
put  his  boots  on  hind  part  afore,  and,  as  he  ran  along,  everybody  behind 
him  got  tripped  up.  The  papers  was  full  of  crowner's  quests  on 
broken  legs  and  limbs,  for  a  week  afterwards  ;  "  and  she  relapsed  into 
an  abstraction  on  the  ups  and  downs  of  life. —  All  parties  eagerly  read 
the  Daily  Post. 

The  Granite  State,  a  noble  place  from  which  to  migrate,  long  pro- 
verbial as  the  political  Nazareth  of  this  republic,  is  ever  remarkable  for 
the  production  of  as  great  statesmen,  enterprising  sons  of  commerce, 
and  successful  professional  men,  as  may  be  found  in  any  other  State. 
Mr.  Greene  is  a  devoted  advocate  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  as  tena- 
cious for  its  triumph,  and  is  as  little  likely  to  espouse  the  Whig  cause, 
as  are  the  people  of  his  native  State ;  yet  we  even  hope  a  revolution  of 
political  opinion  over  this  granite  soil.  When  democracy  was  at  its 
zenith  in  Massachusetts,  he  once  said,  "If  our  old  opponents  would 
enter  the  Temple  of  Democracy,  they  must  leave  their  bundle  of  sin 
at  its  gates."  We  would  hope  that  the  Whigs  would  ever  banish  their 
sins,  and  never  enter  the  temple  but  to  elevate  the  standard  of  repub- 
licanism, and  consign  all  party  intolerance  to  the  shades  of  oblivion, 

Mr.  Greene,  in  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article,  makes  a  remark 
regarding  the  politics  of  Massachusetts,  which  indicates  the  fact  that  this 
State  and  his  native  State  are  alike  decided,  but  at  directly  opposite 
points.  "  Old  Massachusetts  is  still  in  leading-strings.  She  still  follows 
• —  though  she  will  not  long  follow  —  the  blind  guides  who  have  always 
been  anxious  to  persuade  her  '  that  rebelhon  lay  in  her  way,'  and  that 


480  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   bRATORS. 

she  could  not  choose  but  find  it.  The  halls  of  legislation  which,  but  a 
few  years  since,  beheld  Eustis  and  Morton  at  the  head  of  a  triumphant 
Democratic  majority,  now  enclose  an  appalling  majority  of  the  Hartford 
Convention  malecontents  of  1814.  This  is  a  spectacle  which  the 
unsophisticated  Democrats  of  Massachusetts  contemplate  with  such 
sentiments  of  indignant  contempt  as  the  patriotic  Frenchman  must 
have  entertained  when  he  beheld  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don  and  Calmuc 
Tartars  from  the  wall  of  China  establishing  their  bivouac  in  the  Elysian 
Fields  of  Paris."  This  is  the  sharpest  party  opinion  that  we  have 
noticed  from  his  pen.  The  principal  object  of  this  oration  is  to  vindi- 
cate the  policy  of  reforms  in  office,  and  contravene  the  opinions  of  Clay 
and  Adams  on  this  point. 

Mr.  Greene  pronounced  another  oration,  already  alluded  to,  July  4, 
1831,  in  Faneuil  Hall.  This  passage  is  the  finishing  paragraph  of  the 
peroration:  " Immortal  spirits,  who  went  before  us, —  ye  who  have 
given  us  the  blessing  for  which  the  extended  paean  of  half  a  world  is 
ringing  at  this  moment !  Fathers  of  our  Revolution  !  year  after  year 
throws  its  new  blaze  of  light  upon  your  virtues.  Revolution  after  rev- 
olution, and  unresented  wrong  after  wrong,  shows  of  what  temper  ye 
were.  "With  unity  of  heart,  compensating  for  weakness  of  hand  ;  with 
inflexible  energy,  and  high  resolve,  and  matchless  devotion,  making  an 
inflmt  nation  stronger  than  its  parent,  and  setting  the  bright  spirit  of 
Liberty  on  her  high  seat,  amid  the  resistance,  and  with  the  exacted 
consent,  of  armed  thousands,  hitherto  invincible  ! 

'  Immortal  heira  of  universal  praise  ! 
Whose  honors  with  increase  of  ages  grow. 
As  streams  roll  down,  enlarging  as  they  flow  ; 
Kations  unborn  your  mighty  name  shall  sound, 
And  worlds  applaud,  that  must  not  yet  be  found  ' '  " 


ALEXANDER   HILL  EVERETT. 

JULY  4,  1830.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  oration  of  Mr.  Everett,  we  find  a  passage  showing  that  the 
author  of  the  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  —  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson —  so  highly  estimated  the  honor,  as  to  wish  that  it  might  be 
inscribed  upon  his  tombstone,  "The  Author  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence ;  "  and  this  was  done.     The  committee  appointed  for  pre- 


ALEXANDER  HILL   EVERETT.  481 

paring  this  instrument,  June  11,  1776,  consisted  of  Jefferson,  Adams, 
Franklin,  Sherman,  and  Livingston.  "  It  was  a  singular  proof  of  the 
force  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  character,  and  of  the  confidence  that  was  gen- 
erally felt  in  his  talents  and  virtues,  that,  although  one  of  the  youngest 
members  of  Congress,"  says  Mr.  Everett, —  "probably  the  youngest 
of  all, —  he  was  yet  placed  at  the  head  of  this  important  committee ; 
containing,  too,  as  it  did,  such  men  as  Franklin  and  John  Adams.  To 
the  fervid  and  active  friendship  of  the  latter  of  these  two  statesmen, 
afterwards  his  political  rival,  but  then  his  ablest  and  most  ardent  coad- 
jutor, he  probably  owed  this  distinction,  as  appears  from  the  account  of 
the  circumstances  attending  the  apjiointment  of  the  committee,  given 
b}'-  Mr.  Adams  himself  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Pickering,  of  August  6, 
1822.  '  Mr.  Jefferson,'  he  remarks,  '  came  into  Congress  in  June, 
1775,  and  brought  with  him  a  reputation  for  literature,  science,  and  a 
happy  talent  for  composition.  Writings  of  his  were  handed  about, 
remarkable  for  their  peculiar  felicity  of  expression.  Though  a  silent 
member  of  Congress,  he  was  so  prompt,  frank  and  explicit,  upon  com- 
mittees,—  not  even  Samuel  Adams  more  so, —  that  he  soon  seized  upon 
my  heart ;  and  upon  this  occasion  I  gave  him  my  vote,  and  did  all  in 
my  power  to  procure  him  the  votes  of  others.  I  think  he  had  one 
more  vote  than  any  other,  and  that  j)laced  him  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
mittee. I  had  the  next  highest  number,  which  placed  me  second.' 
Mr.  Adams  then  proceeds  to  remark,  that  the  committee  of  five  met, 
and,  after  discussing  the  subject,  appointed  Mr.  Jefferson  and  himself  a 
sub-committee  to  prepare  the  draft.  The  sub-committee  met  in  turn  ; 
and,  after  an  amicable  altercation  upon  the  question  which  of  the  two 
should  perform  the  task, —  each  endeavoring  to  devolve  it  on  the  other, 
—  it  was  finally  assigned,  as  was  naturally  to  be  expected  from  the 
order  of  the  precedence  in  the  committee,  to  IMr.  Jefferson.  It  ought 
to  be  remarked,  that  it  was  not  the  object  of  either  of  these  patriots  to 
avoid  responsibility  or  labor.  Each,  Avith  the  genuine  modesty  that 
belongs  to  real  merit,  believed  the  other  to  be  more  capable  than  him- 
self of  doing  justice  to  this  most  delicate  and  critical  occasion ;  and 
each  was  willing  and  desirous  to  sacrifice  to  consideration  for  the 
public  good  what  both  very  properly  regarded  as  an  enviable  distinc- 
tion. That  Mr.  Jefferson  should  have  been  the  first  to  yield  was,  as  I 
have  just  remarked,  the  natural  result  of  his  place  in  the  committee. 
The  draft  made  by  Mr.  Jefferson  having  been  examined  by  Mr.  Adams, 
and  afterwards  accepted  by  the  committee  of  five,  was  reported  to 
41 


482  THE    nUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Congress  'witliout  alteration,  as  it  stood  in  the  hand--writing  of  the 
author. 

"On  the  first  of  July,  the  resolutions  moved  by  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  for  declaring  independence,  the  further  consideration  of  which,  as 
I  have  said  before,  had  been  postponed  from  the  11th  of  the  preceding 
month  until  that  day,  were  taken  up  again  in  committee  of  the  whole, 
and,  having  been  debated  through  the  day,  were  reported  to  Congress. 
The  subject  was  then  postponed  until  the  following  day,  which  was  the 
2d  of  July,  when  the  resolutions  were  taken  up  in  Congress,  and,  after 
further  debate,  finally  passed.  On  the  3d  of  July,  the  draft  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  reported  to  Congress  by  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son, as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  five  who  had  been  appointed  to 
prepare  it ;  and,  having  been  fully  considered,  and  amended  in  several 
points,  on  the  following  day,  which  was  the  4th  of  July,  was  adopted. 
The  original  draft,  as  reported  by  the  author,  has  since  been  printed, 
and  brought  into  comparison  with  the  amended  form  which  appears  in 
the  official  publication.  The  alterations  made  in  Congress,  though  not 
essential  to  the  effect  of  the  paper,  are  in  general  for  the  better ;  and 
give  a  high  idea  of  the  calmness  and  judgment  with  which  our  fathers 
proceeded  in  maturing  every  part  of  this  important  and  delicate 
transaction.  In  this  manner  was  prepared  and  adopted  the  celebrated 
Declaration  of  Independence." 

Alexander  Hill  was  son  of  E.ev.  Oliver  Everett,  a  minister  of  New 
South  Church,  in  Boston,  afterwards  Judge  of  Common  Pleas  for  Nor- 
folk, and  was  born  at  Boston,  March  19, 1790 ;  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1806,  on  which  occasion  his  theme  was  on  '"'the  Effects  of 
the  General  Diffusion  of  Literature ;  "  became  a  counsellor-at-law,  and 
married  Lucretia  Orne,  daughter  of  Judge  Oliver  Peabody,  of  Exeter, 
N.  H.,  Oct.  21,  1816.  He  was  the  orator  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
Society,  in  1813.  In  1825  Mr.  Everett  was  minister  to  Spain.  He 
succeeded  Mr.  Jared  Sparks,  in  1830,  as  editor  of  the  North  American 
Review.  He  became  president  of  Jefferson  College,  in  Louisiana,  in 
1841,  when  his  inaugural  address  was  published.  He  was  appointed, 
by  President  Polk,  in  1847,  the  commissioner  to  China;  and  died  at 
Canton,  on  June  28,  1847,  aged  57  years. 

The  Democratic  Review  of  November,  1847,  remarks  of  Mr.  Ever- 
ett, that,  in  political  life,  he  rose  to  the  most  conspicuous  stations,  which 
he  owed  rather  to  the  elevation  of  his  mind,  and  the  distinction  of  his 
character,  than  to  mere  party  service  ;  for,  happily,  he  was  not  one  of 


ALEXANDER   HILL   EVERETT.  483 

those  wlio,  in  the  eager  pursuit  of  personal  aggrandizement,  sacrificed 
to  the  hollow  shrine  of  party  devotion  talents  and  acquirements  des- 
tined for  a  higher  purpose  and  a  purer  sphere.     No ;   to  his  honor  be 

it  said,  that  he  never 

"  Narrowed  his  mind 
And  gave  up  to  party  what  was  meant  for  mankind." 

Mr.  Everett  was  an  eminent  writer ;  and,  besides  his  very  useful 
contributions  in  the  North  American  Review,  we  find  two  very  import- 
ant works,  which  writers  on  political  economy  Avill  ever  resort  to  for 
light  on  the  subject.  We  allude  to  his  New  Ideas  on  Population,  and 
his  last  production,  consisting  of  a  letter  on  the  condition  of  China, 
in  reference  to  the  IMalthusian  theory,  addressed  to  George  Tucker, 
dated  Macao,  April  30,  1847,  which  illustrates  the  conception,  to  use 
Everett's  own  words,  that  "density  of  population,  far  from  being  a 
cause  of  comparative  scarcity,  is  itself  the  proximate  cause  of  the  com- 
parative abundance  of  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  which  we 
witness  in  China,  and  most  other  densely  peopled  countries."  He  was 
author  of  two  political  treatises  on  Europe  and  America,  of  elevated 
character,  and  Memoirs  of  Gen.  Warren  and  Patrick  Henry.  Two 
volumes  of  his  miscellaneous  productions  have  been  published  since  his 
decease.  He  was  a  vigorous  writer,  ambitious  and  unfortunate.  The 
political  influence  of  his  productions  will  perpetuate  his  memory  for 
ages  to  come. 


HENRY  BARNEY   SMITH. 

JULY  i,  1830.     FOR  THE   WASHINGTON   SOCIETY. 

Was  the  son  of  Barney  Smith,  a  merchant  in  State-street ;  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  College  in  1809,  when  he  engaged  in  a  dialogue  on 
the  differences  in  the  character  of  the  ancient  and  modern  Greeks ;  was 
a  counsellor-at-law,  and  president  of  the  Boston  Debating  Society.  He 
h»s  been  a  firm  advocate  of  the  Democratic  Republican  party,  and  a  man 
of  more  than  ordinary  talent.  In  1822  he  delivered  a  4th  of  July 
oration  at  Dorchester.  In  1824  Mr.  Smith  delivered  another,  at  the 
Marlboro',  in  Boston.  It  was  said  of  him,  after  giving  the  third  ora- 
tion, at  the  pubHc  dinner,  that  "he  is  an  uncompromising  democratj 


484  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    OFvATOKS. 

■who  has  sketched  the  Protean  visage  of  aristocracy  in  thoughts  that 
breathe  and  -words  that  burn." 

"  Why  \s  it,"  said  Mr.  Smith,  "  that  some  of  our  politicians  cling  so 
fondly  to  the  superannuated  perpetuities  of  the  Old  World,  and  view 
with  ill-disguised  aversion  the  improvements  of  the  New?  There  is  a 
conspiracy  of  private  interest  with  unprincipled  ambition,  in  England 
and  our  own  country,  to  pervert  history  and  misrepresent  fact, —  to 
preoccupy  the  avenues  of  education,  and  poison  the  infant  mind  with 
absurd  theories  and  exploded  doctrines.  Why  is  Hume,  the  apologist 
of  arbitrary  power,  set  up  as  a  classic,  and  put  into  the  hands  of  chil- 
dren as  authentic  history '?  Why  is  Julius  Ceesar  lauded  in  our  public 
schools,  and  Caius  Gracchus  stigmatized  as  a  demagogue,  when  the  one 
overturned  the  government  of  his  country  by  a  military  force,  and  the 
other  Avas  put  to  death  by  a  mob  of  Roman  senators,  led  on  by  an  infu- 
riated high-priest  of  a  false  religion  ?  Whence  is  it  that  myriads  may 
be  sacrificed  on  the  field  of  battle,  by  executions,  by  imprisonments,  for 
the  unprincipled  ambition  of  princely  power,  and  not  a  sigh  —  not  a 
murmur  —  is  heard  in  after  times  to  lament  their  fate ;  but,  if  an  indi- 
vidual falls  a  sacrifice  to  the  rage  of  an  indignant  populace,  goaded  to 
desperation  by  long-continued  oppression,  our  histories  are  groaning 
with  the  details?  Imagination  is  on  the  rack  to  invent  some  new  hor- 
ror. All  that  the  art  and  ingenuity  of  man  can  conjure  up  is  added 
to  heighten  the  picture  of  suffering,  or  deepen  the  shade  of  guilt,  until 
the  feeling  mind  is  excruciated  with  the  sense  of  human  depravity. 
The  people  are  not  always  aware  of  their  rights,  and  may  patiently 
submit  for  a  time,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Henrys  and  Elizabeths,  to  reg- 
ister the  decrees  of  those  who  usurp  the  sovereignty  over  them.  But, 
unfortunately,  there  can  Ije  no  statute  of  limitations  to  debar  them  of 
their  unalienable  inheritance.  In  the  despotic  governments,  important 
changes  are  sometimes  obtained  through  the  horrors  of  a  revolution ; 
but  in  this  country  every  object  of  good  government  is  secured  through 
the  salutary  influence  of  reform,  and  a  fearless  reliance  on  enlightened 
public  opinion.  The  spread  of  intelligence  and  the  consciousness  of 
power  among  the  people  will  necessarily  keep  our  social,  civil  and 
political  institutions,  in  the  onward  path  of  progressive  improvement. ii 


JOHN   GORHAM   PALFREY.  485 

JOHN   GORHAM   PALFREY. 

JULY  4,  1831.     FOR  THE   CITY   AUTHORITIES. 

Was  bom  in  Boston,  May  2,  1796  ;  and  was  grandson  of  William 
Palfrey,  a  paymaster-general  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  an 
aid-de-camp  to  Washington  on  the  occupation  of  Dorchester,  of  whom 
Harrison  Gray  Otis  remarked:  "His  person  was  of  the  middle  size, 
his  countenance  animated,  his  gait  quick,  with  a  military  air;  his  man- 
ners genteel  and  commanding,  and  his  deportment  to  me  as  a  boy  con- 
descending and  affable.  I  also  think  I  remember  the  sound  of  his 
voice,  clear  and  sonorous ;  and  his  image  is  before  me  as  that  of  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  old  school, —  polite,  manly,  and  elegant."  The  fither  of 
the  subject  of  this  notice,  John  Palfrey,  was  in  early  life  a  merchant  in 
Demarara,  and  afterwards  a  ship-chandler  in  Boston,  who  removed,  in 
1804,  to  the  Territory  of  Louisiana,  where  he  died  in  the  autumn  of 
1843,  at  his  plantation  of  Isle  1' Abbaye,  St.  Martin's ;  when,  among 
other  bequests,  he  left  twenty-two  slaves  to  his  son  John  G.,  who  nobly 
emancipated  them ;  —  and  thus,  in  the  language  of  Sumner,  without 
army  or  navy,  by  a  simple  act  of  self-renunciation,  has  given  freedom 
to  a  larger  number  of  Christian  American  slaves  than  was  done  by  the 
sword  of  Decatur. 

Young  John  received  his  elementary  education  under  William  Payne, 
schoolmaster,  in  Berry-street,  who  was  father  of  the  "  Young  American 
Roscius."  He  was  prepared  for  college,  in  1809,  at  Exeter  Academy. 
When  he  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in  1815,  his  theme  was.  On 
Republican  Institutions  as  affecting  Private  Character ;  and,  at  a  public 
exhibition,  he  gave  an  oration  on  the  Errors  of  Genius.  Mr.  Palfrey 
became  a  student  in  theology,  and  in  1818  was  ordained  to  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  Brattle-street  Church ;  which  station  he  honorably  occupied 
until  his  appointment  to  the  office  of  Dexter  Professor  of  Sacred  Litera- 
ture in  Harvard  College,  in  1831,  which  he  resigned  in  1839.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  Hammond,  Esq.,  of  Boston.  The 
oration  at  the  head  of  this  article  exhibits  sound  and  practical  politics. 
Its  whole  doctrine  is  the  principle  of  life  adapted  to  improve  the  quality 
and  increase  the  quantity  of  individual  happiness,  and  to  secure  the 
perpetuity  of  national  glory.  He  enlarges  on  three  topics  essential  to 
our  national  honor,  a  hearty  attachment  to  the  union  of  the  States,  a 
41* 


486  THE  ^u^"D^lED  boston  orators. 

care  to  have  the  administration  in  proper  hands,  and  a  national  litera- 
ture. In  1839  Mr.  Palfrey  gave  the  discourse  at  the  centennial  cele- 
bration of  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  of  Barnstable. 

Mr.  Palfrey  published  his  own  autobiography  in  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
■with  this  motto  on  the  title-page :  "  Let  all  the  ends  thou  aim'st  at  be 
thy  country's,  thy  God's,  and  truth's." 

We  will  continue  the  history  of  Mr.  Palfrey,  in  his  own  language, 
to  the  period  of  his  election  to  Congress  in  1847  :  '•  In  the  year  1831, 
after  thirteen  years'  service  in  the  parochial  ministry  in  Boston,  I 
accepted  a  professorship  in  the  theological  department  of  the  university, 
and  removed  to  Cambridge.  My  partial  friends  in  the  rehgious  soci- 
ety with  which  I  had  been  connected  objected  to  my  taking  that  step, 
and  urged  that  it  was  not  wise  ;  but  no  doubt  of  its  being  taken  under 
a  disinterested  sense  of  duty  ever  reached  me  from  any  quarter.  My 
position  had  been  everything  that  heart  could  desire  ;  and  never  more 
attractive,  to  say  the  least,  than  when  I  relinquished  it.  Separating 
myself  from  relatives  and  friends,  I  left  for  a  place,  to  be  retained,  as  I 
supposed,  for  the  rest  of  my  life ;  where  I  was  to  have  more  labor,  less 
leisure,  less  compensation,  and  social  position  and  advantages  certainly 
not  superior  to  what  I  left  behind.  Except  that  I  was  not  in  ill  health, 
I  took  the  step  under  the  same  circumstances  as  the  same  step  had  been 
taken  just  before  by  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Ware,  Jr. ;  and  I  have  never 
heard  that  he  was  charged  with  being  prompted  by  political  or  any 
other  worldly  ambition. 

"  After  four  years,  with  a  view  to  add  to  my  pecuniary  means,  which 
proved  unequal  to  the  wants  of  an  increased  family,  I  became  editor 
of  the  North  American  Review.  I  am  ashamed  to  write  of  matters  of 
such  purely  personal  concern  j  but  the  impudent  and  false  constructions 
put  upon  them  by  those  who  have  felt  justified  in  criticizing  so  distant 
a  period  of  my  life  compel  me  to  the  unwelcome  task.  At  the  end  of 
four  years  more, —  namely,  in  1839, —  my  situation  was  this  :  During 
five  days  and  a  half  of  every  week  of  the  college  terms,  I  was  doing 
harder  and  more  exhausting  work,  in  the  lecture-room  and  in  prepara- 
tion for  it,  than  I  have  ever  done  in  any  other  way.  I  was  one  of  the 
three  preachers  in  the  University  Chapel :  and,  during  my  turn  of  duty, 
in  what  remained  of  Saturday  after  the  week's  lecturing  was  done,  I 
had  to  prepare  for  the  religious  service  which  I  conducted  on  Sunday. 
As  dean  (or  executive  oflBcer)  of  the  theological  faculty,  I  was  charged 
with  afiiiirs  of  administration  in  that  department  of  the  university. 


JOHN   GORHAM   PALFREY.  487 

As  editor  of  the  North  American  Review,  I  was  under  oblicration  to 
lay  before  the  pubhc  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  more  closely-printed 
octavo  pages,  every  quarter.  I  had  in  press  a  work,  of  some  extent 
and  labor,  on  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  And  imprudently,  perhaps, 
but  for  apparently  sufficient  cause,  I  had  engaged  to  deliver  and  print 
courses  of  Lectures  for  the  Lowell  Institute, —  which,  accordingly,  I 
did  deliver,  in  1839,  1840,  and  the  two  following  winters. 

"  These  tilings  united  made  a  task  too  great  for  the  health  and 
strength  of  most  men.  At  all  events,  it  was  too  great  for  mine. 
Plain  indications  showed  that  I  must  have  some  relief,  or  be  crushed, 
body  and  mind.  My  permanent  engagements  were,  the  professorship 
in  the  university,  and  the  editorship  of  the  Review.  In  the  Review 
was  embarked  a  large  capital,  for  me ;  and,  to  dissolve  my  connection 
with  it,  until  there  should  be  an  opportunity  for  an  advantageous  sale, 
was  not  to  be  thought  of,  because  this  would  have  been  to  put  it  out  of 
my  power  to  reimburse  the  friends  to  whom  I  was  indebted  for  the 
investment.  I  did  not  desire  to  resign  my  professorship.  Nor  did  I 
yet  contemplate  such  a  movement.  My  plan  was,  to  obtain  such  relief 
as  seemed  absolutely  necessary,  and  no  more,  by  a  dispensation  from  a 
portion  of  its  duties.  A  recent  event  had  put  it  in  my  power  to  relin- 
quish a  part  of  my  income  from  that  source.  I  accordingly  made  a 
Communication  to  the  corporation  of  the  college,  proposing  to  give  up 
the  less  important  part  of  my  duties,  and  with  them  three-eighths  parts 
of  my  salary,  and  submitting  a  plan  by  which  I  thought  they  might  be 
executed,  at  less  expense  to  the  institution,  and  without  derangement 
of  the  system  of  the  department.  The  corporation,  after  conference 
with  me  by  a  committee,  and  consultation  among  themselves,  acceded 
to  my  proposal,  and  passed  a  vote  accordingly.  A  copy  was  trans- 
mitted to  me,  and  the  transaction  was  complete. 

"A  few  days  passed,  and  the  president  called  upon  me,  to  give  me 
information  which,  as  he  very  properly  said,  he  thought  I  ought  to 
possess.  He  told  me  that,  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  corporation, 
more  full  than  those  at  which  my  proposal  had  been  considered  and 
acted  on,  dissatisfaction  had  been  expressed  with  the  arrangement  on 
the  part  of  members  who  had  been  absent,  on  grounds  having  refer- 
ence to  the  general  policy  of  the  college,  and  the  inexpediency  of 
precedents  of  this  nature.  His  communication  was  limited  to  giving 
me  this  information,  without  any  suggestion  that  further  action  was 
expected  from  me,  or  was  contemplated  by  the  corporation,  in  the  way 


488  THE   nUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

of  a  reversal  of  what  had  taken  place.  But  it  cost  little  reflection  to 
show  me  that  I  could  not,  with  propriety,  take  advantage  of  a  vote, 
■which  it  appeared  would  not  have  been  passed  in  full  board,  against 
such  opinions  of  a  minority.  It  was  equally  clear  that  I  must  not 
think  of  going  on  as  I  had  done.  Accordingly,  on  a  revision  of  the 
whole  subject,  I  announced  my  intention  to  resign  at  the  end  of  the 
academical  year.  This  was  done  with  perfect  good  feehng  on  both 
sides ;  of  which  feeling  towards  inyself  the  most  flattering  evidence  was 
aiFordcd,  in  documents  placed  in  my  hands  by  the  authorities  of  the 
college.  I  did  not  remain  in  Cambridire,  where  I  had  lived  eight 
years,  as,  according  to  the  theory  lately  broached  of  my  movements,  I 
should  have  done,  to  pursue  objects  of  political  ambition.  I  removed, 
in  the  autumn,  to  Boston,  advertising  my  house  in  Cambridge  to  let, 
—  which  was  effected  in  the  summer  of  the  next  year.  And  this  is  the 
whole  story  of  my  separation  from  the  college. —  an  event  unexpected 
and  undesired  by  me,  and  connected  with  no  ulterior  views,  beyond 
the  preservation  of  my  life  and  health.  My  object  in  it  has  been  pre- 
jjosterously  misrepresented.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  proof,  nor  have 
I  any  recollection  or  belief,  that  I  had  then  any  more  thoughts  of  a 
course  of  hfe  like  that  into  which  unexpected  circumstances  have  since 
led  me,  than  I  now  Imve  of  becoming  the  Emperor  of  China. 

"Having  lived  in  Boston  two  years,  engaged  in  my  studies,  in  the 
management  of  the  North  American  Review,  and  in  the  preijaration  and 
publication  of  my  Lectures  before  the  Lowell  Institute, —  not  writing 
a  line  for  any  newspaper,  nor'seeking  political  associations  of  any  kind, 
nor  thinking  of  politics  more  than  every  tolerably  well-informed  per- 
son, with  whatever  pursuits,  maybe  supposed  to  do, —  I  was  elected  by 
my  fellow-citizens  of  that  place  to  represent  them  in  the  General  Court 
of  the  commonwealth,  for  the  years  1842  and  184-3.  It  has  been  said 
and  printed,  that,  by  way  of  introducing  myself  to  political  life,  I 
became  a  frequent  attendant  at  the  primary  meetings,  after  my  removal 
to  Boston.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  I  never  was  in  a 
primary  meeting  until  after  I  had  taken  my  seat  as  representative  in 
the  General  Court.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  I  never 
was  in  a  primary  meeting  but  three  times  in  my  life ;  namely,  on  the 
Gth  of  January,  and  the  olst  of  August,  1842,  at  Boston,  and  on  the 
21st  of  September,  1847,  at  Cambridge.  To  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge and  belief,  no  solicitations  —  not  so  much  as  any  hints  —  from 
me  led  to  my  nomination  for  the  General  Court.     If  any  one  supposes 


JOHN   GORHAM   PALFREY.  489 

that  he  knows  anything  to  the  contrary  of  this,  I  desire  him  to  make 
it  public. 

"  Though  I  took  a  part  in  other  measures, —  for  the  responsibihty 
of  a  representative  was  upon  me, —  my  regular  business  in  the  house 
was  that  of  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education,  a  place  assigned 
to  me  without  the  slightest  motion,  and,  I  will  add,  without  the  slight- 
est expectation,  of  my  own.  It  was  a. place,  however,  I  suppose,  not 
unsuitable  for  a  person  of  my  habits,  as  it  has  been  repeatedly  filled 
by  clergymen,  before  and  since.  And  it  procured  me  a  pleasure  of 
the  choicest  kind.  With  others  of  that  committee,  I  was  subsequently 
placed  on  a  special  joint  committee,  to  whom  were  referred  the  subject 
of  the  continuance  of  Normal  Schools, —  the  first  provision,  for  only 
three  years,  having  then  expired, —  and  a  proposal  for  the  establish- 
ment of  school-district  libraries.  The  committee  determined  that 
resolves  should  be  reported  to  continue  the  Normal  Schools,  and  estab- 
lish the  libraries ;  that  they  should  be  introduced  in  the  house,  and  that 
I  should  prepare  and  take  charge  of  them  in  that  body.  Under  cir- 
cumstances of  no  little  difficulty,  these  were  carried  through,  and 
became  a  law  on  the  3d  of  March,  1842.  I  look  back  upon  that  day  as 
the  date  of  the  most  useful  public  service  I  ever  rendered,  excepting, 
only,  the  day  of  my  first  vote  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

"  In  1843,  by  reason  of  straitened  circumstances, —  the  causes  of 
which  there  is  no  need  to  explain,  but  which  were  not  such  then,  or  at 
any  other  time,  as  to  occasion  to  any  person  the  loss  of  a  cent  by  me, 
—  I  disposed  of  the  property  and  relinquished  the  editorship  of  the 
North  American  Review,  which,  as  things  stood,  was  inadequate  to 
my  needs,  and  looked  about  for  some  advantageous  employment  of  my 
time.  Should  it  be  asked,  why,  released  from  other  engagements,  I 
did  not  seek  to  resume  my  former  profession,  there  are  those  who  will 
understand  why  one  should  be  reluctant  to  return  to  that  profession, 
when  relinquished,  as  a  resource  for  a  livelihood.  From  time  to  time, 
as  opportunity  has  occurred,  I  have  freely  given  other  reasons,  in  my 
judgment  of  great  weight;  and  am  always  ready  to  do  so  to  any  one 
who  has  a  curiosity  on  the  subject.  I  shall,  probably,  be  thought  to 
have  already  thrown  off  reserve  quite  sufficiently  as  to  these  personal 
matters,  without  going  further,  now,  on  this  point.  I  will  but  add, 
that,  since  retiring  from  the  University,  in  1839,  I  have  pubhshed 
three  octavo  volumes  on  important  subjects  in  theology ;  and  I  may, 
hereafter,  lay  before  the  pubhc  some  further  evidence  that  I  have  not 


490  THE  HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

forsaken  tlie  studies  proper  to  the  clerical  profession,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, have  devoted  to  them  more  time  than  the  routine  of  parochial 
services  would  have  allowed  me  to  command. 

"The  administration  of  the  State  government  was  changed  by  the 
result  of  the  fall  election  of  1843,  and  it  was  understood  that  there 
would  be  a  change  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 
My  desire  to  be  considered  a  candidate  having  been  made  known  to 
my  friends,  I  was  elected  to  that  office  by  the  General  Court  in  the 
following  January.  I  hope  that  in  the  four  years  I  held  it  the  com- 
monwealth received  no  detriment  from  me. 

"The  duties  of  the  secretary's  office,  of  so  different  a  description 
from  the  employment  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed,  may  well  be 
supposed  to  have  been  found,  at  first,  somewhat  irksome  and  distaste- 
ful. But  use  and  method  made  them  easy,  and  not  unpleasant.  If 
not  very  interesting  or  intellectual,  they  were,  at  all  events,  not  at  all 
exhausting ;  and,  by  method  and  diligence,  I  found  myself  able  to  per- 
form them  with  exactness  within  such  a  daily  allowance  of  time  as  to 
leave  considerable  leisure  for  more  congenial  pursuits.  The  emolu- 
ment, joined  to  my  private  resources,  was  enough  to  enable  me  to  live 
with  frugal  comfort,  and  educate  my  children.  In  short,  I  was  living 
very  satisfactorily,  and  desired  nothing  different.  But  so  it  was  not 
ordered.  Though,  while  a  representative  in  the  General  Court,  I  had 
been  sent  as  a  delegate  from  Boston  to  the  Whig  State  convention,  in 
September,  1842,  and  though  I  made  two  or  three  speeches  in  the  pres- 
idential contest  of  1844, —  the  annexation  of  Texas  being  already  a 
pending  question, —  it  was  in  the  autumn  of  1845  that  I  first  became 
connected;  in  any  material  way,  with  political  transactions.  If  I  mistake 
not.  that  was  a  time  when  Christian  man  or  Christian  minister  might 
well  think  that  it  did  not  misbecome  him  to  take  an  interest  in  public 
affairs.  For  my  part,  I  am  most  confidently  of  the  opinion,  that  the 
cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  of  God  and  of  man,  demanded  quite 
as  much  active  service,  at  that  time,  in  the  popular  assembhes,  as  in 
the  pulpits,  of  the  land.  In  the  summer  of  1846,  my  friend,  Mr. 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  having  assumed  the  editorship  of  the  '  Boston 
Whig,'  I  contributed  to  that  journal  a  series  of  twenty-six  numbers, 
entitled  '  Papers  on  the  Slave  Power.'  They  attracted  some  atten- 
tion, and  were  presently  after  collected  in  a  pamphlet,  which  passed 
through  three  editions." 

In  the  autumn  of  1846,  overtures  were  made  to  Mr.  Palfrey  to 


JOHN   GORHAM   PALFREY. 

become  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  the  fourth  congressional  district,  as 
successor  to  Benjamin  Thompson,  who  had  made  known  his  intention 
to  withdraw,  which  Mr.  Palfrey  dechned ;  but  such  an  earnest  desire 
for  his  services  was  expressed,  that,  "  after  much  and  long  hesitation, 
I  yielded  to  the  representations  which  were  made  to  me,"  said  Mr. 
Palfrey,  "  that,  as  a  matter  of  public  duty,  I  Avas  bound  to  recede  from 
jny  position.     I  am  glad  that  I  did  not  then  know  all  the  personal 
consequences  which  were  involved  in  that  decision.     I  fear  that  I 
might  not  have  had  spirit  to  encounter  them ;  and  then  some  approba- 
tion of  my  conscience,  which  I  now  possess,  for  duty  since  honestly 
performed,  w^ould  have  been  lost."     Mr.  Palfrey  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress for  the  December  session  of  1847,  until  after  the  March  session 
of  1849 ;  and  this  appeal  to  the  public  was  published  after  ten  "attempts 
at  his  reelection  had  been  defeated.     This  political  memoir,  extending 
along  twenty-eight  pages,  is  interesting.     We  cannot  forbear  quoting 
one  more  passage,  regarding  the  loss  of  old  friends  :   "  Up  to  the  age 
of  fifty  years,"  says  he,  "I  suppose  very  few  men  had  more;  and 
whether  I,  on  my  part,  have  been  constant  in  friendship, —  Avhether  I 
have  been  easily  provoked,  or  alienated  in  high  party  times,  or  in  any 
times, —  let  those  who  have  tried  me  answer.     The  little  slights  and 
affronts  by  which  the  common  associates  of  former  days  find  it  suitable 
to  express  their  disapprobation  are  disagreeable,  no  doubt ;  but  they 
are  not  much  more.     The  change  in  friends  of  as  many  years  as  make 
up  half  the  recognized  term  of  human  life, —  the  coldness  of  some,  the 
separation  from  others,  the  loud  and  acrimonious  hostility  of  others, — 
fs  not  altogether  the  same  thing.     It  is  pretty  common  for  me,  of  late, 
to  meet  '  hard  unkindness'  altered  eye,'  in  faces  which  from  boyhood 
before  never  looked  at  me  but  with  kindness  and  smiles.     I  have  been 
addressed  with  rude  language  in  the  streets,  Avhen  accosting  some  old 
acquaintance.     Persons  whose  youth  I  have  tried  to  serve  do  not  rec- 
ognize me  as  we  pass.     I  dare  say  it  is  very  manly,  and  all  that,  to 
say  that  one  cares  nothing  about  such  things.     But  that  is  a  virtue 
beyond  my  mark.     I  do  care  for  them  ;  probably  too  much.     I  care 
for  them  so  much,  that  I  devoutly  thank  God  that  he  did  not  let  me 
know  to  the  full  extent  what  was  coming,  when  I  took  my  course. 
Had  I  known  it,  I  hope  I  should  have  had  the  courage  to  do  precisely 
as  I  have  done.     But  no  man  is  entirely  certain  of  himself;  and,  had 
1  fully  seen  what  I  was  incurring,  it  is  possible  that  I  might  have 
flinched.     As  it  is,  I  am  safely  past  the  flinching  point." 


402  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

INIr.  Palfrey  is  a  political  Abolitionist,  of  the  Free-soil  party,  and  is 
a  decided  advocate  of  the  cause.  While  some  "were  of  opinion  that  his 
vote  against  Winthrop  as  the  Speaker  of  the  House  in  Congress  -was 
an  ineffaceable  stain  on  the  honor  of  Middlesex,  others  proclaimed  that 
it  was  probably  one  of  the  most  useful  acts  of  his  life ;  and  John 
Quincy  Adams  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  after  the  delivery  of  his 
celebrated  abolition  speech  in  Congress,  "  Thank  God !  the  seal  is 
broken  !  "  Was  it  consistent  in  Mr.  Palfrey,  ^^'ho  acted  in  Congress 
unpledged,  to  endeavor  to  secure  pledges  from  Mr.  Winthrop  in  regard 
to  the  constitution  of  those  committees  "which  have  especial  surveil- 
lance  of  subjects  connected  "with  "war  and  slavery?  Some  say  his 
former  conservative  spirit  gave  him  a  more  elevated  influence  than  his 
radicalism  "will  ever  effect. 

]Mr.  Palfrey  is  a  member  of  the  INIassachusetts  Historical  Society, 
and  pronounced  a  valuable  semi-centennial  discourse  before  the  insti- 
tution, Oct  31,  1844.  While  Mr.  Palfrey  applauds  the  society  for  an 
undeviating  devotion  to  its  interests,  his  opponents  remark  that  it 
"would  be  a  happy  circumstance  if  the  quotation  he  so  pertinently 
applied  to  them  could  be  adapted  to  himself,  as  regards  his  political 
career.  He  remarks  to  the  society,  it  should  be  ours  to  justify  it 
in  saying, 

"  While  I  remain  above  the  ground,  you  shall 
Hear  from  me  still,  and  never  of  me  aught 
But  ■what  is  like  me  formerly  ;  —  that 's 
"Worthily  as  any  ear  can  hear." 

Mr.  Palfrey  is  a  man  of  varied  learning.  Though  liis  style  is,  at 
times,  rather  involved  "with  qualifying  clauses,  "^'e  often  find  great 
beauty  of  diction.  He  published  two  discourses  on  the  History  of 
the  Brattle-street  Church.  He  -R-rote  the  Life  of  William  Palfrey, 
Paymaster-general  in  the  Army  of  the  Revolution ;  Practical  Dis- 
courses on  Domestic  Duties  ;  Lectures  on  the  Je"R'ish  Scriptures  and 
Antiquities,  2  vols.  8vo. ;  Lowell  Lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity, 2  vols.  Svo. ;  and  many  other  productions.  There  can  be  no 
question  of  the  patriotic  motives  of  Mr.  Palfrey  in  political  matters, 
any  more  than  of  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  general  literature  and 
humanity.  , 


WILLIAM  FOSTER  OTIS,  403 

WILLIAM   FOSTER   OTIS. 

JULY  4,   1831.    FOR  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF  BOSTON. 

Was  born  in  Boston,  Dec.  1,  1801,  and  the  son  of  Harrison  Gray 
Otis,  and  Sally  Foster,  his  wife.  He  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1813 ; 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1821,  -where  he  took  part  in  a  con- 
ference on  the  state  of  physical  science,  oratory,  fine  writing,  and  met- 
aphysics, in  England,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  ;  read  law  with 
Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Jr.,  and  Augustus  Peabody;  became  a  counsel- 
lor-at-law,  and  married  Emily,  a  daughter  of  Josiah  Marshall,  Esq.,  a 
selectman  of  Boston,  May  18, 1831,  who  died  Aug.  17,  1836,  aged  29. 

Mr.  Otis  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company,  in  1828  ;  a  major  in  the  Boston  regiment,  a  judge-advocate, 
a  representative  to  the  State  Legislature,  and  president  of  the  Young 
Men's  Temperance  Society. 

At  the  public  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall,  after  the  delivery  of  the  ora- 
tion for  the  young  men  of  this  city,  the  following  sentiment  was  given 
to  the  orator  of  the  day :  "  Rich  in  the  hereditary  possession  of  the  vir- 
tues and  talents  of  his  ancestors, —  far  richer  in  possessing  the  hearts 
of  the  present  generation." 

We  will  quote  the  peroration  of  this  performance :  "  Do  we  suppose 
that  we  can  shed  our  liberty  upon  other  countries  without  exertion, 
and  let  it  fall  upon  them  like  the  dew  which  stirs  not  the  leaf?  No  ; 
liberty  must  be  long  held  suspended  over  them  in  the  atmosphere,  by 
our  unseen  and  unwearied  power.  The  more  intense  the  heat  which 
oppresses  them,  the  more  must  it  saturate  and  surcharge  the  air,  till, 
at  last,  when  the  ground  is  parched  dry,  when  vegetation  is  crisped  up, 
and  the  gasping  people  are  ready  to  plunge  into  destruction  for  relief, 
then  will  it  call  forth  its  hosts  from  every  qviarter  of  the  horizon ; 
then  will  the  sky  be  overcast,  the  landscape  darkened,  and  Liberty,  at 
one  peal,  with  one  flash,  will  pour  down  her  million  streams;  then 
will  she  hft  up  the  voice,  which  echoed,  in  days  of  yore,  from  the 
peaks  of  Otter  to  the  Grand  Monadnock  ;  then  will 

'  Jura  answer  through  her  misty  cloud, 
Back  to  the  joyous  Alps,  ivho  call  to  her  aloud.' 

"We  are  asked  upon  what  is  our  reliance  in  times  of  excitement; 
what  checks  have  we  upon  popular  violence ;  what  compensation  for 
42 


494  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

human  infirmities ;  wliat  substitutes  for  bayonets,  dragoons,  and  an 
aristocracy?  I  answer,  the  religion  and  morality  of  the  people.  Not 
the  religion  of  the  State  ;  not  the  morality  of  the  fashionable.  Thank 
Heaven,  our  house  is  of  no  Philistine  architecture  !  Our  trust  —  our 
only  trust  —  is  where  it  ought  to  be, —  the  religion  and  morality  of  the 
^vhole  people.  Upon  that  depends,  and  ought  to  depend,  all  that  we 
enjoy  or  hope.  Our  strength  is  in  length,  in  breadth,  and  in  depth. 
It  is  in  us,  and  must  be  felt  and  exercised  by  each  one  and  all  of  us, 
or  our  downfall  is  doomed.  For  we  are  the  people  ;  we  are  our  gov- 
ernors ;  we  are  the  Lord's  anointed ;  we  are  the  powers  that  be,  and 
we  bear  not  the  sword  in  vain.  And  upon  us  is  the  responsibility ; 
humble  and  obscure,  domestic  and  retiring,  secluded  and  solitary,  we 
may  be, —  but  ours  is  still  the  great  national  trust,  go  where  w'e  will ; 
and  to  God  are  we,  one  and  all,  accountable.  Our  responsibility  is  w"ith 
us  ;  it  weighs  upon  us  ;  it  overhangs  us,  like  the  dome  of  this  house  ; 
its  universal  pressure  is  the  great  principle  of  our  protection.  If  the 
just  rules  of  religion  and  morality  pervade  through  all  its  parts,  the 
prodigious  weight  is  gracefully  sustained  ;  but  if  vice  and  corruption 
creep  in  its  divided  circles,  the  enfeebled  fabric  will  yawn  in  dread 
chasms,  and,  crumbling,  will  overwhelm  us  with  unutterable  ruin!" 


TIMOTHY   FULLER. 

JULY  11,  1831.    FOR  THE  ANTI-MASONIC  SOCIETY. 

Was  son  of  Rev.  Timothy  Fuller,  of  Princeton,  Mass.,  and  was 
born  at  Chilmark,  July  11,  1778.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1801,  on  which  occasion  he  took  part  in  the  discussion,  whether 
occupancy  creates  a  right  of  property.  He  was  two  years  a  teacher  in 
Leicester  Academy,  and  read  law  with  the  father  of  Gov.  Levi  Lincoln, 
of  whom  he  acquired  his  Democratic  views.  He  studied  law,  and  prac- 
tised in  Boston,  having  his  residence  at  Cambridge.  His  remarkable 
logical  acuteness,  unwavering  integrity,  and  habitual  philanthropy,  aided 
by  unwearied  application,  won  for  him  rapid  distinction.  As  a  speaker, 
he  was  remarkable  for  ready  address  and  forcible  language,  producing 
popular  eflfect.  He  was  an  active  and  spirited  leader  in  the  Anti- 
masonic  movement  of  1831,  and  was  president  of  the  An ti -masonic 


JOSIAH   QUINCY,  JR.  495 

convention  of  Massachusetts.  He  espoused  the  cause  of  Democracy, 
and  his  pohtical  opinions  are  made  very  obvious  in  an  oration  he  dehv- 
ered  at  Watertown,  July  4,  1809.  Mr.  Fuller  was  a  senator  of  his 
native  State  from  1813  to '16;  was  a  representative  from  Middlesex 
for  Congress  during  the  period  from  1817  to  '25.  He  was  speaker  of 
the  house,  in  the  State  Legislature,  in  1825,  and  one  of  the  governor's 
Council  in  1828. 

Mr.  Fuller  was  an  earnest  advocate  for  the  election  of  John  Quincy 
Adams  to  the  presidency ;  and  that  distinguished  patriot  owed  his  most 
elevated  station,  in  no  small  degree,  to  his  untiring  eiforts.  He  had 
put  forth  his  energies  to  elevate  Mr.  Adams  to  the  chair  of  his  native 
State,  but  without  success. 

Mr.  Fuller  made  several  noted  speeches  in  Congress,  among  which 
was  his  caustic  phihppic  on  the  Seminole  AYar,  that  attracted  marked 
attention.  He  was  chairman  of  the  naval  committee,  and  his  labors  in 
that  department  are  held  in  grateful  remembrance.  In  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  he  withdrew  from  business,  and  retired'  to  Groton.  A 
favorite  project  with  him  was  to  write  a  history  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  object  he  hoped  to  accomplish  in  his  retirement,  from  the 
ample  materials  he  had  gathered  during  his  public  career ;  but  his 
decease,  on  the  1st  day  of  October,  1835,  removed  him  before  his  plan 
had  ripened  for  completion.  Mr.  Fuller  married  Margaret  Crane,  of 
Canton,  and  had  seven  children,  one  of  whom  was  Margaret,  who 
married  the  Marquis  Ossoli,  of  Italy, —  a  lady  highly  estimated  in 
the  literary  world,  who  perished  in  the  wreck  of  the  ship  Elizabeth, 
on  Fire  Island,  near  New  York,  July  19,  1850.  Though  Mr.  Fuller 
was  involved  in  the  outlay  of  time  and  money  incident  to  a  political 
life,  he  left  a  handsome  fortune  accumulated  in  his  profession. 


JOSIAH   QUINCY,  JK. 

JULY  4,  1832.     FOR   THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"Citizens  of  Boston,"  says  our  orator,  in  the  peroration  of  this 
performance,  "you  are  now  assembled  where,  more  than  half  a  century 
ago,  your  fathers  stood,  and  where,  half  a  century  hence,  your  chil- 
di'en  will  probably  stand,  to  celebrate  the  glories  of  the  American  Rev- 


496  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

olution.  May  the  orator  of  that  day  speak  of  a  confederated  republic, 
stretching  from  ocean  to  ocean,  filled  with  arts,  and  civiUzation,  and  free- 
dom !  May  he  speak  of  the  fathers  of  the  Revolution  as  the  instru- 
ments of  estabhshing  and  extending  the  blessings  of  liberty  over  this 
land,  and  over  the  world  !  May  lie  appeal  to  the  then  living  constitu- 
tion of  our  country,  as  an  abiding  witness  of  the  wisdom  and  foresight 
of  men  who  framed  an  instrument  which  a  century  could  scarce 
improve  !  May  he  kindle  the  patriotism  of  his  hearers  by  pointing  to 
the  monument  that  rises  over  the  spot  where  Warren  fell,  and  to  the 
fields  throughout  our  land  that  were  wet  with  the  blood  of  the  victims  in 
the  cause  of  independence  !  But,  in  the  height  of  his  enthusiasm,  may 
he  pause  and  testify  of  the  men  of  this  generation.  May  he  say,  and 
say  truly,  that  they  gained  a  victory  more  glorious  than  was  ever  won 
on  a  tented  field ;  that  the  men  of  the  east  and  of  the  west,  the  man- 
ufacturer of  the  north,  the  planter  of  the  south,  overcame  selfishness, 
and  immolated  local  interest  on  the  altar  of  peace  and  union;  —  that, 
drawing  vrisdom  from  the  experience  of  the  past,  and  weighing  the 
consequences  of  their  actions  on  the  future,  they  calmly  and  deliber- 
ately sacrificed  temporary  and  transient  views  to  the  permanency  of 
ancient  friendship  ;  —  that  they  transmitted  unimpaired  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  the  palladium  of  their  own  and  their  coun- 
try's liberty,  to  their  descendants,  and  deserved  the  name  of  the  pre- 
servers and  perpetuators  of  the  peace,  liberty  and  happiness,  of  these 
States,  then  and  forever  one  —  united  —  indivisible  !  " 

Josiah,  son  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Avas  born  at  Boston,  Jan.  17,  1802.  in 
Pearl-street,  nearly  opposite  the  old  Boston  Athenaeum.  He  was  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Phillips'  Academy,  Andover,  and  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1821,  on  which  occasion  he  en^awd  in  a  discussion 
with  AYarren  Burton,  on  the  elegant  literature  of  England  and  France. 
He  read  law  with  William  Sullivan,  became  a  counsellor-at-law,  and 
married  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Samuel  R.  Miller.  He  was  lieuten- 
ant of  the  Boston  Light  Infantry,  an  aid-de-camp  to  Gov.  Lincoln,  and 
commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  city  Council  in  1833,  and  its  president  in  1834 
to  '37.  He  was  a  member  and  president  of  the  Senate  in  1842.  He 
was  elected  mayor  of  Boston  from  1845  to  '49.  Owing  to  his  finan- 
cial skill  in  the  direction  of  the  Western  Railroad  enterprise,  during 
twelve  years  of  the  most  perilous  period  of  its  course,  it  had  become 
one  of  the  safest  investments  in  the  stock  market ;  was  treasurer,  also, 


JOSIAH   QUINCYj  JR.  497 

of  the  Vermont  Central  Railroad.  His  veto,  as  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  in  May,  1847,  on  the  exciting  license  question,  redounds 
as  greatly  to  liis  honor  as  the  enterprise  of  Long  Pond ;  and  elicited 
two  famous  songs,  one  of  which  was  on  "  The  Man  that  Dared  Stand 
Alone,"  and  the  other  beginning  with, 

' '  God  bless  the  Mayor's  casting  vote  ! 
A  thousand  hearts  exclaim." 

Mr.  Quincy  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum  in  1837, 
and  retained  the  station  for  fifteen  years.  He  deserves  the  reputation 
of  having  been  the  chief  instrument  in  effecting  the  erection  of  the 
present  splendid  edifice  of  the  institution,  on  its  delightful  location  in 
Beacon-street,  by  the  endorsement  of  his  name  to  very  great  amounts, 
in  times  of  pressure,  and  as  chairman  of  the  building  committee.  Thus 
this  noble  institution  is  as  much  under  obligation  to  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr., 
for  its  present  prosperity,  as  to  William  Smith  Shaw  for  its  origin. 

It  is  related  of  the  Quincys,  that  on  the  day  after  the  election  of  the 
junior  to  the  presidency  of  the  Senate,  in  1842,  a  gentleman,  meeting 
them  in  State-street,  remarked  that  it  was  a  singular  circumstance 
there  should  be  two  presidents  in  the  same  family,  at  the  same  time; 
on  which.  President  Quincy  senior,  breasting  himself  with  dignity, 
replied,  ' '  There  is  a  difference,  however,  in  magnitude,  as  one  star  dif- 
fereth  from  another  star."  Whereat,  President  Quincy  the  junior 
archly  remarked,  "That  is  true  enough,  father  ;  for  you  are  the  presi- 
dent of  boys,  while  I  am  the  president  of  men." 

When  the  young  men  of  Boston  had  a  public  festival  in  honor  of 
Charles  Dickens,  Feb.  2,  1842,  Mr.  Quincy  presided;  and,  in  allusion 
to  the  remark  of  the  president  of  Harvard  University,  that  it  was  a 
very  good  thing  for  a  man  to  carry  his  toast  in  his  pocket,  lest  his 
memory  might  fail.  Mr.  Quincy  stated  that  he  had  so  far  acted  upon 
that  principle  as  to  prepare  a  toast  which  he  had  hoped  would  draw  a 
speech  from  Gov.  Davis ;  but  he  unfortunately  had  kept  it  in  his  pocket 
too  long,  for  the  governor  had  retired.  The  toast  was,  "  The  Political 
Pilots  of  Old  England  and  New  England  :  Though  their  titles  may  be 
different,  they  observe  the  same  luminaries  in  the  literary,  and  steer 
by  the  same  stars  in  the  moral,  horizon."  The  effective  speech  of  Mr. 
Quincy  on  this  occasion  —  a  Welcome  to  Charles  Dickens  —  appears 
in  the  Boston  Book  for  1850. 

When  the  telegraph  wires  were  stretched  from  Boston  to  Salem,  in 
42* 


498  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   OEATORS. 

December,  1847,  and  were  in  full  operation,  the  following  message  was 
transmitted :  "  The  mayor  of  the  city  of  Salem  sends  his  compliments 
to  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Boston,  congratulating  him  on  the  completion 
of  the  new  bond  of  union  between  the  two  cities."  To  which  Mr. 
Quincy,  with  his  usual  felicity,  made  reply:  "The  mayor  of  Boston 
reciprocates  the  compliments  of  the  mayor  of  Salem,  and  rejoices  that 
letters  of  light  connect  the  metropolis  with  the  birth-place  of  Bow- 
ditch."  This  reminds  one  of  a  happy  allusion,  in  a  burning  address 
of  Horace  Mann  to  his  constituents,  on  the  subject  of  slavery:  "My 
words  have  been  cool  as  the  telegraphic  wires,  while  my  feelings  have 
been  like  the  lightning  that  runs  through  them."  The  junior  Quincy 
is  one  of  the  rarest  wits  amongst  us.  He  once  remarked,  with  as  much 
truth  as  humor,  at  a  military  festival,  that  it  has  been  discovered  that 
intemperate  conviviality  is  not  the  only  bond  of  military  union;  — that 
rum,  mixed  with  gunpowder,  is  not  the  only  means  of  inspiring  cour- 
age ;  and  that  men  who  can  stand  alone  are  best  fitted  to  stand  bj 
one  another. 

The  fame  of  the  Long  Pond  Water  Works  will  ever  be  identified 
with  the  two  Mayors  Quincy,  senior  and  junior.  To  Mayor  Quincy 
the  senior  we  yield  the  palm  as  being  the  first  mayor  who  publicly 
advised  and  urged,  in  his  inaugural  address,  January,  1826,  the  uni- 
versal introduction  of  water  through  all  the  streets,  lanes  and  avenues, 
of  the  city,  either  from  Charles  or  Neponset  rivers.  To  Mayor  Quincy 
the  junior  we  yield  the  palm  as  being  the  leader  who  promptly  efiected 
the  project ;  and  to  Loammi  Baldwin,  an  eminent  engineer  who  died 
in  June,  1838,  we  concede  the  reputation  of  originating  the  conception 
in  1827,  and  devising  the  enterprise,  Oct.  1,  1834,  of  procuring  the 
source  of  supply  from  Long  Pond.  The  Union  Water  Convention  of 
delegates  from  each  ward  in  Boston,  which  held  its  first  meeting  at 
Tremont  Temple,  June  9,  1845,  and  elected  Charles  AUyn  Wells,  Esq., 
president,  was  the  great  moving  cause  of  forwarding  this  enterprise, 
which  was  completed  under  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.  The  act  of  the  State 
for  supplying  the  city  of  Boston  with  pure  water  from  Long  Pond  was 
approved  by  Gov.  Briggs,  March  30, 1846.  Is  not  the  name  of ' '  Cochit- 
uate,"  on  the  city  ordinance,  a  palpable  misnomer,  establishing  a  Water 
Board  in  December,  1849 '?  This  magnificent  enterprise,  completed  at 
the  expense  of  not  less  than  five  millions  of  dollars,  transcends  any 
other  public  work  ever  efiected  by  the  people  of  Boston.  It  has  been 
felicitously  said  of  the  younger  Quincy,  that  he  has  written  his  name 


JOSIAH    QUINCY,  JR.  499 

in  water,  yet  it  shall  last  forever.  The  imaginative  vision  of  posterity 
shall  see  it  written  in  letters  of  light,  in  the  rainbows  of  the  fountains. 
The  people  of  Boston  have  never  found  him  dry,  and  he  has  taken  care 
they  never  shall  be  so. 

AVhen  Mr.  Quincy  attended  a  public  festival  in  honor  of  the  visiters 
at  the  industrial  exhibition  in  Montreal,  October,  1850,  he  remarked, 
in  an  effective  speech  at  the  table  :  ' '  Where  is  civil  liberty  enjoyed  in 
a  higher  degree  than  in  this,  or  in  that  other  British  country,  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic '}  There  is  one  difference,  though,  that  is  not  so 
very  great  an  one  as  might  at  first  sight  appear.  You  —  all  of  you 
—  bow  down  to  the  sovereign  Lady,  collectively.  We  bow  down  to 
one  sovereign  lady,  each  for  himself  This  is  the  only  difference  ;  and 
I  fear  we  cannot  all  say,  as  you  can  of  your  lady,  that  our  sovereign 
lady  is,  as  a  wife  and  mother,  an  ornament  and  honor  to  her  sex,  the 
first  in  virtue,  and  the  first  in  place." 

At  the  first  celebration  of  the  Cape  Cod  Association,  in  Boston, 
Nov.  11,  1851,  a  pleasant  incident  was  elicited  by  the  following  toast : 
"  The  Elder  and  the  Younger  Quincy: 

While  for  the  former.  Time,  with  gentle  hand, 

And  all  reluctant,  slowly  turns  the  sand, 

The  latter  shows  so7ne  mai'ks  —  we  hope  unfelt  — 

Of  early  snoAvs  that  summer  will  not  melt. 

I  ci-ave  their  pardon,  but  must  ask,  for  one. 

How  shall  we  know  the  father  from  the  son  ? ' ' 

This  sentiment  excited  great  merriment.  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy 
junior  rose,  in  the  midst  of  the  universal  laughter,  and  cried  out, 
"Gentlemen,  I  introduce  to  you  mij  son,  who  sits  on  the  right  of  the 
'chair.'  "  The  venerable  President  Quincy  then  rose,  was  greeted 
with  cordial  welcome,  and  proceeded  to  speak,  with  severity,  of  the  dis- 
obedience of  some  sons.  He  was  very  happy  in  his  remarks.  He 
concluded  by  giving  as  a  toast,  "  The  Inhabitants  of  Cape  Cod." 

Mr.  Quincy,  Jr.,  now  responded  to  his  half  of  the  sentiment  above 
given;  and,  among  other  things,  said  that  he  "was  a  wise  child  that 
knew  his  own  father,  and  then  gave :  "  The  Sons  of  Cape  Cod :  May 
they  always  be  better  men  than  their  fathers." 


500  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

EDWARD   GOLDSBOROUGH   PRESCOTT. 

JULY   i,  1832.     FOR  THE  BOSTON   REGIMENT. 

Was  grandson  of  Hon.  William  Prescott,  a  leader  in  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  •whom  Washington  described  as  "  Prescott  the  brave." 
It  is  related  that  when  Gen.  Warren  came  up  to  the  works,  a  short 
time  before  the  action,  on  Bunker  Hill,  with  a  musket  in  his  hand,  Col. 
Prescott  proposed  to  him  that  he  should  take  the  command,  as  he  under- 
stood he  had  been  appointed  bj  Congress  to  be  major-general,  the  day 
previous.  Warren  replied,  "I  have  no  command  here;  I  have  not 
received  my  commission.  I  come  as  a  volunteer,  and  shall  be  happy 
to  learn  service  from  a  soldier  of  your  experience."  Daniel  Webster 
says,  "If  there  was  any  commander-in-chief  in  the  field,  it  was  Pres- 
cott." Frothingham's  Siege  of  Boston  is  the  most  reliable  statement 
extant  of  the  scenes  around  the  head-quarters  of  the  great  Amer- 
ican Revolution.  The  father  of  Edward  was  born  at  Pepperell, 
Aug.  19,  1762,  and  married  Catharine  G.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hick- 
ling,  Esq.,  of  the  Island  of  St.  Michael's,  December,  1793.  He  was 
an  Essex  senator  in  1805,  of  Gov.  Gore's  Council  in  1809,  judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Suifolk,  and  in  1820  a  delegate  of 
the  convention  for  revising  the  State  constitution. 

Young  Edward  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass..  Jan.  2,  1804.  His  ele- 
mentary education  was  at  Brighton,  under  the  tuition  of  Jacob  N. 
Knapp,  a  brother  of  the  celebrated  biographer  and  lawyer,  who  will 
ever  be  remembered  as  the  teacher,  also,  of  Wilham  Hickling,  the  most 
eminent  American  historian,  a  brother  of  Edward,  whose  researches  in 
Spanish,  Mexican  and  Peruvian  annals,  —  the  more  attractive  in  a 
soul  so  remarkable  for  modesty  and  gentleness, —  brighten  the  family 
escutcheon.  He  afterwards  became  a  pupil  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner, 
a  scholar  of  the  school  of  Parr,  who  made  his  pupils  men,  as  well  as 
scholars.  He  was  further  prepared  for  Harvard  College  under  Master 
Carter,  of  Lancaster ;  and  graduated  at  college  in  1825,  when  he 
engaged  in  the  study  of  law  under  his  venerated  father,  and  soon 
became  a  counsellor  at  the  Suffolk  bar.  He  was  naturally  eloquent, 
acquitting  himself  fluently,  and,  from  the  force  of  his  own  convictions, 
impressively.  When  at  that  bar,  he  received  frequent  applications  in 
eminent  cases,  as  the  counsel  most  likely  to  be  efifective,  by  his  popular 


EDWAKD   GOLDSBOROUCtH   PRESCOTT.  501 

address,  in  the  interests  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Boston  city  Council  from  1830  to  1835,  and  a  representative  to 
the  State  Legislature.  Previous  to  1832,  he  delivered  an  oration  on 
our  national  birth-day,  at  Pepperell ;  and  in  this  year  he  was  elected 
commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  and  was 
the  colonel  of  the  Boston  regiment.  He  was,  for  a  period,  editor  of 
the  New  England  Galaxy,  originated  by  Mr.  Buckingham,  which  he 
conducted  with  a  fair  and  liberal  spirit.  The  oration  of  Mr.  Prescott, 
delivered  for  the  city  authorities  of  Boston,  July  4,  1833,  was  pub- 
lished. 

Col.  Prescott  remarks,  in  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  outline,  that 
"the  whole  field  of  our  literature  is  left  unexplored.  Our  previous 
situation,  and  the  times  themselves,  have  heretofore  rendered  this  nec- 
essary. Our  inhabitants,  for  a  long  period  struggling  for  freedom, 
afterwards  found  themselves  impoverished,  and  obliged  to  contend  for 
existence.  It  Avas  not  until  of  late  years  that  we  have  found  leisure 
to  become  a  literary  nation,  or  the  power  to  encourage  native  talent. 
Both  are  now  ours,  and  a  territory  lies  before  us  such  as  has  never  yet 
been  wandered  over,  fraught,  even  in  our  brief  history,  with  deeds  of 
daring  and  endurance  which  far  outstrip  the  bright  coloring  of  fiction, 
and  scenes  of  romantic  and  sublime  interest  which  may  challenge  the 
world.  These  are  the  newly-opened  quarries  out  of  which  native  gen- 
ius has  already  begun  to  hew  for  itself  immortality ;  and  from  Avhich, 
such  men  as  Irving,  Cooper,  Bryant,  Percival,  Sprague.  and  a  host  of 
others  of  our  young  countrymen,  have  drawn  the  materials  of  their  early 
fame." 

In  his  earliest  childhood,  Mr.  Prescott  made  it  his  chief  delight,  it 
is  said,  to  enact  the  pastor.  Seldom  has  it  happened  that  a  life  has 
wandered  further  astray  than  his, —  dissolute,  perhaps,  even  as  the 
immortal  Col.  Gardiner, —  from  this  its  earliest  promise,  to  bring  it 
out  so  clear,  and  full,  and  beautiful,  at  last.  From  the  immediate 
centre  of  what  the  world  calls  pleasure,  says  Bishop  Doane,  with 
everything  that  could  infatuate  the  heart  and  overwork  the  brain, —  in 
professional  success,  in  official  station,  in  worldly  prospect, —  Mr.  Pres- 
cott, by  God's  grace,  escaped.  Previous  to  taking  holy  orders,  Mr. 
Prescott  remarked  to  a  friend,  "I  have  served  the  devil  long  enough, 
and  I  will  henceforth  devote  myself  to  God."  He  gave  the  whole 
power  of  his  soul  to  divinity,  prayer,  and  Christian  cfibrt ;   and  most 


502  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

firmly,  from  the  pure  love  of  his  boy's  heart,  in  the  parish  of  St.  John's, 
at  Salem,  N.  J.,  over  -which,  about  the  year  1836,  he  became  the  rec- 
tor, and  ever  sent  out,  to^varcls  the  "wide  world  from  ■which  he  Avas  res- 
cued, -warm  thoughts  of  joyful  gratitude  that  he  had  escaped  its  snares. 
He  "was  always  anxious  to  sho"w  that  he  had  taken  this  stand,  and  "was 
to  shrink,  on  no  occasion,  from  avowing  himself  a  true  follower  of  the 
Cross.  He  Avas  married  by  Bishop  Doane,  in  St.  John's  Church,  New 
Jersey,  in  the  year  1835,  to  Miss  Margaret  J.  Smith,  of  that  parish. 
He  loved  the  sanctuary  and  its  worship.  He  would  have  lived  in  it. 
Its  very  nails  and  hinges  had  for  him,  says  Doane,  a  sacredness.  Our 
rector  had  devoted  so  much  of  his  life  to  military  ambition,  that,  long 
after  he  had  entered  the  clerical  profession,  his  mind  would  dwell  upon 
it ;  and  one  day,  meeting  an  early  military  associate,  at  the  Astor 
House,  in  New  York  city,  who  informed  him  that  a  military  review  was 
to  take  place  up  in  the  city,  Mr.  Prescott  remarked  he  could  not  repress 
his  desire  to  witness  the  scene,  and  they  proceeded  directly  to  the 
spot. 

The  sermons  of  Mr.  Prescott  were  of  high  ability  and  eloquence, 
and  fruitful  in  doctrine  and  practical  sentiment ;  and  should  be  rescued 
from  oblivion,  as  their  appearance  to  the  public  eye  would  advance  the 
reputation  of  theological  literature,  and  extend  the  growth  of  piety  in 
our  repubhc.  As  a  catechist  for  the  youth  of  his  parish,  he  was 
intensely  devoted  to  the  work,  and  displayed  peculiar  tact,  endearing 
himself  to  the  young  lambs  of  the  flock.  At  length,  the  slow  decay 
which  wasted  his  life  brought  him,  as  men  say,  to  his  death.  On  the 
8th  of  April,  1844,  he  took  passage  from  Boston  for  the  Azores 
Islands,  hoping  the  restoration  of  his  health.  The  pale  cheek,  that 
warmed  itself  into  a  smile  of  melancholy,  is  colder  now  than  the  salt 
■wave  that  moans  his  lonely  requiem.  Prescott  waits  in  the  deep 
caves,  a  thousand  fathoms  down,  until  the  sea  shall  yield  her  dead. 
The  beautiful  surplice,  made  for  him  by  his  dear  mother,  in  which  he 
ever  gracefully  officiated,  Mr.  Px'escott  bequeathed  to  his  closest  friend, 
the  Rev.  \Yilliam  Croswell,  of  Boston,  who,  on  receiving  it,  remarked 
that  it  would  be  a  suitable  winding-sheet  for  himself;  and.  on  his  recent 
sudden  decease,  the  surplice  of  Prescott  enshrouded  the  remains  of 
Croswell.  What  over-payment  of  a  father's  best  exertions,  of  a 
mother's  least  reserving  sacrifices,  a  ministry  for  souls  hke  that  of 
Edward  Goldsborough  Prescott ! 


EDWARD   GOLDSBOROUGH   PRESCOTT.  603 

ELEGIAC. 

[Written  in  a  copy  of  Milton,  presented  by  the  late  Kev.  Edward  G.  Prescott,  who  died  on  his  passage 
to  the  Azores,  on  the  third  day  after  his  departure  from  Boston,  on  board  the  Harbinger,  April  11, 1844.1 

"  Eheu  quantum  minus  est  cum  reliquis  versnri,  quam  tui  meminisse."  * 

Thy  cherished  gift,  departed  friend, 

With  trembling  I  unfold, 
And  fondly  gaze  upon  its  lids, 

In  crimson  wrought  and  gold : 
I  open  to  its  dirge-like  strain 

On  one  who  died  at  sea,  — 
And  as  I  read  of  Lycidas, 

I  think  the  while  on  thee  ! 
Thy  languid  spirit  sought,  in  vain, 

The  beautiful  Azores, 
But,  ere  it  reached  the  middle  main, 

AVas  wrapt  to  happier  shores  ; 
As  in  a  dream-like  halcyon  calm, 

It  entered  on  its  rest. 
Amid  the  groves  of  Paradise, 

And  islands  of  the  blest, 
Kind  friends  aftir,  at  thy  behest. 

Had  fitted  bower  and  hall. 
To  entertain  their  kindred  guest, 

In  ever  green  Fayal  : 
In  greener  bowers  thy  bed  is  made. 

And  sounder  is  thy  sleep, 
Than  ever  life  had  known  among 

The  chambers  of  the  deep  ! 
No  mark  along  the  waste  may  tell 

The  place  of  thy  repose. 
But  there  is  Oxe  who  loved  thee  well, 

And  loved  by  thee,  AVho  knows  ; 
And  though  now  sunk,  like  Lycidas, 

Beneath  the  watery  floor. 
Yet  Tuis  great  might  who  walked  the  waves 

Shall  thy  dear  form  restore. 
Though  years  may  first  pass  by,  no  time 

His  purpose  shall  derange. 
And  in  His  guardianship  thy  soul 

Shall  suffer  no  sea-change  ; 
And  when  the  depths  give  up  their  charge, 

Oj  may  our  welcome  be. 
With  thine,  among  Christ's  ransomed  throngs. 

Where  there  is  no  more  sea  ! 

William  Cuoswell 
St.  Peter's  Parsoxage,  Acbcrn',  October,  1844. 

*  •'  AlaB     of  how  much  less  value  it  is  to  be  conversant  with  such  as  remain  than  to  recollect  thee  '■  " 


504  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

ANDREW   DUNLAP. 

JULY  4,  1832.    FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  bom  at  Salem,  Mass.,  Sept.  21,  1794,  and  was  the  only  son 
of  the  late  James  Dunlap,  a  reputable  merchant  of  that  city,  and  a 
native  of  Ireland.  He  was  a  scholar  of  the  famous  Rev.  Dr.  Bentley, 
and  from  his  earliest  childhood  was  esteemed  as  a  boy  of  brilhant  parts. 
On  leaving  Harvard  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1813,  he  entered 
on  the  study  of  law,  under  John  Pitman,  Esq.,  a  counsellor  of  Salem, 
afterwards  the  U.  S.  District  Judge  for  Rhode  Island.  On  the  com- 
pletion of  his  legal  course,  which  he  pursued  with  devotion,  he  was 
entered  as  an  attorney  in  his  native  city.  He  soon  became  distin- 
guished for  his  eloquence  and  zeal  in  his  profession.  In  1819  Mr. 
Dunlap  gave  an  oration  for  the  young  men  of  Salem,  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  Avhich  excited  great  admiration,  and  was  the  occasion  of  flattering 
letters  to  the  young  orator,  from  the  early  Presidents  Adams  and  Jeffer- 
son. He  removed  to  Boston  in  the  next  year,  where  he  married  Lucy 
Ann  Charlotte  Augusta,  daughter  of  Samuel  Fales,  Esq.,  merchant  of 
Boston.  Here  his  effective  eloquence  made  him  a  popular  advocate, 
especially  in  criminal  cases,  and  opened  to  him  a  wide  field  of  profes- 
sional practice.  He  delivered  orations  in  1822  and  in  1832,  in  Boston, 
on  our  national  birth-day.  He  was  warmly  attached  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  became  a  favorite  speaker  at  their  political  meetings ; 
and  was  an  early  advocate  of  the  election  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  the 
presidency,  'and  was  friendly  to  his  administration  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  In  1827  Mr.  Dunlap  was  elected  as  a  representative  for 
Boston,  and  was  defeated  the  same  year  in  a  contest  for  the  State 
Senate. 

Mr.  Dunlap  was  appointed,  in  March,  1829,  the  Attorney  of  the 
United  States  for  the  District  of  INIassachusetts.  The  important  duties 
of  this  office  he  discharged  until  within  a  short  period  of  his  decease, 
with  professional  courtesy  most  winning  towards  the  bar  and  the 
bench,  with  generosity  unrivalled  towards  prisoners,  and  with  clear- 
ness and  fidelity  to  his  station.  That  he  was  tenacious  of  his  political 
principles  was  ever  obvious :  he  gave  the  following  sentiment  at  a 
public  festival,  July  4,  1829  :  "  The  Ebony  and  Topaz  of  the  Political 
World :  The  aristocracy  who  pretend  that  they  alone  are  qualified  for 


ANDREW   DUNLAP.  505 

superior  stations,  and  the  common  people  destined  to  labor  —  for  the 
•liberties  of  mankind."  He  resigned  the  station  a  few  months  previous 
to  his  decease,  feeling  admonished,  by  the  disease  which  eventually 
terminated  his  existence,  and  was  then  casting  its  shadows  over  his 
path,  to  retire  from  active  labor,  and  not  choosing  "to  lag  superflu- 
ous" in  his  office  when  the  power  of  fully  sustaining  its  burdens  no 
longer  remained.  His  resignation  drew  from  Hon.  Joseph  Story,  and 
also  from  Hon.  Judge  Davis,  testimonials  expressive  of  their  affec- 
tionate personal  regard,  and  of  their  decided  approbation  of  his  official 
conduct.  The  hope  was  indulged  by  his  friends  that  a  tour  to  the 
south  would  restore  his  health ;  but  it  proved  unavailing,  or  only  pro- 
tracted, for  a  short  period,  the  hour  of  his  final  departure.  He 
returned  from  Washington,  whither  he  had  gone,  to  his  native  town, 
where  he  died  in  the  bosom  of  his  family  connections,  July  27,  1835. 
One  of  his  last  sentiments  —  uttered  at  that  period  when  the  mind 
looks  with  clearness  through  all  the  events  of  life,  even  though  the  eye 
of  the  countenance  be  dim  —  is  worthy  of  remembrance,  says  Charles 
Sumner,  who  prepared  and  edited  the  Treatise  on  the  Practice  of 
Courts  of  Admiralty  in  Civil  Cases  of  Maritime  Jurisdiction,  pub- 
lished in  1836, —  a  work  which  would  perpetuate  his  memory,  though 
his  eloquence  and  patriotic  fervor  were  unknown.  He  said,  that  one 
of  his  happiest  reflections,  at  that  moment,  was,  that,  in  the  whole 
course  of  his  professional  life,  he  had  never  pressed  hard  upon  any 
man.  He  was,  indeed,  a  man  of  generous  impulses.  All  his  feelings 
were  strong,  and  were  the  great  source  of  his  eloquence.  What  he 
did  was  the  act  of  his  whole  heart.  And  no  man's  heart  beat  quicker 
than  his,  at  the  call  of  patriotism  or  philanthropy.  We  are  quoting 
Sumner,  mostly.  He  was  fearless  in  his  conduct,  kind  towards  his 
inferiors,  and  amiable  towards  all  around  him.  His  public  addresses 
were  in  a  style  vigorous,  warm,  and  often  impassioned,  like  his  whole 
character.  In  the  responsible  duties  of  a  wide  practice,  he  was  inva- 
riably prompt,  conciliatory  and  honorable,  as  he  was  able,  learned,  and 
indefatigable.  His  arguments  to  the  court  and  jury  often  attested,  not 
only  a  large  acquaintance  with  the  books  of  his  profession,  but,  also, 
with  those  of  literature  and  general  knowledge.  Some  of  them  are 
preserved  in  the  Reports  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  First  Circuit,  and  in  those  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Dunlap,  in  his  defence  of  Abner  Kneeland,  who  was  charged  with 
the  crime  of  blasphemy,  advanced  a  manly  exposition  of  the  rights 
43 


50G  THE    nUTjIDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

of  conscience,  which  -ff'ill  be  read  with  interest  long  after  the  excitement 
of  the  trial  shall  be  forgotten.  May  the  scourge  of  infidelity  ever  be 
averted  from  this  rei^ublic  ! 

In  the  oration  of  Andrew  Dunlap,  at  the  head  of  this  outline,  writ- 
ten in  a  style  of  great  eloqvxence,  we  find  a  passage  breathing  the  true 
spirit  of  the  Revolution,  in  a  manly  tone :  "  The  purity  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  Amei'ican  Revolution  sheds  lustre  on  its  history.  It  was 
a  contest,  not  of  ambition,  but  of  principle.  Those  who  shone  in  the 
council  and  gained  laurels  in  the  field  were  not  pursuing  the  shadow  of 
false  glory.  Their  sole  desire  was  to  secure  the  freedom  of  their 
country.  They  knew  that  the  conflict  would  be  arduous,  exhaust  the 
resources  and  shed  the  blood  of  an  infant  people.  With  the  courage  of 
heroes  they  united  the  mild  virtues  of  philosophers  and  philanthropists, 
and  never  appealed  to  arms  till  the  measure  of  injuries  was  full,  till 
all  hope  of  redress  vanished,  and  the  only  alternative  left  was  that 
before  of  Brutus  and  the  Romans, —  to  live  freemen,  or  die  slaves. 
If  there  ever  was  a  people  under  the  sun  who  were  armed  in  honesty, 
and  could  with  sincerity  appeal  to  Heaven  for  the  sublime  purity  of 
their  motives  and  purposes,  it  was  the  people  of  America  bursting  the 
ties  which  had  united  them  for  more  than  a  century  to  Great  Britain. 

"The  world  ackno^Yledged  the  justice  of  our  cause.  France  and 
Holland  became  our  friends,  and  the  great  Frederick  of  Prussia  left 
on  record,  in  his  works,  a  condemnation  of  the  wickedness  and  madness 
of  the  British  government.  After  the  loss  of  thirteen  provinces,  a 
hundred  thousand  of  the  lives  of  his  subjects,  and  a  hundred  milhons 
of  their  treasure,  the  British  monarch  was  compelled  to  acknowledge 
American  independence.  Many  of  the  most  inveterate  enemies  of 
America  became  convinced  of  their  errors.  Even  the  celebrated  Gen- 
eral Burgoyne  recanted  his  political  heresies,  and  confessed,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  the  principle  of  the  American  war  was  wrong. 
Yet  this  convert  had  been  one  of  our  most  violent  persecutors.  He 
had,  to  use  his  oatu  language,  thrown  himself  at  his  majesty's  feet, 
and  solicited  the  honor  of  crushing  those  wilful  outcasts,  the  Amer- 
ican rebels,  to  whom  he  afterwards  surrendered,  at  Saratoga.  It  was 
this  general  who  denounced  upon  our  country  devastation,  famine, 
and  every  concomitant  horror,  and  threatened  to  let  slip  those  dogs  of 
war,  his  savage  auxiliaries,  the  employment  of  whom  the  great  friend 
to  America  called  in  vain  upon  the  lords  bishops  to  oppose  with  the 
sanctity  of  their  lawn,  and  whose  merciless  aid  had  been  secured  at  a 


JOHN   WADE.  507 

war-feast,  where,  as  an  eminent  English  historian  relates,  the  king's 
minister-plenipotentiary  to  the  poor  Indians  was  invited  to  banquet 
upon  a  Bostonian,  and  to  drink  his  blood.  The  violators  of  our  rights 
at  length  received  the  punishment  of  their  transgressions.  It  was  the 
last  wish  of  Lord  Chatham  that  the  vengeance  of  the  nation  might 
fall  heavy  upon  the  ministry.  It  was  the  hope  of  Mr.  Fox  that  they 
might  be  sent  into  ignominious  retirement,  Avith  the  curses  of  their 
country  upon  their  heads.  That  wish  was  accomphshed,  that  hope 
was  realized.  The  malediction  of  the  country  followed  them,  and 
the  reprobation  of  posterity  will  forever  rest  upon  their  memories.  Is 
it  not  a  subject  of  the  proudest  reflection,  that  our  country  was  right, 
as  well  as  successful ;  and  that  the  American  Revolution  as  much 
deserves  admiration  for  the  lustre  of  its  political  virtue,  as  the  bril- 
liance of  its  military  triumphs'?  " 

AndrcAY  Dunlap,  beside  being  the  legal  pleader  of  government,  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  rhetorical  advocate  of  measures  devised  by  the 
managers  of  party  political  machinery  :  indeed,  he  was  the  most  pop- 
ular orator  of  the  Democracy.  At  the  public  dinner  in  Faneuil  Hall, 
of  which  he  once  said  that  the  soul  of  our  ancestry  ever  filled  the  con 
secrated  spot,  Mr.  Dunlap  gave  this  characteristic  sentiment:  "The 
Republican  Party:  By  maintaining  the  purity  of  their  principles,  they 
maintain  the  rights  of  the  people ;  by  preserving  union  in  their  ranks, 
they  preserve  the  union  of  the  States." 


JOHN  WADE. 

JULY  4,  1833.    FOR  THE  WASHINGTON  SOCIETY. 

Was  son  of  Col.  John  "\Yadc,  and  born  at  Woburn,  September, 
1808.  He  Avas  early  educated  at  Lexington  Academy ;  graduated  at 
Amherst  College  in  1830 ;  and  was  one  year  a  student  at  the  Law 
School,  in  Cambridge.  He  read  law  two  years  under  Bradford  Sum- 
ner, Esq.,  of  Boston ;  was  an  attorney  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
in  1833 ;  and  married  Ann  Elizabeth  Warfield,  of  Baltimore,  Avhere 
he  finally  settled.  The  oration  of  Mr.  Wade  was  published  in  the 
Boston  Daily  Post,  shortly  after  its  delivery.  He  died  in  Baltimore, 
Oct.  22,  1851. 


508  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

AMASA  WALKER. 

JULY  4,  1833.    FOR  THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  SOdETIES  OF  BOSTON. 

Was  born  at  AVoodstock,  Conn.,  J\Iay  4, 1799.  His  father  removed, 
in  the  year  1800,  to  that  part  of  Brookfield  since  incorporated  as  North 
Brookfield.  He  was  early  educated  in  the  public  school,  and  partly 
fitted  for  college  under  the  tuition  of  Rev.  Dr.  Snell.  Among  his 
fellow-students  at  this  period  were  the  late  Dr.  Mead,  of  New  York, 
Judge  Cheever,  of  Albany,  and  Wilham  Cullen  Bryant,  the  poet.  Ill 
health  compelled  him  to  withdraw  from  mental  studies ;  and,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  he  was  employed  in  the  store  of  Col.  Charles  Henshaw,  at 
North  Brookfield.  When  of  age,  he  entered  in  partnership  with  the 
late  Allen  Newhall,  Esq.,  at  West  Brookfield,  with  whom  he  continued 
during  a  period  of  more  than  two  years.  In  the  days  of  his  minority 
he  had  saved  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars,  which 
was  his  capital  for  business.  His  father  aided  him  with  a  few  hundreds 
more,  and  his  net  profits  there  were  soon  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 
In  1823  he  removed  to  Methuen,  and  became  an  agent  to  the  Methuen 
]\Ianufacturing  Company,  at  a  salary  of  only  six  hundred  dollars ;  but, 
previous  to  his  withdrawal,  it  is  said,  the  company  made  him  the 
ofier  of  twice  that  sum,  which  he  declined.  While  here.  Mr.  Walker 
originated  a  literary  society,  in  connection  with  the  late  Timothy 
Claxton,  which  afterwards  erected  what  is  known  as  Lyceum  Hall.  In 
the  year  1825  he  became  a  commission-merchant  at  Boston,  in  South 
Market-street,  and  engaged  in  the  wholesale  shoe  business,  which  he 
continued  until  1840,  when,  owing  to  ill  health,  he  sold  his  stock  to 
Messrs.  Emerson,  Harris  &  Potter,  his  former  partners.  Mr.  Walker 
was  one  of  the  first  in  his  line  of  business  to  open  a  trade  with  the 
western  part  of  our  country,  in  the  extension  of  which  he  aided  largely 
in  our  metropolis. 

Wliile  a  citizen  of  Boston,  Mr.  Walker  was  actively  engaged  in 
originating  and  sustaining  the  Boston  Lyceum,  in  1829,  which  com- 
menced its  operations  in  Chauncey-place  Hall.  It  increased  in  mem- 
bers and  popularity,  until  even  the  Tremont  Temple  did  not  afibrd 
suitable  room  for  those  who  desired  tickets.  Mr.  Walker  was  its  first 
secretary,  and  was  author  of  its  first  report ;  afterwards  its  president, 
and,  during  nearly  fourteen  years,  one  of  the  board  of  managers. 
This  was  the  first  institution  of  that  character  in  New  England,  except- 


AMASA  WALKER.  509 

ing  one  said  to  have  been  established  at  Worcester,  in  1825 ;  and  Avas 
the  first  society  of  young  men  in  Boston  that  admitted  ladies  to  its 
lectures.  Vigorous  efforts  were  required  in  its  operations,  and  to  have 
it  properly  conducted,  during  the  earliest  period  of  its  existence; 
and  the  eagle  eye  of  Mr.  Walker  watched  its  course  with  jealous  care. 
Shortly  after  his  removal  from  Boston,  the  institution  was  dissolved, 
giving  way  to  the  Mercantile  Library  Association,  and  other  popular 
kindred  institutions. 

Mr.  Walker  was  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  the  establishment 
of  that  glory  of  New  England,  the  Western  Railroad ;  and  wrote  and 
spoke  warmly  in  advocacy  of  the  measure,  then  deemed  visionary.  He 
was  energetic  in  efforts  to  obtain  subscribers  to  the  stock ;  was  one  of 
the  directors,  for  three  years,  on  the  part  of  the  stockholders ;  and,  in 
1840,  was  a  director  on  the  part  of  the  State. 

He  was,  at  an  early  period  after  he  came  to  Boston,  actively  engaged 
in  political  life,  and  was  often  nominated  for  city  and  State  offices.  In 
1837  he  was  a  candidate  for  Congress,  in  opposition  to  Hon.  Richard 
Fletcher,  and  received  the  entire  support  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
that  canvass.  He  was  nominated,  also,  for  the  office  of  mayor  by  the 
same  party.  Mr.  Walker  has  ever  been  an  advocate  of  immediate 
emancipation,  and  was  for  many  years  connected  with  the  Massachu- 
setts Anti-slavery  Society.  In  1848  he  was  elected,  by  the  Free  Soil 
party  of  North  Brookfield,  a  State  representative.  In  1849  he  was 
elected  to  the  State  Senate  by  the  coalition  of  the  Democratic  and  Free 
Soil  parties.  In  1850  he  was  the  Free  Soil  candidate  for  lieutenant- 
governor  ;  and,  in  October  of  the  same  year,  he  was  president  of  their 
convention,  held  at  Worcester.  In  1851  Mr.  Walker  was  elected  Sec- 
retary of  State,  by  the  Legislature.  He  has  been  devoted  to  the 
temperance  cause,  taking  the  lead  in  numerous  meetings  and  conven- 
tions. He  was  president  of  the  first  total  abstinence  society  ever 
formed  in  Boston ;  and  few  persons,  not  employed  in  public  lectures, 
have  endured  more  laborious  efforts  than  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Arduous  as  have  been  the  mercantile  pursuits  of  Mr.  Walker  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  life,  a  taste  for  literature  has  been  cultivated, 
and  every  leisure  moment  has  been  devoted  to  mental  improvement, 
especially  acquiring  a  familiarity  Avith  the  French  language  and  scien- 
tific knowledge.  Having  turned  his  attention,  for  many  years,  to  the 
careful  study  of  political  economy,  he  received,  on  his  retirement  from 
mercantile  life,  an  appointment  as  professor  of  that  science  in  the  col- 
43* 


510  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

lege  at  Oberlin.  He  removed  thither,  in  1842,  with  his  family,  and 
remained  there  until  the  next  year ;  when,  his  health  being  impaired, 
he  returned  to  the  old  homestead,  in  North  Brookfield, —  his  parents 
having  deceased, —  and  became  president  of  the  lyceum  in  that  town. 
Mr.  Walker  early  married  Emily,  a  daughter  of  Dea.  Jonathan  Carle- 
ton  ;  and,  at  her  decease,  he  married  Hannah,  a  daughter  of  Stephen 
Ambrose,  Esq.,  of  Concord,  N.  H. 

After  his  return  from  Oberlin,  having  been  appointed  a  delegate  to 
the  first  International  Peace  Convention,  in  London,  Mr.  Walker 
embarked  for  England,  and  attended  the  sessions  of  that  assembly, 
when  he  was  elected  one  of  its  vice-presidents.  A  committee  of  five 
gentlemen  was  appointed  to  bear  a  memorial  to  Louis  Phihppe,  King 
of  France,  on  the  subject  of  arbitration  between  nations.  jSIr.  Walker 
was  of  this  committee,  and  visited  Paris  with  his  colleagues.  Louis 
Philippe  was  then  at  the  zenith  of  his  power,  and  gave  the  delegates  a 
very  gratifying  reception,  in  his  palace,  at  Neuilly.  After  this,  Mr. 
Walker  returned  to  England,  and  spent  some  time  in  travelling  over 
that  country,  and  in  Scotland,  L-eland,  and  Wales.  In  October  of  that 
year,  he  left  England.  In  1849  he  again  visited  Europe,  as  a  delegate 
to  the  Peace  Congress,  at  Paris.  In  that  Congress  he  took  an  active  part, 
and  was  one  of  its  officers.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress, 
he  travelled  through  Belgium  into  Germany,  and  up  the  Rhine  as  far 
as  Frankfort  on  the  Maine,  and  thence  to  England.  Here,  in  company 
with  Elihu  Burritt,  he  travelled,  attending  various  peace-meetings ; 
and  visited  Scotland,  also,  for  the  same  purpose.  For  the  last  few 
years,  Mr.  Walker  has  devoted  his  time  chiefly,  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Burritt,  to  the  peace  movement ;  and  has  discharged  the  duties  of  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  League  of  Human  Brotherhood,  of  which 
Mr.  Burritt  was  president. 

If  Mr.  Walker  has  ever  been  distinguished  for  one  purpose  more 
than  another,  it  has  been  for  his  bold  and  uncompromising  advocacy  of 
unpopular  reforms,  when  few  had  the  courage  or  disposition  to  attempt 
it.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  we  might  mention  his  vigorous  oppo- 
sition to  the  popular  doctrine,  in  1840,  that  "a  national  bank  was 
necessary  to  regulate  exchanges."  This  opinion  —  then  almost  uni- 
versally supported  by  the  mercantile  community  —  Mr.  Walker  com- 
bated in  the  most  decided  manner ;  and  so  deep  was  the  impression 
he  made  on  the  audiences  he  addressed,  that  it  is  said  his  services  were 
in  so  great  request,  that  he  had  on  hand,  at  one  time,  nearly  a  hundred 


AMASA    WALKER.  511 

applications,  from  as  many  towns  in  New  England,  to  lecture  on  the 
currency.  At  no  period  in  his  life  did  he  encounter  greater  obloquy 
than  that  while  opposing  the  renewal  of  the  national  bank.  Although 
Mr.  Walker  resided  at  Oberlin  but  one  year,  he  continued  his  connec- 
tion with  the  college  for  nearly  six  years,  giving  an  annual  course  of 
lectures,  which  were  received  with  intense  interest  by  the  students, 
and  which  are  understood  to  be  in  a  course  of  preparation  for  the  press. 
At  the  late  commencement  of  Middlebury  College,  Mr.  Walker  received 
the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  However  much  conflicting 
parties  may  differ  from  ]Mr.  Walker  on  points  of  political  and  moral 
reform,  we  cannot  Avithhold  the  tribute  of  admiration  at  his  persevering 
energy  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  untiring  vigor  in  public  political 
life. 

The  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article  was  delivered  in  the  presence 
of  twelve  societies  of  young  men,  of  one  of  which,  the  Boston  Lyceum, 
Mr.  Walker  was  the  President ;  and  three  hundred  and  seventy  mem- 
bers of  these  institutions  were  in  the  procession,  to  listen  to  its  delivery, 
with  suitable  banners.  The  names  of  these  societies  we  perpetuate,  for 
the  honor  of  our  city:  The  Young  Men's  Marine  Bible  Society;  Bos- 
ton Young  Men's  Society ;  Young  Men's  Association  for  the  Promo- 
tion of  Literature  and  Science;  The  Franklin  Debating  Society; 
Laboring  Young  Men's  Temperance  Society ;  Lyceum  Elocution  and 
Debating  Society ;  Mercantile  Library  Association ;  Mechanic  Appren- 
tices Library  Association,  and  the  Boston  Lyceum. 

It  was  said  of  this  oration  in  the  Daily  Advocate,  edited  by  Benj. 
E.  Hallett,  that  "  it  was  admirably  fitted  to  excite  a  spirit  of  emulation 
in  moral  and  mental  improvement  in  young  men.  It  was  sound,  sensi- 
ble, instructive  and  eloquent,  in  appeals  to  the  best  feelings  of  our 
nature,"  and  excited  repeated  bursts  of  applause  from  the  audience. 
We  would  single  the  forthcoming  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  general 
spirit  of  this  performance. 

"  Tlie .  influence  of  associations  like  ours,"  says  Mr.  Walker, 
"  formed  upon  popular  principles,  is  pecuharly  calculated  to  oblit- 
erate those  distinctions  of  caste  which  exist  in  all  communities ;  and, 
unless  common  fame  be  a  great  liar,  are  found  especially  in  Boston. 
The  advantages  these  societies  afford  to  young  men  of  all  classes  to 
elevate  their  condition  are  so  great,  that,  if  properly  improved,  there 
cannot  long  be  those  marked  distinctions  which  have  hitherto  prevailed, 
operating  as  a  barrier  to  general  improvement,  and  as  the  bane  of  social 


512  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

intercourse.  This  tendency  is  a  truly  republican  one,  and  is  a  matter 
of  just  complacency.  The  greater  and  the  more  perfect  the  commu- 
nity of  interest  and  equality  of  condition  that  exist  among  any  people, 
the  more  secure  the  enjoyment  of  equal  rights  and  equal  liberties.  No 
one  class  can  oppress  the  rest,  unless  possessed  of  superior  po^ver  and 
advantages.  If  no  one  possesses  this  preeminence,  all  are  safe.  The 
proposition  is  a  plain  one.  We  -will  only  further  remark,  in  relation 
to  this,  that  any  approximation  towards  aristocratic  distinctions  in 
society  is  to  be  deprecated,  as  both  unbecoming  and  injurious. 

"  We  are  not  of  the  number  of  those  who  delight  in  raising  spectres 
of  ruin.  We  have  little  feeling  in  common  with  such  as  indulge  in 
gloomy  forebodings,  and  utter  melancholy  predictions,  concerning  the 
future  destiny  of  our  beloved  country.  We  would  rather  inspire  in 
the  pubhc  mind  a  well-grounded  confidence  in  the  stability  of  our  free 
institutions,  and  a  firm  assurance  of  their  ultimate  perfection.  Our 
views  do  not  harmonize  with  those  who,  in  the  prospective  of  our  coun- 
try's fortunes,  perceive  the  certain  indications  of  decay  and  death ; 
— quite  the  reverse.  A  glorious  and  enchanting  prospect  opens  on  our 
eyes,  as  we  cast  them  down  the  vista  of  the  future ;  and,  although  we 
well  know  that  not  only  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  a  great  nation, 
but  of  the  world,  are  suspended  on  this  first  grand  experiment  of  self- 
government,  we  feel  that  they  are  safe.  As  a  nation,  we  are  fast  rising 
in  the  scale  of  morals ;  intelligence  is  every  day  becoming  more  widely 
diffused ;  and  the  spirit  of  improvement,  in  all  that  contributes  to  the  per- 
fection of  human  society,  is  abroad  in  vigorous  and  efiicient  action.  We 
are  aware,  indeed,  that  the  glorious  work  is  only  begun,  but  we  antici- 
pate its  final  and  triumphant  completion  with  all  the  assurance  of  a  per- 
fect faith.  We  would  engage  in  it,  not  with  the  excitement  of  fear, 
but  with  the  stimulus  of  hope.  We  know  there  are  many  who  will 
differ  from  us  in  this  view  we  take  of  our  country's  prospects.  They 
fancy  they  clearly  perceive,  in  the  bitter  animosities  of  party  strife,  and 
the  unblushing  depravity  of  ])Q.Yty  leaders,  sure  and  fatal  indications  of 
the  corruption  and  premature  dissolution  of  our  republican  government. 
It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  never  existed,  at  any  previous  period 
of  our  country's  history,  so  much  political  intrigue  and  party  manage- 
ment as  at  the  present  time.  Men  are  bought  and  sold,  assigned  and 
transferred,  with  surprising  convenience  and  facility,  while  political 
somersets  are  but  the  diversions  of  the  day. 

"  The  science  of  party  tactics  has  arrived  at  a  high  degree  of  per- 


CALEB   GUSHING.  513 

fection ;  and,  under  the  direction  of  those  able  professors,  which  are 
found  in  all  political  parties,  the  beauties  and  advantages  of  the  system 
certainly  bid  fair  to  be  very  fully  developed.  Now,  it  may  be  asked, 
is  there  not  great  danger  in  all  this  1  If  there  were  no  counteracting 
influence, —  if  there  were  no  check  to  these  evils,  no  poAver  sufficient 
to  correct  these  abuses, —  they  would  probably  eventually  corrupt  our 
government,  and  overturn  our  liberties.  Fortunately,  there  is  a  power 
which  can  say  to  the  angry  surges  of  profligacy,  '  Hitherto  shall  ye 
come,  and  no  further.'  That  power  is  the  elective  franchise,  Avhich  a 
virtuous  and  intelligent  people  can  wield  with  irresistible  energy  and 
effect, —  which  they  will  thus  wield,  whenever  they  feel  the  practical 
evils  of  such  abuses.  Hitherto,  the  peojjle  have  never  reahzed  the 
effect  of  the  mischief, —  consequently  have  never  been  incited  to  action. 
They  have,  indeed,  seen  the  despicable  game  of  party  shuffling, —  they 
have  witnessed  the  paltry  scramble  for  office, —  but  they  have  not  felt 
their  OAvn  liberties  endangered  by  all  this.  The  great  and  important 
interests  of  the  nation  have  not  been  sacrificed  ;  therefore  the  people 
have  not  been  aroused; — but  let  these  abuses  become  more  flagrant, — 
let  them  encroach  directly  on  the  rights  of  the  community, —  and  the 
people  will  awake,  and  at  a  blow  crush  the  heartless  monster  of  unprin- 
cipled ambition.  They  will  then  feel  the  necessity  of  adopting  the 
principle  that  moral  integrity  is  an  indispensable  qualification  for 
office,  and  will  cease  to  bestow  their  suffrage  on  the  candidate  of  a  party, 
without  regard  to  private  character.  The  time  will  come,  we  trust 
soon,  when  those  who  have  trampled  on  the  laws  will  not  be  thought 
best  qualified  to  sustain  the  laws, —  when  those  who  have  insulted  the 
moral  sense  of  the  community  will  not  be  thought  the  safest  guardians 
of  public  virtue." 


CALEB   GUSHING. 

JULY  4,  1833.    FOR  THE  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Salisbury,  Mass.,  Jan.  17  1800,  and  was  son  of  Capt. 
John  Newmarch  Gushing,  an  enterprising  ship-owner  of  that  town. 
He  was  fitted  for  college  at  the  public  school ;  graduated  at  Harvard 
Gollcge  in  1817,  when  he  gave  the  salutatory  oration,  and  was  of  the  law 
school  in  1818 ;  was  the  poet  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  in  1819. 


514  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

When  a  candidate  for  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  he  delivered  an 
oration  on  the  durabihty  of  the  Federal  Union;  and,  in  1819,  -was 
appointed  a  tutor  in  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  in  Harvard 
College,  -which  station  he  occupied  until  July  13,  1821,  when  he  deliv- 
ered a  truly  pertinent  farewell  address,  which  had  a  strong  tendency 
to  enkindle  a  decided  spirit  of  ambition  in  the  minds  of  the  youthful 
sons  of  Harvard.  He  remarks  to  the  students  :  "  Whatever  profession 
yovL  may  severally  choose,  it  will  be  your  happiness  to  know,  and  con- 
tribute to  prove,  that,  in  this  country,  at  least,  every  man  is  the  arti- 
ficer of  his  own  good  or  ill  fortune  ;  since  neither  can  any  one  appeal 
to  the  possession  of  rank  as  a  substitute  for  personal  worth,  nor  to  the 
absence  of  it  as  impeding  him  in  the  pursuit  of  honor.  Should  any 
want  of  prosperity  be  our  lot.  in  the  plans  of  future  usefulness  Avhich 
we  may  have  formed,  we  ought  to  reproach  ourselves  alone  for  the 
failure,  saying,  with  the  Roman  patriot : 

'  Men,  at  some  time,  are  masters  of  their  fates  , 
The  fault,  dear  Brutus,  is  not  in  our  stars, 
But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings.' 

"You  can  decide  whether  fortune  shall  be  in  your  hands,  or  you  in 
hers, —  whether  you  shall  be  driven  onward  upon  the  tide  of  time, 
unheeded  or  unheeding,  or  whether  you  shall  not  rather  sail  over  its 
waters  in  the  security  and  pride  of  conscious  mastery  over  the  wind 
and  the  wave." 

He  entered  on  the  study  of  law  under  Ebenezer  Moseley,  Esq. ;  and, 
on  the  celebration  of  our  national  birth-day,  in  1821,  Mr.  Gushing 
delivered  an  oration  for  the  Debating  Club  of  his  adopted  town,  in 
which  he  said :  ' '  As  the  grandest  invention  ever  yet  bestowed  upon 
the  human  race  is  that  of  political  societies,  so  there  is  a  grander  still 
which  remains ;  and  that  is  a  Federal  Union,  embracing  within  its 
ample  jurisdiction  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  globe."  In  1822  he 
was  an  entered  attorney  in  the  courts  of  Essex  county,  and  gave  a  4th 
of  July  oration  for  the  Light  Infantry  Company  of  Newburyport.  In 
1825  he  was  elected  a  State  representative;  and  in  the  next  year  he 
was  seated  in  the  State  Senate,  and  published  a  History  of  Newbury- 
port.  He  canfe  out  this  year,  also,  with  a  treatise  on  the  Practical 
Principles  of  Pohtical  Economy.  He  had  previously  translated  a  work 
from  the  French  on  Maritime  Contracts  for  Letting  to  Hire.  He  pro- 
nounced a  eulogy  on  Jefferson  and  Adams,  in  Newburyport,  at  this 
period,  where  he  pursued  the  successful  practice  of  the  law  until  1829. 


CALEB   CUSHINa.  515 

He  married  Caroline  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Hon.  Judge  Wilde,  of 
Boston,  Nov.  23,  1824. 

AVhen  but  twenty-six  years  of  age,  Mr.  Gushing  was  a  candidate  for 
Essex  district  to  the  House  of  Congress ;  and  was  accused  of  recom- 
mending himself  in  the  Boston  Patriot,  October  14,  1826,  as  a  suit- 
able incumbent,  which  he  indignantly  disavowed,  in  an.  eloquent 
defence,  published  on  the  last  day  of  that  month.  He  remarks  :  "  It 
has  been  said,  if  the  author  was  my  friend,  he  would  put  me  in  the 
way  of  knowing  him,  or  of  exculpating  myself, —  but  the  assertion  is 
altogether  gratuitous.  Junius  was  friendly  to  Burke,  and  yet  he 
would  not  incur  the  risk  of  exposing  himself,  even  to  clear  his  friend 
from  an  injurious  suspicion.  The  shafts  of  calumny  were  assailing  the 
greatest  and  the  best,  and  should  I  murmur  if  they  chanced  to  descend 
upon  my  humbler  head  ?  The  Father  of  his  Country  was  compelled  to 
mourn  in  bitterness  of  spirit,  that,  after  all  his  toils  and  services,  he 
was  libelled  in  language  fit  only  to  be  applied  to  a  vulgar  pickpocket. 
Have  not  our  seniors  beheld  Hamilton  accused  of  robbing  the  treasury? 
Sullivan,  of  cheating  a  poor  man  in  an  ordinary  bargain  1  and  Jefferson, 
of  being  a  common  defaulter '?  Nay ;  scarce  two  years  have  gone  by, 
since,  just  before  an  election,  the  highest  man  in  this  nation  was  sued 
on  a  charge  of  petty  fraud."  So  powerful  was  the  prejudice  on  the 
pubhc  mind,  in  this  accusation,  that  our  young  candidate  was  not 
elected. 

Were  it  not  for  this  disappointment,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the 
literary  world  would  never  have  been  favored  with  three  valuable  pro- 
ductions, which  were  the  result  of  the  tour  over  Europe  with  his 
accomplished  wife,  from  1829  to  1832,  shortly  after  this  untoward  mis- 
fortune. In  1832  was  published  Letters  Descriptive  of  Pubhc  Mon- 
uments, Scenery  and  Manners,  in  France  and  Spain,  written  by  his 
wife,  in  two  volumes,  which  convey  a  highly  decided  conception  of  her 
intellectual  and  moral  powers.  In  the  same  year,  Mr.  Cushing  pub- 
lished his  Reminiscences  of  Spain, —  the  Country,  its  People,  History 
and  Monuments, —  in  two  volumes.  He  came  out,  this  year,  also,  with 
a  Review,  Historical  and  Political,  of  the  late  Revolution  in  France, 
and  the  Consequent  Events  in  Belgium,  Poland,  Great  Britain,  and 
Other  Parts  of  Europe, —  in  two  volumes.  In  this  year,  moreover,  he 
pronounced  his  admirable  oration  at  Newburyport.  In  1834  Mr. 
Cushing  addressed  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction ;  and  gave, 
also,  a  eulogy  on  Lafayette,  for  the  young  men  of  Dover,  N.  H.,  and 
a  reply  to  Cooper,  the  novelist. 


516  THE   UUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

After  such  striking  evidence  of  mental  power  and  perseverance,  Mr, 
Gushing  rose  above  the  shafts  of  calumny,  and  was  elected,  in  1833 
and  1834,  by  the  town  of  Newburyport,  to  the  State  Legislature, 
when  he  acquired  great  fame  by  his  speech  on  the  currency  and  public 
deposits,  which  was  published.  Having  thus  prepared  the  way  to 
public  regard,  Mr.  Gushing  again  threw  the  gauntlet  for  a  seat  in 
Congress,  and  was  elected  by  Essex  district  in  1835,  which  station  he 
occupied  until  1843.  While  in  Congress,  his  literary  pursuits  ran 
parallel  with  his  interest  in  national  politics ;  for  we  find  him  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  the  North  American  Review,  in  his  tasteful  arti- 
cles on  the  legal  and  social  condition  of  women,  and  a  review  of 
"  Boccaccio."  The  history  of  his  country  is  familiar  to  his  mind  as 
household  breathings,  as  his  articles  on  Columbus  and  Amerigo  Ves- 
pucci clearly  indicate.  Mr.  Gushing  gave  an  oration  before  the  literary 
societies  of  Amherst  College,  Aug.  23,  1836,  on  the  subject  of  popular 
eloquence,  and  its  power  in  our  republic.  "We  wish,  said  a  reviewer, 
that  one  in  a  hundred  of  the  orations  which  come  upon  us  by  the 
thousand,  were  a  hundredth  part  as  good.  His  style  as  a  writer,  like 
his  manner  as  a  speaker,  has  been,  generally,  too  formal,  and  moves 
with  a  stately,  buskined  tread.  His  elements  were  taken  too  freely 
from  the  Latin  part  of  our  vernacular  tongue,  to  the  neglect  of  the 
pithiest  and  raciest  words  and  sayings  which  grow  upon  the  old  Saxon 
stock. 

In  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  outline,  Mr.  Gushing  remarks  that 
the  Colonization  Society  utterly  disavows  any  sentiment  or  design  of 
ill  will  towards  the  colored  citizens  of  the  United  States.  "  Our  pur- 
poses in  respect  of  them  are  dictated  by  benevolent  consideration  for 
their  welfare.  We  may,  it  is  true,  be  mistaken  in  the  means  we  adopt 
for  their  intended  good, —  all  means  are  liable  to  err;  but,  if  we  err  in 
this  matter,  it  is  an  error  of  the  head,  not  the  heart.  And,  for  myself, 
I  profess  that  the  emigration  from  among  us  of  all  the  colored  inhab- 
itants of  the  country  Avould,  in  my  opinion,  occasion  a  chasm  in  the 
various  walks  of  industry,  Avhich  I  am  at  a  loss  to  see  how  we  should 
supply ;  and,  therefore,  I  am  not  prepared  to  admit  that  their  removal 
would  be  for  our  interest.  At  the  same  time,  I  cannot  sympathize  in 
any  partial  scheme  of  alleged  philanthropy,  which,  out  of  anxiety  for 
the  welfare  of  the  blacks,  would  totally  disregard  that  of  the  whites ;  I 
cannot  desire  to  see  my  country  plunged  into  the  horrors  of  a  servile 
insurrection,  or  of  civil  war ;  nor  can  I  abstain  from  raising  my  voice 


CALEB    GUSHING.  517 

against  measures  -wliicli,  in  my  apprehension,  sap  the  very  foundation 
of  the  Union." 

Mr.  Gushing  gave  another  oration  at  Springfield,  July  4,  1839,  on 
the  material  growth  and  territorial  progress  of  our  country.  The 
acquisition  of  Louisiana  was  obtained  by  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  con- 
stitution, language  sanctioned  by  the  great  Jefferson  himself  One 
object  of  our  orator  was  to  repress  an  undue  ambition  to  widen  our 
national  bounds.  He  moreover  pronounced,  this  year,  for  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society,  at  Cambridge,  an  oration  on  the  eri'ors  of  popular 
reformers,  in  which  he  displayed  great  ability,  and  a  ready  rhetorical 
power. 

Mr.  Gushing  has  ever  had  the  reputation  of  great  ambition.  Would 
that  all  men  of  talent  among  us  had  the  nerve  of  Galeb  Gushing ;  and, 
instead  of  burrowing  unknown,  would  elevate  themselves  in  elevating 
the  standard  of  the  public  welfare  !  "  I  am  also  accused  of  youth  and 
ambition,"  says  he,  when  his  motives  were  impugned.  "As  for  the 
heinous  fault  of  not  being  an  old  man,  I  may  say,  with  Ghatham  in 
his  youth,  that  I  hope  time  will  mend  it,  and  that  the  charge  comes 
with  ill  grace  from  some,  to  whom  age  has  arrived,  without  wisdom. 
But,  in  seriousness,  it  is  needless  to  be  wiser  than  the  constitution. 
And  I  am  yet  to  be  informed  what  there  is  culpable  in  a  pure  and 
single-hearted  ambition,  with  a  willingness,  when  called,  to  enter  the 
career  of  public  service,  which,  the  republican  institutions  of  our  happy 
country  open  to  all  its  citizens, —  to  the  low  alike  with  the  lofty."  We 
remember  the  remark  of  a  lady  of  his  adopted  town,  who,  on  seeing 
John  Quincy  Adams  and  Galeb  Gushing  walking  together,  on  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  at  the  capital,  said  she  felt  proud  for  her  native 
State,  that  it  had  such  men ;  and  this  reminds  us  of  the  felicitous 
epigram  from  the  pen  of  Hannah  F.  Gould,  another  lady  of  Newbury- 
port,  and  somewhat  eminent  in  poetry,  that,  even  though  he  were  under 
ground,  he  would  still  be  pushing ;  and  a  political  opponent  also  said 
of  him  that  there  was  no  fear  "he  would  ever  use  any  other  than 
means  worthy  of  his  elevated  character  to  push  himself  to  those  dis- 
tinctions which  would  be  the  certain  meed  of  his  abilities,  if  his  politics 
were  of  a  more  popular  cast."  As  the  epigram  of  Miss  Gould,  and  the 
gallant  reply  of  Galeb  Gushing,  are  ever  in  request,  we  here  insert 

them  both : 

"  Lay  aside  all  ye  dead, 

For  in  the  next  bed 

Reposes  the  body  of  Gushing  ; 

44 


518  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS 


The  response : 


He  has  crowded  his  way 
Through  the  world,  as  they  say, 
And,  even  though  dead,  will  be  pushing." 

"  Here  lies  one  whose  wit, 
"Without  wounding,  could  hit,  — 
And  green  grows  the  grass  that 's  above  her  ; 
-    Having  sent  every  beau 
To  the  regions  below, 
She  has  gone  down  herself  for  a  lover." 

The  most  eifective  display  made  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  by  Caleb 
Cushing,  ■v\-as  in  the  winter  session  of  1836,  -when  Benjamin  Hardin,  of 
Kentucky,  the  carving-knife  of  John  Randolph,  "  -nhetted  on  a  brick- 
bat," attacked  the  character  of  the  New  Englanders,  and  attributed  to 
them,  in  all  their  acts,  grovelling  and  mercenary  motives.  Hardin  was 
a  most  provoking  and  annoying  enemy, —  with  his  deformed  finger, 
crooked  like  an  audacious  note  of  interrogation,  his  livid  face  peering, 
with  a  sneering  expression,  into  that  of  his  adversary, —  a  seeming  arro- 
gant tone  of  voice, —  his  left  hand  thrust,  country  lawyer  like,  with 
due  elegance  and  grace,  into  his  breeches  pocket ;  —  altogether,  he  was 
enough  to  worry  the  most  resigned :  and,  had  Job  been  afflicted  with 
a  speech  from  Ben  Hardin,  of  Kentucky,  he  would  have  bounced,  like 
a  parched  pea,  from  his  stabular  mound,  seized  upon  the  adjacent  pitch- 
fork, and  scattered  death  and  destruction  around  him.  He  aimed  at 
cod-fishery,  wooden  nutmegs,  and  tin-peddling;  and  said  that  Caleb 
Cushing  came  from  a  section  of  country  where  the  people  could  see  a 
dollar  with  the  naked  eye  as  far  as  through  a  telescope.  Mr.  Cushing 
replied  to  this  philippic  in  a  calm  and  dignified  speech.  He  reviewed 
the  history  of  New  England,  proved  her  sons  the  worthy  descendants 
of  the  sturdy  old  Plymouth  Pilgrims,  and  wove  a  masterly  defence,  of 
great  strength  and  beauty,  that  even  silenced  the  heretofore  unabashed 
Kentuckian.  That  debate  gave  rise,  in  part,  to  an  excellent  article  in 
the  North  American  Review,  entitled  Misconceptions  of  the  New 
England  Character,  ascribed  to  his  hand. 

Mr.  Cushing  was  never  found  slumbering  at  his  desk.  His  voice  was 
often  resounding  in  vindication  of  important  national  interests.  His 
speeches  were  vigorous  and  efiective.  The  land  distribution,  right  of 
petition  on  slavery,  executive  usurpation,  claims  on  Oregon,  expenses 
of  the  Indian  department,  were  right  manfully  discussed.  In  Con- 
gress, he  was  seated  on  the  left  of  the  speaker.     His  person  is  of  the 


CALEB    GUSHING.  519 

common  height,  and  -well-proportioned ;  his  face  intellectual  and  hand- 
some ;  his  eye  quick  and  piercing.  He  has  somewhat  the  rounding 
shoulders  of  a  student.  He  shines  in  polite  literature,  as  he  does  in 
polite  society.  As  a  public  debater  he  ranks  high,  and  has  been  one 
of  the  most  efficient  actors  of  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties.  His 
manner  was  calm  and  subdued.  He  seemed  to  have  studied  his  mode 
of  address ;  and,  if  anything,  was  rather  formal.  His  voice  was  gut- 
tural, and,  in  attempting  to  attain  a  proper  level,  he  reduced  his  tones 
to  too  low  a  scale  ;  and  when  he  was  up,  it  struck  the  spectator  that  he 
was  listening  to  a  public  lecturer,  rather  than  an  eloquent  statesman 
pouring  forth  his  thoughts  to  an  American  Congress.  At  a  much  later 
period,  Mr.  Gushing  has  been  disencumbered  of  these  defects.  What- 
ever Gushing  said  was  characterized  by  purity  of  style  and  depth  of 
reflection.  On  all  subjects  he  applied  himself  with  diligence,  and  his 
extensive  learning  enabled  him  to  speak  sensibly  and  eifectively  on  all 
topics  in  which  he  engaged. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Gushing  became  the  avowed  champion  for  Harrison, 
and  wrote  an  outline  of  the  life  and  services  —  civil  and  military  —  of 
that  eminent  man,  urging  his  elevation  to  the  presidency.  This  tract 
was  showered  all  over  the  land.  On  the  decease  of  Harrison,  Mr. 
Gushing  openly  espoused  the  measures  of  President  Tyler,  by  whom 
he  was  nominated  three  times  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  was 
rejected  by  the  Senate.  In  July,  1843,  he  was  appointed  the  com- 
missioner to  Ghina  for  the  United  States.  President  Tyler  addressed 
the  following  letter  to  the  emperor,  written  by  Daniel  Webster,  then 
the  Secretary  of  State  : 

Letter  to  the  Emperor  of  China,  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

"  I,  John  Tyler,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  which 
States  are  (here  follow  all  the  names,  closing  with  Michigan),  send  you 
this  letter  of  peace  and  friendship,  signed  by  my  own  hand. 

"I  hope  your  health  is  good.  Ghina  is  a  great  empire,  extending 
over  a  great  part  of  the  world.  The  Ghinese  are  numerous.  You 
have  millions  and  milhons  of  subjects.  The  twenty-six  United  States 
are  as  large  as  Ghina,  though  our  people  are  not  so  numerous.  The 
rising  sun  looks  upon  the  great  mountains  and  rivers  of  Ghina.  When 
he  sets,  he  looks  upon  rivers  and  mountains  equally  large  in  the  United 
States.  Our  territories  extend  from  one  great  ocean  to  the  other;  and 
on  the  west  we  are  divided  from  your  dominions  only  by  the  sea.    Leav- 


520  THE   nUNljRED    BOSTON    OKATORS. 

ing  the  mouth  of  one  of  our  great  rivers,  and  going  constantly  towards 
the  setting  sun,  we  sail  to  Japan  and  to  the  Yellow  Sea. 

"  Xow,  my  words  are,  tl)at  the  governments  of  two  such  grand 
countries  should  be  at  peace.  It  is  proper,  and  according  to  the  will 
of  Heaven,  that  they  should  respect  each  other,  and  act  wisely.  I, 
therefore,  send  to  your  court  Caleb  Gushing,  one  of  the  wise  and 
learned  men  of  this  country.  On  his  first  arrival  in  China  he  will 
inquire  for  your  health.  He  has  strict  orders  to  go  to  your  great  city 
of  Peking,  and  there  to  deliver  this  lettfer.  He  will  have  with  him 
secretaries  and  interpreters. 

"The  Chinese  love  to  trade  with  our  people,  and  to  sell  them  tea 
and  silk,  for  which  our  people  pay  silver,  and  sometimes  other  articles. 
But,  if  the  Chinese  and  the  Americans  will  trade,  there  shall  be  rules, 
so  that  they  shall  not  break  your  laws  or  our  laws.  Our  minister, 
Caleb  Cushing,  is  authorized  to  make  a  treaty  to  regulate  trade.  Let 
it  be  just.  Let  there  be  no  unfliir  advantage  on  either  side.  Let  the 
people  trade,  not  only  at  Canton,  but  also  at  Amoy,  Xingpo,  Shangan, 
Fuhchang,  and  all  such  other  places  as  may  offer  profitable  exchanges, 
both  to  China  and  the  L'nited  States,  provided  they  do  not  break  your 
laws  nor  our  laws.  We  shall  not  take  the  part  of  evil-doers.  We 
shall  not  uphold  them  that  break  your  laws.  Therefore,  we  doubt  not 
that  you  will  be  pleased  that  our  messenger  of  peace,  with  this  letter 
in  his  hand,  shall  come  to  Peking,  and  there  deliver  it ;  and  that  your 
great  officers  will,  by  your  order,  make  a  treaty  with  him  to  regulate 
affairs  of  trade,  so  that  nothing  may  happen  to  disturb  the  peace 
between  China  and  America.  Let  the  treaty  be  signed  by  your  own 
imperial  hand.  It  shall  be  signed  by  mine,  by  the  authority  of  our 
great  council,  the  Senate.  And  so  may  your  health  be  good,  and 
may  peace  reign. 

"Written  at  Washington,  this  12th  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  1843.  Your  good  friend." 

Mr.  Cushing,  previous  to  his  departure  on  this  mission,  made  him- 
self familiar  with  the  Manchou  language,  as  best  adapted  to  his  inter- 
course with  the  court,  it  being  more  copious  and  expressive,  as  also  less 
figurative  and  obscure,  than  the  Chinese.  The  emperor,  and  many  of 
the  high  officers  of  State  were  Manchous :  and  to  each  of  the  Supreme 
Boards  constituting  the  cabinet  there  Ava^  a  Manchou  as  well  as  a 
Chinese  president. 


CALEB    GUSHING.  521 

In  July,  1843,  our  minister  sailed  in  the  steam-frigate  Missouri, 
•which  was  destroyed  by  fire,  August  22d  of  that  year,  off  Gibraltar. 
He  fortunately  rescued  all  his  official  papers  from  destruction ;  and, 
without  awaiting  the  instructions  of  government,  directly  proceeded  on 
his  mission,  by  the  way  of  Egypt  and  India,  to  China,  and  in  six  months 
succeeded  in  the  negotiation  of  a  ti'eaty,  which  was  signed  at  Wanghia, 
July  3,  1844.  It  was  ratified  by  Taukwang,  the  Emperor  of  China, 
and  finally  exchanged  by  the  United  States  and  China,  Dec.  31,  1845. 
Thus  Mr.  Cushing  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  being  the  first  for- 
eigner who  ever  negotiated  with  "the  Son  of  Heaven"  upon  equal 
terms,  and  secured  for  the  United  States  an  honorable  standing  in  the 
Celestial  Empire. 

During  this  journey,  among  other  useful  pursuits,  he  prepared  a 
highly  valuable  article  on  the  peculiar  geographical  position  and  unique 
physical  characteristics  of  Egypt,  dated  Suez,  Oct.  3,  1843,  which  he 
forwarded  to  Francis  INIarkoe,  Esq.,  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
National  Institute,  at  Washington.  Mr.  Cushing  returned  from  China 
through  Mexico,  having  made  almost  a  complete  circuit  of  the  globe, 
by  land  and  sea,  within  a  belt  of  forty  degrees,  in  the  period  of  less 
than  one  year. 

•Mr.  Cushing  has  proved  himself  abundantly  qualified  for  any  polit- 
ical station.  He  was  elected,  in  1846,  a  representative  of  Newbury- 
port  to  the  State  Legislature,  and  in  the  subsequent  year  was  a  can- 
didate for  the  office  of  governor  of  his  native  State.  The  war  with 
Mexico  having  been  declared,  Mr.  Cushing  warmly  advocated  an  appro- 
priation of  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  the  Massachusetts 
volunteers  in  that  service,  which  was  rejected  by  the  Legislature.  He 
was  elected  colonel  of  this  body  of  volunteers  in  1848,  and  in  a  few 
months  was  appointed  a  brigadier-general ;  and  w^as  in  command  of  the 
volunteer  regiments  of  Virginia,  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi,  on  the 
front  of  the  line  at  Buena  Vista,  under  Major  General  Taylor.  Hos- 
tilities having  ceased  on  this  general  division,  he  was  transferred,  at  his 
own  request,  to  the  line  of  Major  General  Scott,  under  whom  he  served 
until  the  peace. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  Gen.  Cushing  was  elected,  in 
1849,  to  the  State  Legislature,  as  a  representative  of  Newbury ;  and, 
as  has  been  related  of  his  ancestor.  Judge  Cushing,  of  Scituatc,  he  was 
the  life  and  soul  of  the  Court.  A  political  opponent,  writing  of  Caleb 
Cushing  in  regard  to  a  political  debate  in  which  he  was  engaged,  in  the 
44* 


522  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Legislature,  said  that  he  never  s^w  sophistry  and  sounding  verbiage  cut 
up  into  small  bits  more  expeditiously,  nor  in  more  masterly  style,  than 
■was  done  by  the  logical  scimitar  of  Caleb  Gushing.  The  flash  of  the 
blade,  and  the  keenness  of  the  edge,  -were  alike  incomparable.  There 
•was  no  escape  from  the  blows  of  that  steel.  And  a  political  friend  said 
of  him,  that  few  men  have  either  the  intellectual  or  the  physical  capac- 
ity to  do  Avhat  he  has  accomplished  ;  and  ■when  the  session  is  over,  and 
the  people  look  back  calmly  upon  the  measures  and  reforms  \fhkh. 
■will  have  been  effected,  they  -v^ill  see  the  impress  of  Gen.  Gushing' s 
mind  stamped  upon  all  the  most  important  changes  ■R'hich  have  been 
effected. 

In  the  manly  and  patriotic  document,  vrritten  by  Caleb  Gushing,  on 
the  nature  of  the  opposition  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act,  and  its  tendency 
to  dissolve  the  Union,  he  says  :  "  Why  do  any  of  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts condemn  the  extradition  act  ?  Why  the  extradition  clause 
in  the  constitution  ?  We  have  the  answer  to  this  inquiry  in  the  avowed 
ulterior  objects  of  the  abolitionists  proper,  as  distinguished  from  the 
Free  Soilers,  -nhich  abolitionists  are  the  men  -who  lead  the  agitation, 
and  under  whose  apparent  leadership  so  large  a  mass  of  men  have, 
unreflectingly,  suffered  themselves  to  come  to  be  ranked.  They  are 
logical.  They  object  to  the  extradition  la^w  because  their  avowed  aim 
is  to  abolish  negro  slavery  in  the  United  States  by  extra  constitutional 
and  revolutionary  means.  They  object  to  the  extradition  clause  of  the 
constitution  for  the  same  reason.  They  object  to  the  constitution  itself, 
because  it  stands  in  the  ■way  of  abolitionism.  They  propose  and  advo- 
cate nullification,  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  in  perfect  good  faith, 
as  being  the  only  means  of  separating  themselves  from  slavery,  and 
ridding  themselves  of  all  participation  in  the  responsibility  of  its  con- 
tinuance in  the  south."     Is  this  imputation  justifiable  ? 

In  connection  -with  this  subject,  ■we  here  present  Mr.  Cushing's  pero- 
ration to  the  spirited  oration  delivered  at  Newbury  port.  July  4, 1832  : 
'•This  Union  is  a  vast  fabric  of  political  forethought,  sagacity,  and 
comprehension.  Its  builders  ■were  the  master  minds  of  the  New 
World.  Shall  ■we,  like  a  spendthrift  heir,  lavishing  in  an  hour  of  riot 
the  treasures  amassed  by  the  parental  ■wisdom  from  which  he  has  degen- 
erated,—  shall  ■we  scatter  our  splendid  heritage  to  the  ■winds  ?  I  ■will 
not  believe  it.  I  appeal  to  the  spirits  of  our  fathers  to  look  down  from 
their  blessed  abode  on  high,  to  watch  over  our  interests,  and  to  give  us 
of  the  fire  of  patriotism  kindled  at  their  own  holy  altars.     Illustrious 


CALEB   GUSHING.  523 

and  ever  venerable  men !  Ages  yet  to  come,  as  they  flourish  under 
the  immunities  which  you  have  bequeathed  to  them,  shall  applaud  your 
■wisdom,  and  unborn  generations  shall  be  proud  to  emulate  your  virtues, 
and  to  animate  their  great  resolves  by  the  contemplation  of  your  exam- 
ple. The  long  line  of  your  descendants,  who  peacefully  reap  the 
advantages  which  your  blood  purchased  for  them,  shall  gi'atefully 
cherish  3'our  memory.  Posterity  can  erect  no  more  splendid  monu- 
ments to  your  fame,  than  are  the  public  institutions  which  your  wis- 
dom planned,  and  your  heroism  established.  The  colleges  you  endowed, 
the  free  schools  you  founded  and  protected  by  law,  the  nicely-balanced 
adjustment  of  the  powers  of  government  you  devised,  the  religious 
ordinances  you  sustained,  the  sage  and  just  laws  you  enacted,  the 
sober,  industrious  and  enterprising  population  which  such  laws  and 
institutions  fostered,  and  the  system  of  defence  and  revenue  which 
supports  and  binds  together  the  whole, —  these  are  the  imperishable 
memorials  of  your  renown,  to  which  every  year,  in  the  lapse  of  time, 
instead  of  tarnishing  their  lustre,  shall  but  add  new  vigor,  freshness, 
and  brilliancy." 

Caleb  Gushing  was  the  first  mayor  of  Newburyport,  in  1851 ;  and 
a  feature  in  the  city  charter,  probably  adopted  at  his  suggestion,  is  that 
the  mayor  shall  receive  no  salary.  He  is  the  most  public-spirited  man 
in  the  city.  Two  fortunes  having  descended  to  him  by  will,  he  is  lib- 
eral in  his  gifts,  and  in  the  provisions  he  makes  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public.  He  is  ready,  at  any  time,  to  throw  open  his  house  to  the  pub- 
lic, and  convert  his  gardens  and  orchards  into  pleasure-grounds,  and  to 
furnish  entertainment,  when  expedient.  His  generosity,  in  this  way, 
flows  on  hke  a  river ;  and  the  noble  reception  extended  to  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  members  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company,  of  which  he  is  the  commander,  will  be  memorable  in  the  history 
of  that  venerable  body.  As  mayor,  he  is  out  early  on  horseback,  like 
the  elder  Quincy  of  Boston,  with  a  watchful  eye  upon  all  police  duties. 
He  inquires  of  men  in  every  occupation,  and  every  locahty,  and  of  every 
kind  of  association,  regarding  the  wants  of  the  city ;  and  listens  to  sug- 
gestions tending  to  public  benefit.  He  never  forgets  a  person,  how- 
ever obscure,  who  has  ever  conferred  upon  him  a  personal  favor ;  and 
he  is  sure,  in  some  way,  to  bestow  a  mark  of  his  approbation.  These 
traits,  and  the  reputation  they  have  given  him  of  being  a  noble-hearted 
man,  enabled  him,  when  a  Whig,  to  command  a  large  portion  of  the 
Democratic  votes  in  his  vicinity ;  and  now,  while  he  is  a  Democrat  of 


524  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

the  old  line,  to  get  the  votes  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Whigs,  ^vhenever 
required.  Few  men  have  the  good  sense  to  direct  their  ambition  into 
a  channel  like  this ;  and  such  course,  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Gushing,  fully 
accounts  for  his  popularity  at  home.  He  has  been  twice  elected 
mayor  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  of  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College.  In  1852  he  became  an  associate  justice  of  the 
Massachusetts  Supreme  Judicial  Court. 


KICHARD   SULLIVAN  FAY. 

JULY  4,  1834.     FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Cambridge ;  a  son  of  Hon.  Judge  Fay ;  gi-aduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1825  ;  was  of  the  Law  School,  and  a  counsellor- 
at-law.  He  married  Catharine  Leavitt,  daughter  of  Dudley  Pickman, 
Esq.,  of  Salem.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honoraljle 
Artillery  Company,  and  of  the  Boston  city  Council  in  1835. 


FREDERICK   ROBINSON. 

JULY  4,  1834.     FOR  THE   TRADES   UNION. 

Was  born  at  Exeter,  N.  H.,  in  1799,  and  entered  the  academy  in 
1821.  Like  Roger  Sherman,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, he  rose  from  the  shoemaker's  bench  to  eminent  pohtical  station. 
He  was  a  self-taught  lawyer,  and  became  president  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Senate,  in  the  administration  of  Gov.  Morton,  in  the  year  1843 ; 
and  was  the  means  of  abolishing  special  pleading  in  the  courts  of  justice, 
seconded  by  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.,  Esq., —  a  reform  which  the  famous 
John  Gardiner  failed  to  effect,  in  1786.  Mr.  Robinson  married  ]\Iary 
Hutton ;  was  the  warden  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Prison,  and  of  tha 
State  Senate  in  1851. 

This  was  a  joyful  day  for  the  Boston  Trades  Union,  as  the  law  for 
the  abolitioA  of  imprisonment  for  debt,  which  was  drafted  by  ISIr.  Rob- 
inson, and  ably  sustained  by  him  in  its  passage  through  the  Legisla- 
ture, took  effect  this  day.     The  oration  was  delivered  on  Fort  Hill. 


EDWARD   EVERETT.  525 

The  respective  trades  appeared  in  procession,  embracing  more  than  two 
thousand  persons,  with  banners  and  emblems.  A  beautiful  printing- 
press,  and  a  superb  frigate  completely  rigged  and  manned,  drawn  by 
twenty-four  white  horses,  gave  effect  to  the  parade. 


EDWARD   EVERETT. 

SEPT.    6,  1834.      EULOGY  ON  LAFAYETTE. 

When  the  eloquent  Everett  pronounced  his  first  great  oration,  at 
the  age  of  thirty,  on  the  circumstances  favorable  to  the  progress  of 
literature  in  the  United  States  of  America,  amid  the  fathers,  fellow- 
graduates  and  students,  of  liis  venerable  Alma  Mater,  and  in  presence 
of  Lafayette,  whom  he  beautifully  apostrophized, — "Welcome!  thrice 
welcome  to  our  shores !  and  whithersoever  your  course  shall  take  you, 
throughout  the  limits  of  the  continent,  the  ear  that  hears  you  shall  bless 
you,  the  eye  that  sees  you  shall  give  witness  to  you,  and  every  tpngue 
exclaim,  with  heartfelt  joy,  'Welcome  !  welcome,  Lafayette  ! '  " —  the 
performance  was  received  with  great  applause.  When  published,  it 
received  greater  favor  than  any  oration  ever  delivered  at  this  ancient 
seat  of  learning,  and  doubtless  had  an  influence  in  shaping  his  future 
course  of  life.  We  bless  the  day  ;  for,  by  this  rhetorical  inspiration, 
there  has  been  showered  upon  our  republic  a  body  of  orations  and 
speeches,  founded  on  the  declaration  of  independence  and  the  national 
constitution,  destined  to  be  the  admiration  of  all  future  generations. 
Fortunate  is  it  for  our  republic  that  Everett  has  trod  in  the  paths  of 
Cicero ;  and,  though  we  question  not  his  capacity  to  have  brought  out 
some  great  production  on  a  single  subject,  of  enduring  fame,  yet  the 
embodiment  of  his  national  orations,  in  a  connected,  classified  form, 
comprises  a  great  work  itself,  of  more  practical,  sublime  and  enduring 
nature,  than  the  most  elaborate  disquisitions  of  the  most  profound 
authors  in  the  Union.  More  highly  favored  than  most  orators  in  our 
land,  Edward  Everett  has  enjoyed  his  own  fame,  from  the  blush  of 
youth  to  the  decline  of  maturity ;  and  this  reminds  one  of  the  opinion 
of  Thomas  Jefferson  regarding  his  oration  before  Lafayette  :  "  It  is  all 
excellent,  much  of  it  is  sublimely  so ;  well  worthy  of  its  author  and 
his  subject,  of  whom  we  may  truly  say,  as  was  said  of  Germanicus, 


526  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

^  Fruihir  Jama  siti.^"  Oratory  is  as  clearly  the  inspiration  of 
Everett  as  it  -was  of  Cicero ;  and,  like  him,  is  so  interwoven  in  his 
physical  and  mental  constitution,  that  he  has  excelled  most  of  the 
rhetoricians  of  his  age. 

In  a  lecture  delivered  before  the  Mercantile  Library  Association  of 
Boston,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1852,  Mr.  Everett  contrasted  the 
immigration  now  going  on  to  the  United  States  with  the  invasion  of 
the  Roman  empire  by  the  barbarous  nations  of  the  north  and  east,  and 
intimated  the  opinion  that  the  number  of  immigrants  to  America  since 
1790  (which,  with  their  natural  increase,  are  supposed  to  be  five  mil- 
lions) might  equal  the  number  of  the  barbarians  who  established  them- 
selves within  the  territories  of  Rome.  Mr.  Everett  then  proceeded  as 
follows  : 

"  "With  this  amazing  fact,  the  comparison  ends.  The  races  that 
invaded  Europe  came  to  subjugate  and  lay  waste:  the  hosts  that  cross 
the  Atlantic  are  peaceful  emigrants.  The  former  burst  upon  the  Roman 
empire,  and,  by  repeated  and  continuous  blows,  beat  the  mighty  colossus 
to  the  ground.  The  emigrants  to  America,  from  all  countries,  come  to 
cast  in  their  lot  with  the  native  citizens,  and  to  share  with  them  this 
great  inheritance  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  fonner  were  fero- 
cious savages,  half-clad  in  skins,  speaking  strange  tongues,  and  wor- 
shipping strange  gods  with  bloody  rites ;  the  latter  are  natives  of  the 
same  countries  from  which  our  fathers  went  forth,  and  belong,  with 
them  and  with  us,  to  the  one  great  and  blessed  household  of  the  Christian 
faith.  The  former  destroyed  the  culture  of  the  ancient  world ;  and  it 
was  not  till  after  a  thousand  years,  that  a  better  civilization  grew  up 
on  the  ruins.  The  milhons  who  have  established  themselves  in  Amer- 
ica, within  the  last  sixty  years,  are,  from  the  moment  of  their  arrival, 
gradually  absorbed  into  the  mass  of  the  population,  obeying  the  laws, 
moulding  themselves  to  the  manners  of  the  country,  and  contributing 
their  share  to  its  prosperity  and  strength. 

"It  is  a  curious  coincidence,  that,  as  the  first  mighty  wave  of  the 
hostile  immigration  that  burst  upon  the  south  of  Europe,  before  our 
Saviour,  consisted  of  tribes  of  the  great  Celtic  race,  the  remains  of 
which,  identified  by  their  original  dialect,  are  still  to  be  traced  in 
Brittany,  in  Wales,  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  and  especially  in 
Ireland, —  so,  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  new  and  peaceful  emi- 
gration to  the  United  States  consists  of  persons  belonging  to  the  same 
fervid,  impulsive,  and,  too  often,  persecuted  race.     I  have  heard,  in 


EDAVARD    ilVERETT,  527 

the  mountains  of  Wales,  and  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  the  Bible 
read,  and  the  Gospel  preached,  in  substantially  the  same  language  in 
which  Brennus  summoned  the  Roman  senators  to  surrender  the 
Capitol ;  and  in  which,  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  the  mystic  songs 
of  the  Druids  were  chanted  in  the  depths  of  the  primeval  forests  of 
France  and  England.  It  is  still  spoken,  with  some  variety  of  dia- 
lect, by  thousands  of  Scotch,  Welsh,  and  Irish  emigrants,  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  United  States, —  some  of  whom  speak  no  other 
language. 

"I  regard  this  Celtic  race  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  that  has 
appeared  in  history.  Whether  it  belongs  to  that  comprehensive  Indo- 
European  family  of  nations  which,  in  ages  before  the  dawn  of  history, 
took  up  the  line  of  march  from  lower  India,  and,  moving  Avestward,  by 
a  northern  and  a  southern  route,  diffused  itself  through  western  Asia, 
northern  Africa,  and  the  greater  part  of  Europe, —  or  whether,  as 
others  suppose,  they  belong  to  a  still  older  family,  and  were  themselves 
driven  down  upon  the  south  and  west  of  Europe  by  the  overwhelming 
irruption  of  the  Indo-European  race, —  I  pretend  not  to  decide.  How- 
ever this  question  may  be  settled,  it  would  seem  that  now,  for  the  first 
time,  as  far  as  we  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  what  are  usually 
classed  as  distinct  Celtic  tribes,  they  have  found  themselves  in  a  truly 
prosperous  condition,  in  this  country.  Driven  from  the  soil  to  which 
their  fathers  have  clung  through  all  the  storms  and  vicissitudes  of 
twenty  centuries,  they  have  at  length,  and  for  the  first  time,  found  a 
real  home  in  the  land  of  strangers.  Having  been  told,  in  their  native 
country,  in  the  frightful  language  of  political  economy,  that  at  the 
great  table  which  Nature  daily  spreads  for  the  human  family  there  is 
no  cover  laid  for  them,  despairing  and  heart-broken  they  have  crossed 
the  ocean,  and  here,  upon  a  foreign  but  friendly  soil,  have  found  shel- 
ter, employment,  and  bread. 

"This  'Celtic  exodus,'  as  it  has  been  called,  is,  to  all  the  parties 
concerned,  as  it  seems  to  me,  by  very  far  the  most  important  event  of 
the  day.  To  the  emigrants  themselves,  it  is  often  literally  passing 
from  death  to  hfe.  It  holds, out  a  hope  of  restoring  the  prosperity  of 
Ireland,  by  reducing  her  surplus  population,  and  establishing  a  healthy 
relation  between  labor  and  capital.  It  benefits  England  in  the  same 
way ;  for  there  one  of  the  greatest  troubles  has  been,  that  the  native 
laborers  of  the  sister  isles  are  engaged  in  a  death-struggle  for  that 
employment  and  bread,  of  which  there  is  enough  only  for  one  of  the 


528  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

parties.  We,  in  our  turn,  come  in  for  our  share  of  the  benefit ;  for  a 
chief  diflSculty  "with  us  has  been,  that  our  labor  is  oUiged,  in  all 
departments  of  industry  common  to  Europe  and  America,  to  sustain  a 
competition  Tvith  the  underpaid  labor  of  the  old  world.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  constant  influx  into  the  United  States  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  efiicient  hands  supplies  the  great  "want  of  a  ne"W  country, — 
that  is,  labor, —  gives  value  to  land,  and  facilitates  the  execution  of 
every  species  of  private  enterprise  and  public  "work. 

' '  I  am  quite  aware  that  this  favorable  picture  has  its  dark  side. 
There  are  inconveniences  and  sufferings, —  evils,  if  you  please, —  inci- 
dent to  emigration,  on  both  sides  of  the  water.  There  is  an  untold 
amount  of  hardship  and  privation,  on  the  part  of  the  emigrant;  and,  on 
this  side  of  the  ocean,  there  are  serious  inconveniences,  although  their 
gravity  is,  I  think,  exaggerated.  It  cannot,  however,  be  denied  that 
our  alms-houses,  our  hospitals,  and  our  asylums,  are  overcrowded  with 
foreign  inmates, —  that  their  support  is  a  burden  to  the  public, —  and 
that  the  resources  of  private  benevolence  are  heavily  drawn  upon. 

"  It  is  said,  even,  that,  in  consequence  of  the  greater  liberality  of  her 
public  establishments,  Massachusetts,  in  proportion  to  her  population, 
supports  more  than  her  share  of  poor  foreigners, —  that  they  are  sent 
in  upon  her  from  her  sister  States  and  the  British  provinces.  If  this 
is  so,  it  is  a  wrong,  as  well  as  an  evil.  But  the  evil  and  the  wrong 
might  be  corrected,  by  judicious  legislation,  firmly  administered.  In 
the  mean  time,  Massachusetts  might  do  a  much  worse  thing,  with  a 
portion  of  her  surplus  means,  than  feed  the  hungry,  and  clothe  the 
naked,  and  give  a  home  to  the  stranger,  and  rekindle  the  spark  of 
reason  in  the  mind  of  the  poor  lunatic,  even  though  that  lunatic  may 
have  been  (as  I  am  ashamed,  for  the  honor  of  humanity,  to  say  has 
once,  at  least,  been  the  case)  set  on  shore  in  the  night  from  a  coast- 
ing vessel,  and  found  in  the  morning,  in  the  fields,  half  dead,  from 
cold,  and  fright,  and  hunger. 

"  'But  they  are  foreigners,'  you  say.  And  what,  in  the  name  of 
Heaven,  w^ere  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  when  the  poor,  half-clad  savage, 
on  Plymouth  beach,  met  them  with  the  cry  of  '  Welcome,  English- 
men '  7  Foreigners,  are  they  ?  —  Indeed !  Is  half  the  Union  ready 
to  plunge,  with  all  the  resources  of  the  country,  into  a  conflict  with 
the  military  despotisms  of  Eastern  Europe,  in  order  to  redress  the 
wrongs  of  races  which  feed  their  flocks  on  the  slopes  of  the  Carpathians, 
and  reap  —  not  for  themselves  —  the  fields  which  are  watered  by  the 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  529 

tributaries  of  the  Danube, —  and  shall  we  talk  of  the  hardship  of 
relieving  destitute  strangers,  whom  the  providence  of  God  has  guided 
across  the  ocean  and  laid  down  at  our  very  doors  ?  " 

Edward  Everett  was  born  in  Dorchester,  April  11,  1794,  and  was 
a  son  of  Oliver  Everett,  who  married  Lucy  Hill.  His  father  was  the 
predecessor  of  President  Kirkland,  of  the  New  South  Church,  in 
Boston,  and  was  afterwards  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for 
Norfolk.  His  birth-place  was  an  antique,  gable-roofed,  wooden  edifice, 
at  the"Eive  Corners,"  now  occupied  by  Mr.  George  Richardson, 
His  primary  teacher  was  Miss  Lucy  Clapp,  a  daughter  of  Noah  Clapp, 
who  had  been  the  town  clerk  for  half  a  century. 

"My  ancestors,  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  were  born 
and  bred  in  the  prosperous  town  of  Dedham,"  said  Mr.  Everett,  in 
after  life.  "I  am  proud  of  my  descent.  My  forefathers  Avere  very 
humble  men, —  farmers  and  mechanics, —  and  devoted  themselves  to 
a  most  unambitious  career.  They  left  nothing  to  their  descendants, 
of  either  fame  or  fortune,  but  a  good  name.  There  is  a  charm  in  a 
single  visit  to  one's  native  spot.  I  have  not  been  able,  even  for  a 
single  day,  to  breathe  the  air  of  those  fields,  where  my  fathers  have 
lived  and  acted  their  humble  part  for  two  hundred  years,  without 
experiencing  emotions  that  words  fail  to  describe. 

'  I  feel  the  gales  tliat  from  ye  blow 
A  momentary  bliss  bestow. 
As,  waving  fresh  your  gladsome  wing, 
My  weary  soul  ye  seem  to  soothe, 
And,  redolent  of  joy  and  youth. 
To  breathe  a  second  spring.'  " 

"  My  own  honored  father,"  he  remarked,  on  another  occasion,  "  was 
born  and  grew  up  to  manhood  here  in  the  same  humble  sphere  ;  and, 
as  I  came  back  to  breathe  the  native  air  of  my  race,  I  must  say,  that, 
with  the  greater  experience  I  have  had  of  the  cares  and  trials  of  public 
station,  the  more  ready  I  am  to  wish  that  it  had  been  my  lot  to  grow 
up  and  pass  my  life  in  harmless  obscurity,  in  these  peaceful  shades, 
and,  after  an  unobtrusive  career,  to  be  gathered  to  my  sires,  in  the  old 
Dedham  grave-yard,  where, 

'  Each  in  his  narrow  cell  forever  laid. 
The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep.'  " 

"When  I  first  went  to  a  village  school,"  said  Mr.  Everett,— "I 
45 


530  TUE    nUXDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

remember  it  as  yesterday :  I  seem  still  to  hold,  by  one  hand,  for  pro- 
tection (I  was  of  the  valiant  age  of  three  years),  to  an  elder  sister's 
apron ;  with  the  other,  I  grasped  my  primer,  a  volume  of  about  two 
and  a  half  inches  in  length,  which  formed,  then,  the  sum  total  of  my 
library,  and  which  had  lost  the  blue-paper  cover  from  one  corner  — 
my  first  misfortune  in  life ;  —  I  say,  it  was  the  practice  then,  as  we 
W'ere  trudging  along  to  school,  to  draw  up  by  the  road-side,  if  a  travel- 
ler, a  stranger,  or  a  person  in  years,  passed  along,  and  '  make  our 
manners,'  as  it  was  called.  The  little  girls  curtsied ;  the  boys  made 
a  bow.  It  was  not  done  with  much  grace,  I  suppose, —  but  there  was 
a  civility  and  decency  about  it  which  did  the  children  good,  and  pro- 
duced a  pleasing  impression  on  those  who  witnessed  it.  The  age  of 
school-boy  chivalry  is  past,  never  to  return.  These  manners  belong 
to  a  forgotten  order  of  things :  they  are  too  precise  and  rigorous  for 
this  enlightened  age." 

"My  education  began  at  the  free  schools  of  my  native  village  of 
Dorchester,"  said  he,  on  another  occasion,  at  a  meeting  in  Boston, 
"and  of  this,  the  beloved  city  of  my  adoption.  The  first  distinction 
which  crowned  my  humble  career  was  the  Franklin  medal,  at  the 
reading-school  in  North  Bennet-street,  when  I  was  not  much  higher 
than  that  table ;  and,  if  my  tongue  is  ever  silent  when  it  ought  to  speak 
the  praises  of  the  common  schools  of  IMassachusetts,  may  it  never  be 
heard  Ayith  favor  in  any  other  cause ! ' '  and,  in  reference  to  education, 
Mr.  Everett  further  emphasized,  in  an  oration  at  Wilhams  College : 
' '  I  would  rather  occupy  the  bleakest  nook  of  the  mountain  that  towers 
above  us,  with  the  wild  wolf  and  the  rattlesnake  for  my  nearest  neigh- 
bors, with  a  village  school^  well  kept,  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  than 
dwell  in  a  paradise  of  fertility,  if  I  must  bring  up  my  children  in  lazy, 
pampered,  self-sufficient  ignorance." 

His  preceptors  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  were  Rev. 
James  Blake  Howe  and  Bev.  Wilkes  Allen.  It  was  in  one  of  these 
schools  that  the  youthful  Everett  recited,  at  an  exhibition,  a  poem, 
generally  supposed  to  begin  with  these  words  : 

"  You  'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage." 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  fact  regarding  this  matter,  which  has  been  a 
question  of  doubt  for  half  a  century,  the  editor  of  this  work  applied 
to  Dr.  Harris,  of  Gore  Library, —  a  son  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Harris, 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  531 

who  baptized  the  infant  Edward,  April  13,  1794, —  and  learned  that 
the  poem  alluded  to  was  not  the  one  spoken  by  him,  but  tlie  following, 
as  prefixed  to  the  letter,  dated  Cambridge,  Feb.  1,  1850,  in  which 
Dr.  Harris  stated,  "I  have  seen  copies  of  these  hues,  differing  slightly 
and  variously  from  the  foregoing,  which,  according  to  my  recollection, 
agrees  more  nearly  with  the  original  than  the  others.  I  mean  to  say, 
that  the  hues  now  sent  are  nearer  to  the  original  than  other  copies  that 
I  have  seen.  The  'little  orator'  has  become  a  great  one."  The 
expression  "  little  roan  "  applies  to  the  color  of  Edward  Everett's  hair. 

THE  LITTLE  ORATOR. 

[Lines  written  for  Edward  Everett,  when  a  child,  by  the  Rey.  Thaddeus  Mason  Harris.] 

Pray  how  should  I,  a  little  lad, 

In  speaking,  make  a  figure  ? 
You  're  only  joking,  I  'm  afraid, — 

Do  wait  till  I  am  bigger. 
But,  since  you  wish  to  hear  my  part. 

And  urge  me  to  begin  it, 
I  '11  sti'ive  for  praise,  with  all  my  heart, 

Though  small  the  hope  to  win  it. 
I  '11  tell  a  tale  how  Farmer  John 

A  little  roan-colt  bred,  sir. 
And  every  night  and  every  morn  , 

He  watered  and  he  fed,  sir. 
Said  Neighbor  Joe  to  Farmer  John, 

"  Arn't  you  a  silly  dolt,  sir. 
To  spend  such  time  and  care  upon 

A  little,  useless  colt,  sir  ?  " 
'  Said  Farmer  John  to  Neighbor  Joe, 

"  I  bring  my  little  roan  up. 
Not  for  the  good  he  now  can  do, 

But  will  do,  when  he 's  grown  up." 
'  The  moral  you  can  well  espy. 

To  keep  the  tale  from  spoiling  ; 
The  little  colt,  you  think,  is  I,  — 

I  know  it  by  your  smiling. 
And  now,  my  friends,  please  to  excuse 

My  lisping  and  my  stammers  ; 
I,  for  this  once,  have  done  my  best, 

And  so  —  I  '11  make  my  manners.  ^ 

After  some  time  spent  at  a  public  school,  under  Master  Tileston, 
and  at  a  private  school  in  Boston,  kept  by  Ezekiel  Webster,  the 
elder  brother  of  the  great  statesman,  he  entered  the  public  Latin 
School,  under  Master •Bigelow,  from  which  he  was  removed  to  Exeter 


532  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Academy,  in  1807,  where  be  remained  for  six  montlis  before  entering 
college;  and,  in  allusion  to  tbis  period,  be  once  remarked,  tbat 
"  tbere  was  no  pbilosopbical  or  scientific  apparatus  furnisbed  at  tbe 
scbools,  in  my  day,  witb  tbe  exception,  as  I  remember,  in  a  single 
instance,  of  a  rickety  gimcrack  tbat  was  called  a  planetarium,  and 
sbowed  bow  tbe  beavenly  bodies  do  not  move.  As  for  a  scbool  library, 
there  was  not.  in  any  scbool  I  ever  attended,  so  much  as  half  a  dozen 
books  bearing  tbat  name.  Tbere  was,  indeed,  at  tbe  academy  at  Exe- 
ter, which  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  attend  for  a  few  months  before  I 
entered  college,  a  library,  containing,  I  believe,  some  valuable,  though 
probably  rather  antiquated  volumes.  It  was  my  pri;alege,  while  I  was 
a  pupil,  never  to  see  the  inside  of  that  apartment ;  —  privilege,  I  say, 
for  it  was  the  place  where  th  severer  discipline  of  tbe  institution,  in 
rare  cases  of  need,  was  administered. 

'  Hinc  exaudii-i  gemitus  et  sseva  sonare 
Verbera.' 

"We  little  fellows  got  to  have  tbe  most  disagreeable  associations 
with  the  very  name  of  library.  I  ought  to  add,  in  justice  to  our 
time-honored  preceptor,  good  Dr.  Abbott,  tbat  the  use  of  the  library 
for  any  such  purpose  was  of  very  rare  occurrence.  He  possessed  the 
happy  skill,  which  I  am  gratified  to  say  has  not  died  with  him,  of 
governing  a  scbool  by  persuasion  and  influence,  and  not  by  force  and 
terror.  So  late  as  when  I  went  to  tbe  Latin  Scbool  in  Boston,  tbe 
boys  had  to  take  their  turn  —  youngsters,  some  of  them  eleven  and 
twelve  years  of  age  —  of  getting  up  before  sunrise,  in  the  winter,  and 
going  to  the  school-bouse  (some  of  them  a  long  distance,  and  at  times 
through  streets  blocked  up  with  snow),  to  '  sweep  out  school,'  as  it  was 
called,  and  exercise  their  ingenuity  in  making  wet  woo,d  burn,  and  a 
foul  chimney  draw  smoke." 

When  Everett  entered  Harvard  College,  be  was  the  youngest  mem- 
ber of  his  class ;  and.  on  bis  graduation,  in  1811,  bis  subject  was, 
"  Literary  Evils ;  "  and,  when  a  candidate  for  tbe  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  tbe  topic  of  his  oration  was  tbe  "  Restoration  of  Greece."  In 
1812  Mr.  Everett  was  appointed  Latin  tutor  in  Harvard  college,  at 
which  period  be  delivered  a  poem  for  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  on 
tbe  American  Poets,  which  afforded  indications  of  forthcoming  emi- 
nence in  a  youth  of  eighteen.  Tbis  performance  was  privately  printed, 
for  distribution  among  bis  friends.  AYe  glean  a  foAV  extracts  from  this 
patriotic  effusion : 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  533 

•'  Lo,  Faneuil's  dome  !  where  Freedom's  infant  days 
Learned  the  first  notes  of  Liberty  to  raise  ; 
Where  Quincy's  high  career  of  worth  was  run, 
Who  blessed  his  country  when  he  gave  his  son  ; 
Where  the  first  Otis  trod  the  paths  of  fame, 
And  dropt  his  mantle  when  he  gave  his  name. 
Hail,  glorious  pile  !  shall  not  your  simple  towers 
Fill  the  wide  compass  of  the  boldest  powers,  — 
Ascend,  like  Babel,  with  the  eagle's  flight. 
And  reach  the  heavens  in  fame,  as  that  in  height  ? 
The  hoary  sire  of  ages  yet  to  come 
Shall  point  his  ofispring  to  your  honored  dome  ; 
To  the  fond  traveller's  eager  notice  show 
The  hall  above,  the  maiket-house  below. 
There  came  our  sires  to  feed  the  patriot  heart. 
And  here  they  came  to  feed  a  different  part ; 
From  each  to  each,  at  proper  times,  they  move, 
And  bought  their  meat  below,  and  gave  their  vote  above. 
And  mark,  not  far  from  Faneuil's  honored  side. 
Where  the  old  State-house  rises  in  its  pride. 
But,  oh,  how  changed  !  its  halls,  alas  !  are  fled, 
And  shop  and  ofiice  fill  their  slighted  stead. 
There,  where  the  shade  of  Hancock's  glory  dwells, 
A  saddler  hammers,  and  a  grocer  sells  ! 
Hats  fill  the  hall  where  councilled  wisdom  sate, 
And  Ilea  sells  shoes  where  Bowdoin  ruled  a  state  !  " 

We  turn  to  a  passage  of  a  diiferent  order,  where  Everett  predicts  of 
future  poets  : 

"  Here  our  own  bays  some  native  Pope  shall  grace. 
And  lovelier  beauties  fill  Belinda's  place. 
Here  future  hands  shall  Goldsmith's  village  rear. 
And  his  tired  traveller  rest  his  wanderings  here. 
*  *  *  *  • 

•Fitz  James's  horn  Niagara's  echoes  wake. 
And  Katrine's  lady  skim  o'er  Erie's  lake." 

The  best  poem  from  the  hand  of  Everett  is  the  Dirge  of  Alai-ic,  a 
favorite  piece  for  declamation.  The  law  was  the  profession  of  his  first 
choice,  but  he  yielded  to  the  influence  of  the  eminent  Joseph  Stevens 
Buckminster,  to  whose  church  his  family  belonged,  and  studied  divin- 
ity while  officiating  as  tutor ;  and,  in  1813,  became  his  successor  over 
Brattle-street  Church,  during  which  period  he  wrote  the  invincible 
Defence  of  Christianity,  in  reply  to  the  noted  George  B.  English,  a 
deistical  writer.  The  popularity  of  Mr.  Everett  was  unbounded,  during 
his  ministry. 

45* 


534  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

The  Hon.  Judge  Story,  -wlio  attended  public  -worship  at  the  cap- 
itol,  in  Washington,  in  February,  1820,  to  hear  Edward  Everett,  then 
on  a  visit  there,  when  he  delivered  his  famous  sermon,  "  Brethren, 
the  time  is  short,"  relates,  in  writing  to  a  friend,  that  he  omitted 
"some  passages,  and  in  their  stead  introduced  beautiful  extracts  from 
his  sermon  on  the  future  prospects  of  America.  The  sermon  was  truly 
splendid,  and  was  heard  with  a  breathless  silence.  The  audience  was 
very  large ;  and,  being  in  that  magnificent  apartment  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  it  had  vast  effect.  I  saw  Mr.  King,  of  New  York, 
and  Mr.  Otis,  of  Massachusetts,  there.  They  were  both  very  much 
affected  with  Mr.  Everett's  sermon;  and  Mr.  Otis,  in  particular,  wept 
bitterly.  There  were  some  very  touching  appeals  to  our  most  dehcate 
feelings,  on  the  loss  of  our  friends.  Indeed,  Mr.  Everett  was  almost 
universally  admired,  as  the  most  eloquent  of  preachers.  Mr.  King  told 
me  he  never  heard  a  discourse  so  full  of  unction,  eloquence,  and  good 
taste." 

In  1815  Mr.  Everett  was  appointed  the  professor  of  Greek  Litera- 
ture in  Harvard  College,  which  station  he  occupied  until  1826.  Shortly 
after  his  induction,  he  visited  Europe.  He  arrived  at  Liverpool  just 
after  the  escape  of  Napoleon  from  Elba,  and  was  detained  in  London 
until  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  From  thence  he  went,  by  the  way 
of  Holland,  to  Gottingen,  which  was  at  that  time  the  seat  of  the  most 
distinguished  German  university.  He  resided  there  more  than  two 
years,  employed  in  the  study  of  those  branches  of  ancient  and  modern 
literature  appropriate  to  his  new  sphere.  He  visited  Prussia,  Holland, 
and  many  of  the  German  cities,  making  the  acquaintance  of  learned 
men  of  the  day.  He  passed  the  winter  of  1817-18  at  Paris,  employed 
in  hterary  pursuits,  especially  in  the  study  of  the  modern  Greek.  In 
the  spring  of  1818  he  crossed  the  English  channel,  and  passed  several 
weeks  in  London,  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  In  the  autumn  he 
returned  to  France,  and  travelled  through  Switzerland  on  the  way  to 
Italy.  He  passed  the  winter  in  Rome,  giving  his  mind  to  ancient  lit- 
erature and  antiquities,  enjoying  constant  access  to  the  library  of  the 
Vatican,  and  the  intimate  acquaintance  of  Canova,  then  occupied  on 
the  statue  of  Washington.  Gen.  Theodore  Lyman  was  his  fellow- 
traveller,  during  most  of  the  tour  after  leaving  Germany.  They  Avent 
in  company  to  the  Ionian  Islands  and  Greece,  and  were  kindly  received 
at  Yanina  by  Ali  Pacha,  to  whom  Mr.  Everett  brought  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  Lord  Byron.     After  luxuriating  in  the  enchantments 


EDWARD   EVERETT.  535 

of  Greece,  they  visited  the  plain  of  Troy,  Constantinople,  and  Adrft.n- 
ople ;  crossed  the  Balkan,  near  the  road  afterwards  taken  by  the  Rus- 
sian army,  and  then  proceeded,  through  Wallachia  and  Hungary,  to 
Vienna,  to  Paris  and  London,  returning  to  the  United  States  after  an 
absence  of  nearly  five  years. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  the  tour  over  Europe,  Mr.  Everett 
remarked,  in  an  oration:  "For  myself,  I  can  truly  say  that,  after  my 
native  land,  I  feel  a  reverence  for  that  of  my  fathers.  The  pride  I 
take  in  my  own  country  makes  me  respect  that  from  which  we  are 
sprung.  In  touching  the  soil  of  England,  I  seem  to  return,  like  a 
descendant,  to  the  old  family  seat,-^to  come  back  to  the  abode  of  an 
aged  and  venerable  parent.  I  acknowledge  this  great  consanguinity 
of  nations.  The  sound  of  my  native  language,  beyond  the  sea,  is  a 
music  to  my  ear,  beyond  the  richest  strains  of  Tuscan  softness  or  Cas- 
tilian  majesty.  I  am  not  yet  in  a  land  of  strangers,  while  surrounded 
by  the  manners,  the  habits  and  institutions,  under  which  I  have  been 
brought  up.  I  wander,  delighted,  through  a  thousand  scenes,  which 
the  historians  and  tlie  poets  have  made  familiar  to  us, —  of  which  the 
names  are  interwoven  with  our  earliest  associations.  I  tread  with  rev- 
erence the  spots  where  I  can  retrace  the  footsteps  of  our  suffering 
fathers.  The  pleasant  land  of  their  birth  has  a  claim  on  my  heart. 
It  seems  to  me  a  classic, —  yea,  a  holy  land, —  rich  in  the  memory  of 
the  great  and  good,  the  champions  and  the  martyrs  of  liberty,  the 
exiled  heralds  of  truth ;  and  richer,  as  the  parent  of  this  land  of ' 
promise  in  the  west." 

He  resumed  the  duties  of  the  professorship  at  Cambridge,  and 
engaged  also  in  the  editorial  care  of  the  North  American  Review,  which 
he  conducted  until  1824.  It  became  the  great  periodical  of  the  nation. 
His  vigorous  contributions,  on  various  important  questions  connected 
with  the  literature,  history,  public  policy  and  foreign  relations  of  the 
country,  identify  his  character  with  our  national  history.  In  May  8, 
1822,  Mr.  Everett  w^as  married,  by  Rev.  Nathaniel  L.  Frothingham, 
to  Charlotte  Gray,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Peter  C.  Brooks. 

The  fame  of  Edward  Everett,  as  a  scholar,  runs  back  to  his  boyish 
days.  It  was,  however,  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration,  at  Cambridge, 
in  1824,  remarks  Professor  Felton, — from  whose  article  in  the  North 
American  Review  we  have  mainly  condensed  this  relation, —  that  placed 
hinr.  before  the  public  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished  orators  who 
had  ever  appeared  in  America.     The  occasion  was  a  singularly  happy 


536  THE    HUNDRED    EOSI^N    ORATORS. 

one, —  the  A'isit  of  Gen.  Lafayette,  in  his  old  age,  to  the  country,  whose 
hbeities  he  had  bravely  fought  for  in  the  chivalrous  days  of  his  youth. 
The  ardent,  enthusiastic,  and  unanimous  welcome,  which  rang  from  city 
to  city,  as  the  noble  and  heroic  old  man  moved  on  through  the  successive 
stages  of  his  great  ovation;  the  excitement  of  the  thronging  multitudes, 
of  the  descendants  of  his  companions  in  arms,  who  poured  out  from 
hamlet  and  village,  and  town  and  city,  to  meet  him,  to  follow  him.  to 
listen  to  his  words,  to  gaze  upon  his  friendly  and  venerable  countenance, 
and  to  bless  him  with  the  warm  benedictions  of  full  and  grateful  hearts  ; 

—  all  these  inspiring  circumstances  had  spread  a  festal  joy,  unexampled 
in  the  history  of  the  country,  preparing  the  minds  of  men  to  respond 
to  the  inspired  voices  of  eloquent  speakers, —  to  beat  in  full  accordance 
with  the  thrilling  memories  of  the  past, —  to  swell  with  the  exulting 
anticipations  of  the  future.  The  immense  multitude  who  were  present 
in  Cambridge  on  that  anniversary  will  never  forget  the  deep  interest 
of  the  occasion.  The  plaudits  and  congratulations  were  rapturous, 
as  they  received  among  them  the  beloved  guest  of  the  nation,  and 
breathless  and  absorbing  was  the  attention  with  which  they  listened  to 
the  discourse  of  Mr.  Everett,  as  it  reached,  with  its  rich  harmonies,  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  old  church,  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity  with 
eager  and  expectant  throngs.  The  old-fashioned  square  pews  were 
filled,  and  every  inch  of  space  on  the  top  of  the  narrow  raihng  which 
encloses  them  was  occupied  by  persons  who,  unable  to  find  seats  or 
standing-places,  remained  perched  upon  these  sharp  edges,  hour  after 
hour,  wholly  unconscious  of  the  discomfort  of  their  uncertain  elevation. 
Mr.  Everett's  subject  was  fortunately  chosen  for  such  an  assembly  of 
lettered  men,  and  fell  in  admirably  with  the  joyous  and  triumphant 
spirit  of  the  occasion.     It  was  redolent  of  the  most  refined  scholarship, 

—  the  most  exquisite  learning,  drawn  from  the  highest  fountains  of 
knowledge.  It  was  the  earnest  plea  of  a  republican  scholar,  in  defence 
of  republican  institutions  in  their  bearing  upon  the  cultivation  of  let- 
ters and  science.  The  ai-gument  was  conducted  with  consummate  abil- 
ity and  taste.  None  left  that  assembly  without  having  their  confidence 
in  the  intellectual  destinies  of  their  country  increased  by  its  close 
reasoning  and  glowing  appeals.  The  orator  was  then  in  his  early 
manhood,  with  the  fresh  dews  of  youth  still  lingering  about  him.  Most 
of  the  audience  had  never  listened  to  his  voice  or  looked  upon  his 
countenance  before,  though  his  literary  renown  had  already  filled  the 
land ;  and  the  music  of  his  speech  came  upon  them  with  the  efiect  of 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  537 

a  delicious  novelty.  To  many  of  them  was  given,  on  that  day,  the  first 
conception  of  classical  oratory,  —  those  triumphs  achieved  by  the  com- 
bination of  the  gifts  of  genius  with  matured  and  profound  studies,  and 
•with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  principles  and  a  careful  training  in 
the  practice  of  the  art ;  employed  upon  subjects  of  deep  and  immediate 
concern  to  the  hearers,  and  holding  undivided  possession  of  the  soul, 
while  tasking  all  the  mental  energies  of  the  speaker.  So  Demosthenes 
moved  the  passions  and  swayed  the  minds  of  the  Athenian  assemblies, 
as  he  addressed  to  them,  from  the  Bema,  those  carefully  meditated  ora- 
tions by  which,  year  after  year,  he  controlled  the  policy  of  the  Athenian 
commonwealth.  So  Cicero  compelled  the  feelings  of  the  surging  mul- 
titudes of  the  Roman  forum  to  obey  the  movements  of  his  eloquence, 
as  the  mighty  ocean  tides  follow  the  path  of  the  serene  orb  of  heaven, 
whose  attraction  nature  forbids  them  to  resist. 

When  President  Jackson  visited  Bunker  Hill,  June  26,  1833,  he 
was  conducted  to  a  raised  platform  near  the  monument,  where  he  was 
addressed  by  Edward  Everett  in  an  eloquent  congratulatory  speech,  when 
the  president  made  a  pertinent  reply ;  and  was  then  presented  with  a  box 
made  from  the  timber  of  the  United  States  frigate  Constitution,  contain- 
ing "  a  grape-shot  dug  up  from  the  sod  beneath  our  feet,"  says  Ever- 
ett, ' '  and  a  cannon-ball  from  the  battle-field  of  New  Orleans,  brought 
from  the  enclosure  within  which  your  head-quarters  were  established. 
They  are  preserved  in  one  casket ;  and,  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of 
Charlestown,  I  now  present  them  to  you,  in  the  hope  that  they  will 
perpetuate  in  your  mind  an  acceptable  association  of  the  17th  of  June, 
1775,  and  the  8th  of  January,  1815, —  the  dates  of  the  first  and  last 
battles  fought  under  the  American  standard.  The  spot  on  which  we 
are  gathered  is  not  the  place  for  adulation.  Standing  over  the  ashes 
of  men  who  died  for  liberty,  we  can  speak  no  language  but  that  of 
freemen.  In  an  address  to  the  chief,  magistrate  of  the  United  States, 
there  is  no  room  for  one  word  of  comphment  or  flattery.  But  with 
grateful  remembrance  of  your  services  to  the  country, —  with  becoming 
respect  for  your  station,  the  most  exalted  on  earth, —  and  with  unan- 
imous approbation  of  the  firm,  resolute  and  patriotic  stand,  which  you 
assumed,  in  the  late  alarming  crisis  of  afiairs,  in  order  to  preserve  that 
happy  Union  under  one  constitutional  head,  for  the  establishment  of 
which  those  streets  were  wrapped  in  fire  and  this  hill  was  drenched  in 
blood, —  with  one  heart  and  one  voice,  we  bid  you  welcome  to  Bunker 
Hill!  "     On  the  decease  of  President  Jackson,  the  above-mentioned 


538  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

casket  passed,  by  bequest,  into  the  hands  of  Nicholas  P.  Trist,  for- 
merly consul  at  Havana,  who  disposed  of  the  same  to  Bowen  & 
McXamee,  silk  merchants,  of  New  York,  by  whom  it  was  presented 
to  ^l.  Kossuth,  the  Hungarian  patriot,  December,  1851,  when  on  his 
visit  to  the  United  States. 

The  apostrophe  of  Mr.  Everett  to  Lafayette,  in  his  oration,  was 
equal  in  effect,  perhaps,  to  anything  of  the  kind  in  ancient  or  modern 
oratory,  and  the  whole  production  is  a  most  beautiful  and  scholarly 
plea  for  letters  in  republican  States.  Between  this  and  the  speech  on 
the  Sacred  Scriptures,  the  last  speech  contained  in  the  collection  of  Mr. 
Everett's  orations  pubhshed  in  1850,  in  two  volumes,  8vo.,  which  forms 
a  fitting  close  of  religious  solemnity,  to  the  manifold  strains  that  fill 
the  intervening  periods  with  their  rich  enchantments,  we  have  had 
from  his  lips  a  series  of  orations,  discourses,  addresses  and  speeches,  on 
a  remarkable  variety  of  occasions  and  topics,  for  a  peculiar  variety  of 
objects,  in  different  countries  and  many  places.  He  has  given  the  peo- 
ple elaborate  literary  orations,  delivered  before  college  and  other  soci- 
eties ;  discourses  in  commemoration  of  the  founding  of  our  Noav  Eng- 
land institutions ;  orations  for  anniversary  celebrations  of  the  great 
battles  of  the  Revolution ;  fourth  of  July  orations  ;  eulogies  on  illus- 
trious patriots,  as  Washington,  John  Adams,  Jefierson,  Franklin,  Lafay- 
ette, and  Adams  the  younger ;  lyceum  lectures ;  speeches  at  public 
dinners,  and  other  festivals ;  temperance  addresses  ;  the  like  for  char- 
itable, literary,  agricultural  and  scientific  institutions,  and  legislative 
committees, —  extending,  in  all  that  are  printed  in  a  connected  form,  to 
the  number  of  eighty-one  ;  a  third  more  than  Demosthenes  wrote  in 
his  whole  life,  and  nearly  as  many  as  are  extant  of  Demosthenes  and 
Cicero  together, —  much  exceeding,  with  one  exception,  the  productions 
of  any  other  political  orator  in  our  republic.  The  number  of  orations 
and  speeches  of  Daniel  Webster,  pubhshed  in  a  connected  form,  is 
eighty-five.  This  refers,  however,  to  the  collection  of  Mr.  Webster's 
speeches  in  three  volumes.  The  recent  edition  is  in  six  volumes,  and 
the  number  of  speeches  contained  in  them  is  proportionably  greater. 
As  regards  orations  alone,  Everett  has  pronounced  more  than  any  other 
man. 

When  the  representative  of  Middlesex,  Hon.  Timothy  Fuller, 
declined  another  election  to  Congress,  in  1824,  Mr.  Everett  was  a  can- 
didate for  the  succession.  It  was  his  intention  to  retain  his  station  in 
Harvard  College,  as  did  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  filled  the  professor- 


EDWARD   EVERETT.  ,  539 

ship  of  rhetoric  and  oratory  whilst  in  the  United  States  Senate.  He 
■was  elected  by  a  handsome  majority;  but  it  was  decided  by  the  cor- 
poration of  the  college  that  his  station  was  vacated  by  accepting  a  seat 
in  Congress.  In  December,  1825,  he  found  himself  at  the  capital,  in 
a  new  sphere  of  life,  in  which  he  engaged  for  ten  years,  devoting  him- 
self, both  on  the  floor  and  in  the  committee-room,  to  the  discharge  of  the 
public  business  and  the  performance  of  the  duties  especially  assigned  to 
him.  During  his  whole  term  of  service  in  Congress,  he  was  on  the 
committee  on  foreign  affairs,  and  for  a  part  of  the  time  was  its  chair- 
man. His  political  career  in  Congress  was  highly  important  to  the 
public  interests  ;  and  the  last  act  of  Mr.  Everett  was  in  furnishing  the 
minority  report  of  this  committee,  on  the  French  controversy,  in  1835. 
His  speech  on  that  subject  is  said  to  have  been  commended  by  Louis 
Philippe,  in  the  highest  terms.  It  was  in  this  year  that  he  withdrew 
from  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

Mr.  Everett  was  a  beautiful  specimen  in  Congress  of  what  a  politician 
should  be ;  for  he  never  descended  to  personal  invective,  in  contending 
with  political  adversaries,  ever  observing  a  dignified  and  manly  inde- 
pendence, in  a  generous  spirit ;  and,  of  consequence,  impassioned  sar- 
casm wa^  never  heaped  upon  him.  Indeed,  it  may  be  truly  asserted, 
that  no  eminent  statesman  among  us  has  more  clearly  escaped  the 
shafts  of  passionate  partisans  than  our  own  Edward  Everett. 

In  the  year  1834  Mr.  Everett  pronounced  the  eulogy  on  Lafay- 
ette, for  the  young  men  of  Boston.  Its  peroration  is  remarkably 
impressive.  The  portrait  of  Washington  on  the  western  wall  of  Fan- 
euil  Hall,  where  it  was  delivered,  illustrates  some  of  the  allusions. 
After  remarking  that  the  great  principle  of  the  Revolutionary  fathers 
and  the  Pilgrims  —  the  love  of  liberty  protected  by  law  —  was  the  rule 
of  Lafayette  in  his  political  course,  he  makes  past  history,  and  the  asso- 
ciations of  the  old  cradle  of  liberty,  and  the  memorial  rites  in  which 
they  are  engaged,  repeat  the  monition:  "Blood  which  our  flithers 
shed,  cry  from  the  ground !  Echoing  arches  of  this  renowned  hall, 
whisper  back  the  voices  of  other  days !  Glorious  Washington,  break 
the  long  silence  of  that  votive  canvas !  Speak,  speak,  marble  lips ! 
—  (alluding  to  the  bust  of  Lafayette,  on  the  platform)  —  teach  us  the 
love  of  liberty  protected  by  law  !  " 

The  patriotic  tendencies  of  Edward  Everett's  mind  have  been  thus 
characterized  by  our  own  classic  Hillard,  in  language  well  worthy  the 
subject.     "  His  mind,"  says  Hillard,  "  is  not  moved  in  remote  regions 


540  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

■which  lie  in  that  soft,  ideal  light,  so  dear  to  the  intellectual  voluptuary. 
He  has  not  shrunk  from  the  homely  earth,  and  the  open  day.  Bunker 
Hill  has  been  to  him  a  more  magic  word  than  Marathon.  His  learn- 
ing has  borne  a  practical  stamp.  The  stream  of  living  life  has  flowed 
throuf^h  his  mind,  and  made  it  productive  of  rich  harvests  as  the  times 
have  need  of  To  make  the  history  of  his  country  attractive,  to 
inspire  a  deep  veneration  for  its  great  men,  to  develop  its  industrial 
resources,  to  draw  from  the  past  lessons  for  the  guidance  of  the  future, 
to  awaken  a  thoughtful  and  generous  patriotism,  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  scholars  to  native  virtues  and  homeborn  worth,  to  teach  our 
young  men  that  lives  better  than  Plutarch's  are  lying  at  their  feet, — 
these  are  the  ends  to  which  his  powers  and  his  attainments  have  been 
devoted  ;  and,  as  the  ends  were  noble,  so  has  his  success  been  triumph-  * 
ant."  As  was  said  by  Ben  Jonson  of  Bacon,  so  captivating  was  his 
eloquence,  "  the  fear  of  every  man  that  heard  him  was  lest  he  should 
make  an  end." 

Gov.  Everett  was  the  founder  of  a  new  era  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion among  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  and  rose  above  the 
strong  current  of  opposition.  The  Christian  Examiner,  in  an  article 
on  this  subject,  thus  emphasizes  :  "  The  value  of  the  services  of  Gov. 
Everett,  under  these  disadvantageous  and  perplexing  circumstances, 
cannot  be  over-estimated.  He  wrote  the  several  annual  reports  of  the 
board ;  and,  as  chairman  of  most  of  the  sub-committees,  he  also  dis- 
charged a  great  amount  of  labor,  and  bore  the  constant  burden  of 
responsible  care.  His  indefatigable  fidelity,  his  conscientious  and 
enlightened  prudence,  his  extraordinary  discretion  as  a  statesman,  and 
his  profound  enthusiasm  in  the  cause,  were  what  the  crisis  absolutely 
needed.  While  justice  to  the  secretary  demands  the  tribute  which  we 
are  about  to  render,  it  also  requires  us  to  acknowledge  that  no  other 
hand,  perhaps,  than  that  which  then  held  the  helm  of  State,  could  have 
safely  piloted  the  little  bark  through  the  rough  sea  of  jealousy  and 
opposition."  In  relation  to  the  indomitable  coadjutor  of  Gov.  Everett 
in  the  reform,  the  governor  himself  once  generously  remarked  :  "I 
honor,  beyond  all  common  names  of  respect,  the  distinguished  gentle- 
man —  Horace  Mann  —  who  for  twelve  years  has  devoted  the  indomi- 
table energy  of  his  character  to  this  noble  cause.  He  will  be  remem- 
bered till  the  history  of  Massachusetts  is  forgotten,  as  one  of  her  greatest 
benefactors.  I  reflect,  with  satisfaction,  that  the  Board  of  Education 
was  established  on  a  recommendation  which  I  had  the  honor  to  submit 


EDWARD   EVERETT.  541 

to  the  Legislature ;  and  that  I  had  the  privilege  of  cooperating  in  its 
organization,  in  the  choice  of  its  secretary,  in  the  establishment  of  the 
normal  schools  under  its  patronage,  and  in  the  other  measures  "which 
marked  its  opening  career."  Of  the  Western  Railroad  he  observed, 
in  1835,  "that  next  to  the  great  questions  of  liberty  and  independ- 
ence, the  doors  of  Faneuil  Hall  were  never  thrown  open  on  an  occa- 
sion of  greater  moment  to  the  people  of  the  city  and  the  State." 

We  find  in  the  Memoirs  of  Hon.  Judge  Story  the  following  trib- 
ute to  Gov.  Everett,  from  a  letter  addressed  to  him,  dated  May  30, 
1840  ;  but  we  must  take  exception  to  the  intimation  that  Mr.  Everett 
has  not  furnished  "a  great  work  for  posterity." 

"  When  I  look  back  upon  your  administration,  I  do  it  with  feelings 
pf  lofty  pride  and  unmixed  pleasure.  It  was  all  I  could  have  wished. 
It  was  wise  and  patriotic,  guided  by  the  right  spirit  and  the  right  prin- 
ciple, and  conducted  with  a  deep  regard  for  morals  and  justice,  and 
infinitely  removed  above  the  injustice  and  the  follies  of  mere  party.  It 
was  just  such  as  a  Christian  magistrate  ought  to  pursue,  and  a  Chris- 
tian people  feel  a  pride  in  supporting.  To  have  a  scholar  and  a  gen- 
tleman, second  to  none  among  us  in  all  the  attributes  of  taste  and 
genius  and  learning,  our  governor,  was  to  me,  I  confess,  a  source  of 
exultation.  To  see  him  rejected  by  the  people,  when  his  fame  had 
been  among  their  best  possessions,  was  to  me  a  starthng  proof  of 
their  frail  and  unsteady  judgments,  and  a  lesson  of  the  gratitude  of 
republics,  which  has  come  over  my  heart  with  many  saddened  thoughts 
respecting  our  future  prospects.  You  can  have  nothing  to  regret  in 
all  this ;  but  we  have  much  for  lamentation  and  bitter  sorrow. 

"  My  dear  sir,  allow  me  to  say  one  word  more  respecting  yourself. 
You  have,  I  trust,  many  years  before  you  of  health  and  labor.  What 
I  desire  is,  that,  in  addition  to  the  many  beautiful  —  ay,  exquisitely 
beautiful  —  specimens  of  your  genius,  which  we  have  had  upon  occa- 
sional topics,  you  would  now  meditate  some  great  work  for  posterity, 
which  shall  make  you  known  and  felt  through  all  time,  as  we  your 
contemporaries  now  know  and  esteem  you.  This  should  be  the  crown- 
ing future  purpose  of  your  life.  Sal  verhuni  sapicnti.  If  I  should 
live  to  see  it,  I  should  hail  it  with  the  highest  pleasure.  If  I  am  dead, 
pray  remember  that  it  was  one  of  the  thoughts  which  clung  most 
closely  to  me  to  the  very  last." 

Among  the  subjects  of  great  public  interest  to  which  Mr.  Everett 
lias  devoted  his  attention,  agriculture  holds  a  large  share.  In  one  of 
46 


542  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

ins  speeches,  delivered  at  Dcdham,  after  alluding  to  the  disposition  of 
settlers,  in  a  new  country,  to  destroy  trees,  when  they  should  protect 
and  propagate  them,  he  remarks  •  "  There  are,  in  the  interior  of  New 
Enc^land,  a  great  many  noble  trees,  planted  eighty  or  one  hundred 
years  ago  ;  and  most  certainly  nothing  grows  out  of  the  earth,  and  man 
can  put  nothing  upon  it,  so  beautiful.  I  hope,  my  friends,  we  shall 
let  our  children  and  grandchildren  enjoy  the  great  comfort  to  be  derived 
from  this  source.  Sir  Walter  Scott  represents  one  of  his  characters  as 
saying  that  his  father  used  to  tell  him  to  be  always  putting  down  a  tree. 
'  It  will  be  growing,  Jock,  when  you  are  sleeping.'  It  will  be  grow- 
ing, sir,  when  we  are  sleeping  to  wake  no  more.  The  acorn  which  you 
cover  with  a  couple  of  inches  of  earth,  the  seedling  elm  wbich  you 
rescue  in  your  garden  from  the  spade,  will  outlive  half  a  dozen  of  our. 
generations.  Cicero  speaks  of  it  as  a  kind  of  natural  foresight  of  the 
continued  existence  of  man,  that  '  men  planted  trees  which  were  a  ben- 
efit to  a  coming  generation.'  Yes,  sir  ;  and  if  every  man,  before  he 
goes  hence,  would  but  take  care  to  leave  one  good  oak  or  elm  behind 
him,  he  would  not  have  lived  in  vain.  His  children  and  grandchildren 
would  bless  his  memory." 

The  conception  of  Cicero,  that  men  planted  trees  that  were  to  be  a 
benefit  to  coming  generations,  reminds  one  of  an  impressive  incident 
regarding  James  Otis,  the  great  patriot,  which  occurred  at  Andover,  a 
few  weeks  before  his  sudden  death.  One  morning,  when  he  gave  indi- 
cations of  being  strongly  agitated,  Otis  took  a  hatchet  and  went  to  a 
copse  of  pines,  standing  on  a  rising  ground  a  few  yards  from  the  house, 
and  passed  all  the  forenoon  in  trimming  away  the  lower  branches  of  the 
wood.  When  Mr.  Osgood,  with  whom  Otis  resided,  came  to  invite  him 
to  dinner,  he  said,  with  great  earnestness,  '•  Osgood,  if  I  die  while  I 
am  in  your  house,  I  charge  you  to  have  me  buried  under  these  trees  ; " 
and  then  added,  with  a  little  touch  of  humor  that  shone  forth  like  a 
bright  gleam  in  a  tempestuous  sky,  "  you  know  my  grave  would  over- 
look all  your  fields,  and  I  could  have  an  eye  upon  the  boys,  and  see  if 
they  minded  their  work."  May  the  young  students  and  laborers  of 
Andover  be  incited  to  perseverance,  when  they  view  the  trees  around 
Otis'  burial-place,  and  imagine  his  eye  upon  them  ! 

Mr.  Everett  was  chosen  Governor  of  Massachusetts  in  1835,  and  for 
three  succeeding  terms  ;  and  was  followed  by  Judge  Morton,  in  1840, 
who  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  one  vote.  He  labored  assiduously 
for  the  moral,  commercial  and  political  interests  of  the  State,  especially 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  543 

eifecting  tlie  noble  objects  of  the  Board  of  Education  and  the  Western 
Railroad. 

He  embarked  for  Europe  in  June,  1840,  passing  the  summer  in 
Paris,  and  the  succeeding  year  in  Florence.  It  is  related  that,  pre- 
vious to  the  departure  of  Mr.  Everett  from  Boston,  when  present  at 
a  public  dinner,  Hon,  Judge  Story  gave  as  a  sentiment,  "  Learning, 
genius  and  eloquence,  are  sure  to  be  -syelcome  where  Ever-ett  goes." 
On  which,  Mr.  Everett  promptly  gave,  "  Law,  Equity  and  Jurispru- 
dence :  All  their  efforts  to  rise  will  never  be  able  to  get  above  one 
Story."  On  the  recall  of  Andrew  Stevenson,  the  minister  to  the 
court  of  St.  James,  in  1841,  Mr.  Everett  was  appointed  his  successor, 
where  he  remained  until  the  accession  of  President  Polk,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Louis  McLane.  As  minister  to  the  most  important 
•empire  in  the  world,  he  acquitted  himself  Avith  an  ability  and  dignity 
highly  honorable  to  his  exalted  station. 

He  arrived  in  London,  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  mission,  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1841.  Among  the  great  questions,  remarks  the 
Whig  Review,  "  which  were  at  that  time  open  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, were,  the  north-eastern  boundary,  the  affair  of  Mr.  McLeod,  and 
the  seizure  of  American  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  months,  the  affair  of  the  Creole  followed,  to  which  were  soon 
added  Oregon  and  Texas.  His  position  must  have  been  rendered 
more  diflScult  by  the  frequent  changes  which  took  place  in  the  depart- 
ment at  home.  Between  Mr.  Webster,  who  retired  in  the  spring  of 
1843,  and  Mr.  Buchanan,  who  came  in  with  Mr.  Polk  in  1845,  it  was 
occupied,  successively,  by  Messrs.  Legare,  Upshur,  and  Calhoun. 
From  all  these  gentlemen  ]Mr.  Everett  received  marks  of  approbation 
and  confidence.  *  ***** 

"The  congressional  documents  are  the  only  sources  open  to  the 
public  from  which  may  be  learned  the  nature  of  the  subjects  which 
Mr.  Everett  brought  to  a  successful  issue.  Among  these  were  several 
claims  for  the  seizure  of  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  large 
demands  of  American  citizens  for  duties  levied  contrary  to  the  com- 
mercial treaty  between  the  two  countries.  In  reference  to  the  latter, 
Mr.  Everett  obtained  an  acknowledgment  of  the  justice  of  the  claims, 
and  proposed  the  principle  of  offset,  on  which  they  were,  soon  after  the 
close  of  his  mission,  liquidated  and  paid.  He  obtained  for  our  fisher 
men  the  right  of  taking  fish  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  which  had  been  « 


544  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

subject  of  irritation  and  controversy  between  them  and  tbe  provincial 
authorities  for  thirty  years.  He  procured,  at  different  times,  the 
release  from  Van  Diemen's  Land  of  fifty  or  sixty  of  the  misguided 
Americans  who  had  embarked  in  the  Canadian  rebelhon  of  1838.  It 
will  be  remembered,  however,  as  we  have  already  observed,  that  a 
small  part  only  of  his  correspondence  has  been  brought  before  the 
public." 

He  returned  to  Boston  in  the  autumn  of  1845.  President  Quincy 
having  prenously  resigned  the  care  of  Harvard  University,  the  friends 
of  that  institution  united  in  the  request  that  Mr.  Everett  would  accept 
the  presidency.  He  was  inaugurated  to  this  important  station  April 
30,  1846,  when  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  gave  this  sentiment,  at 
the  public  dinner:  '-This  occasion,  which  witnesses  the  consecration 
of  the  highest  genius  of  our  country  to  its  noblest  service.  President 
Evei'ett  continued  closely  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, until  he  was  compelled,  by  the  state  of  his  health,  to  resign  the 
office ;  and  was  succeeded  by  Jared  Sparks,  June  20,  1849. 

He  has  been,  for  several  years,  president  of  the  American  Antiqua- 
rian Society,  vice-president  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical,  New  York  His- 
torical, and  New  England  Historical  Genealogic  Societies,  and  of  the 
Antiquarian,  Geographical,  and  Agricultural  Societies,  of  Great 
Britain. 

It  has  been  well  said  of  this  prince  of  orators,  that,  as  long  as  clear 
and  logical  reasoning  wins  the  assent  of  the  understanding,  as  long 
as  true  eloquenpe  stirs  the  blood,  as  long  as  ease  and  gi'ace  of  style 
approve  themselves  to  the  taste,  so  long  will  the  compositions  of 
Edward  Everett  be  read  and  admired.  He  is,  essentially,  a  rhetor- 
ician, and,  unless  France  may  furnish  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  most 
accomplished  living.  Whatever  is  requisite  for  rhetorical  success,  Mr. 
Everett  possesses.  To  the  most  varied  culture,  he  adds  an  immense 
and  various  learning,  a  memory  equally  retentive  and  prompt,  great 
facihty  and  felicity  of  expression,  a  ready  power  of  association,  and  a 
wit  and  humor  which  seem  always  to  be  ready  when  the  occasion 
calls  for  them.  No  knight  rode  in  the  tournament  arrayed  in  more 
glittering  armor,  continues  a  reviewer,  or  more  dexterous  in  the  use  of 
his  weapons.  He  has  enough  of  imagination ;  he  has  the  quick  and 
kindling  sensibilities  without  which  there  is  no  eloquence ;  and,  above 
all,  he  shows  a  wonderfully  quick  perception  of  the  state  of  mind  in 


EDWARD   EVERETT.  545 

those  whom  he  addresses.  He  seems  to  have  more  than  a  double 
share  of  nerves  in  his  fingers'  ends.  If  there  be  truth  in  animal  mag- 
netism, he  ought  to  be  one  of  the  most  impressible.  He  possesses  that 
greatest  of  charms,  an  exquisite  voice, — round,  swelling,  full  of  melody, 
particularly  emotional ;  naturally  grave,  and  with  a  touch  almost  of 
melancholy  in  some  of  its  cadences,  but,  like  all  such  emotional  voices, 
admirably  suited  to  the  expression  of  humor,  and  of  rising  from  a 
touching  pathos  into  the  most  stirring,  thrilling  and  triumphant  tones. 
There  is  such  harmony  between  thought  and  style,  manner  and  voice, 
that  each  gives  force  to  the  other,  and  all  unite  in  one  effect  on  the 
hearer. 

We  know  not  how  so  well  to  compress  a  view  of  his  services  and 
character,  as  in  the  comprehensive  language  of  Daniel  Webster,  at  the 
Norfolk  Agricultural  Society's  first  anniversary  meeting:  "We  all 
remember  him, —  some  of  us  personally, —  myself,  certainly,  with  great 
interest  in  his  deliberations  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
to  Avhich  he  brought  such  a  degree  of  learning,  and  ability,  and  elo- 
quence, as  few  equalled,  and  none  surpassed.  Ho  administered,  after- 
wards, satisfactorily  to  his  fellow-citizens,  the  duties  of  the  chair  of  the 
commonwealth.  He  then,  to  the  great  advantage  of  his  country,  went 
abroad.  He  was  deputed  to  represent  his  government  at  the  most  im- 
portant court  of  Europe :  and  he  carried  thither  many  qualities,  most  of 
them  essential,  and  all  of  them  ornamental  and  useful,  to  fill  that  high 
station.  He  had  education  and  scholarship.  He  had  a  reputation  at 
home  and  abroad.  More  than  all,  he  had  an  acquaintance  with  the 
politics  of  the  world,  with  the  law  of  this  country  and  of  nations,  with 
the  history  and  policy  of  the  countries  of  Europe.  And  how  well 
these  qualities  enabled  him  to  reflect  honor  upon  the  literature  and 
character  of  his  native  land,  not  we  only,  but  all  the  country  and  all 
the  world  know.  He  has  performed  this  career,  and  is  yet  at  such  a 
period  of  life,  that  I  may  venture  something  upon  the  character  and 
privilege  of  my  countrymen,  when  I  predict,  that  those  who  have 
known  him  long  and  know  him  now,  those  who  have  seen  him  and  see 
him  now,  those  who  have  heard  him  and  hear  him  now,  are  very  likely 
to  think  that  his  country  has  demands  upon  him  for  future  efforts  in  its 
service." 

In  addition  to  the  speeches  contained  in  the  two  volumes,  Mr. 
Everett  is  the  author  of  some  publications  Avhich  have  appeared  sepa- 
rately :  such  as  the  Defence  of  Christianity,  before  alluded  to ;  an 
46* 


546  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Essay  on  the  Claims  of  Citizens  of  the  United  States  on  Foreign  Gov- 
ernments, which  originally  appeared  in  the  North  American  Re\iew ; 
a  Life  of  General  Stark,  which  appears  as  the  first  article  in  Mr. 
Sparks'  Library  of  American  Biography ;  and  a  Biographical  Memoir 
of  Mr.  Webster,  forming  the  introduction  to  the  new  edition  of  his 
works.  The  speeches  and  reports  of  Mr.  Everett  in  Congi-ess,  and  his 
other  political  speeches  and  writings,  would  probably  form  a  collection 
as  large  as  that  of  his  miscellaneous  orations  and  speeches.  Above  a 
hundred  articles  are  stated  to  have  been  written  by  him  in  the  North 
American  Review,  and  many  in  other  journals.  A  hope  was  expressed, 
by  Judge  Story,  in  the  letter  above  cited,  that  Mr.  Everett  would 
devote  himself  to  the  preparation  of  some  elaborate  work.  It  would 
appear,  from  the  following  paragraph  in  the  preface  to  the  collection 
of  his  orations,  that  he  has  contemplated  such  an  undertaking : 

"It  is  still  my  purpose,  should  my  health  permit,  to  offer  to  the 
pubhc  indulgence  a  selection  from  a  large  number  of  articles  contrib- 
uted by  me  to  the  North  American  Review,  and  from  the  speeches, 
reports  and  official  correspondence,  prepared  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  the  several  official  stations  which  I  have  had  the  honor  to  fill, 
at  home  and  abroad.  Nor  am  I  wholly  without  hope  that  I  shall  be 
able  to  execute  the  more  arduous  project,  to  which  I  have  devoted  a 
good  deal  of  time  for  many  years,  and  towards  which  I  have  collected 
ample  materials, —  that  of  a  systematic  treatise  on  the  modern  law  of 
nations,  more  especially  in  reference  to  those  questions  which  have  been 
discussed  between  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Europe 
since  the  peace  of  1783."  On  the  decease  of  Daniel  Webster,  Mr. 
Everett  became  his  successor  as  the  Secretary  of  State  in  the  national 
cabinet,  and  in  1853  he  succeeded  Hon.  John  Davis  as  a  national 
senator. 


GEORGE   STILLMAN   HILLARD. 

JULY  i,  1835.     FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"  It  cannot  be  denied  that  we  have  been,  for  some  time  past,  grow- 
ing indifferent  to  the  celebration  of  this  day,"  svljs  Hillard.  "  It  was 
once  hailed  — and  some  who  hear  me  can  remember  the  time  —  with 
emotions  too  deep  for  words.  The  full  hearts  of  men  overflowed  in 
the  copious,  gushing  tears  of  childhood,  and  silently  went  up  to  heaven 
on  the  wings  of  praise.     With  their  own  sweat  and  their  own  blood 


GEORGE    STILLMAN   HILLARD.  54^ 

they  had  won  their  inheritance  of  peace,  and  thej  prized  it  acconlingly. 
They  were  yet  fresh  from  the  great  events  which  we  read  of  as  cold 
matters  of  history.  The  storm  had  passed  by,  but  the  swell  of  the 
troubled  waters,  rising  in  dark-heaving  ridges,  yet  marked  its  duration 
and  violence.  All  things  then  wore  the  beauty  of  novelty,  and  long 
possession  had  not  dulled  the  sense  of  enjoyment.  The  golden  light 
and  glittering  dews  of  the  morning  were  above  and  around  them. 
The  wine  of  life  sparkled  and  foamed  in  its  freshly-poured  cup.  The 
lovely  form  of  Liberty  —  to  us  so  familiar  —  seemed  like  a  bright 
vision,  newly  lighted  upon  this  orb,  from  the  starry  courts  of  heaven  ; 
and  men  hung,  with  the  rapture  of  lovers,  upon  her  inspiring  glances 
and  her  animating  smiles.  But  a  half-century  has  rolled  by,  and  a 
new  generation  has  sprung  up,  who  seem  to  think  that  their  social  and 
political  privileges  belong  to  them  as  naturally  as  air  and  light,  and 
reflect  as  little  upon  the  way  in  which  they  came  by  them.  The  very 
magnitude  of  our  blessings  makes  us  insensible  to  their  value,  as  the 
ancients  supposed  that  the  music  of  the  spheres  could  not  be  heard, 
because  it  was  so  loud.  The  v/hole  thing  has  become  to  us  an  old  stoiy. 
We  have  heard  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  Seventy-six,  and  of  the  times 
that  tried  men's  souls,  that  we  are  growing  weary  of  the  sound.  The 
same  feeling  which  made  the  Athenians  tired  of  hearing  Aristides  called 
the  just,  makes  us  tired  of  hearing  this  called  a  glorious  anniversary. 
But  that  man  is  little  to  be  envied  who  cannot  disentangle  this  occa- 
sion from  the  secondary  and  debasing  associations  which  cling  to  it, — 
from  its  noise,  its  dust,  its  confusion,  its  dull  orations  and  vapid  toasts, 
—  and,  ascending  at  once  into  a  higher  region  of  thought  and  feeling, 
recognize  the  full,  unimpaired  force  of  that  grand  manifestation  of 
moral  power  which  has  consecrated  the  day.  A  cold  indifference  to 
this  celebration  would,  in  itself,  be  a  sign  of  ominous  import  to  the  for- 
tunes of  the  republic.  He  who  greets  the  light  of  this  morning  with 
no  throb  of  generous  feeling  is  unworthy  of  a  share  in  that  heritage 
of  glory  which  he  claims  by  right  of  the  blood  which  flows  in  his 
degenerate  veins.  That  man,  had  he  lived  sixty  years  ago,  would 
most  surely  have  been  found  wanting  to  his  country,  in  her  hour  of 
agony  and  struggle.  Neither  with  tongue,  nor  purse,  nor  hand,  would 
he  have  aided  the  most  inspiring  cause  that  ever  appealed  to  a  mag- 
nanimous breast.  The  same  cast  of  character  which  makes  one  inca- 
pable of  feeling  an  absorbing  emotion,  makes  him  incapable  of  heroic 
efibrts  and  heroic  sacrifices.     He  who  cannot  forget  himself  in  admir- 


548  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

ing  true  greatness,  can  never  be  great;  and  the  power  of  justly  appre- 
ciating and  heartily  reverencing  exalted  merit  is,  in  itself,  an  unequiv- 
ocal sign  of  a  noble  nature." 

George  Stillman  Hillard  was  born  at  Machias,  Maine,  Sept.  22, 
1808.  His  mother,  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Stillman,  died  when  he 
was  an  infant.  He  entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1822.  His 
reminiscences  of  this  schoolhouse,  when  it  was  demolished,  in  the  year 
1844,  as  given  in  the  Boston  Book  of  1850,  are  very  impressive. 
"  Certainly  there  were  no  intrinsic  charms  in  the  building  to  commend 
it  to  the  affectionate  remembrances  of  the  boys.  There  never  was  any 
thing  more  bare,  more  tasteless,  more  uncouth,"  says  Mr.  Hillard. 
'•  The  walls  were  the  blankest,  the  seats  the  hardest,  the  desks  the 
most  inconvenient,  that  could  be  imagined.  '  Going  out '  was  such  a 
farce  !  It  was  only  exchanging  a  room  with  a  roof  for  one  without ; 
and,  really,  not  big  enough  for  a  well-grown  boy  to  swing  a  kitten  in. 
But  what  did  we  care  for  all  this  1  Youth  and  hope,  and  light  hearts, 
are  such  mighty  magicians !  How  they  gilded  and  colored  those 
walls  !  "What  more  than  regal  tapestry  they  hung  round  their  naked 
desolation !  with  what  roses  they  empurpled  that  dusty  floor !  what 
beauty  they  shed  around  that  narrow  staircase  !  "  After  enlarging  on 
the  advantage  ot  a  spacious  public  schoolhouse,  and  the  fierce  democ- 
racy of  the  scholars,  Mr.  Hillard  continues  :  ''  There  is  no  better  illus- 
tration of  Homer  than  the  daily  course  of  a  public  school.  His  heroes 
are  grown-up  boys.  Like  them,  they  speak  out  the  whole  truth. 
Like  them,  they  call  names.  Like  them,  they  weep  honest  tears,  and 
laugh  hearty  laughs.  When  a  boy  chances  to  make  an  ass  of  himself, 
by  word  or  deed,  with  what  distinctness  is  the  fact  communicated  to 
him  !  He  is  never  left  to  grope  his  way  by  inferences.  Would  that 
we  could  all  be  boys  again,  for  one  day !  What  faces  we  should  see 
in  Court-street  and  State-street !  I  pass  daily,  in  the  streets,  some 
of  my  old  school-fellows.  To  me  they  are  always  boys.  I  see  the 
blooming  looks  of  childhood  through  those  strong  and  manly  lines. 
And  yet,  how  many  are  changed  !  Such  cold,  money-getting  eyes  are 
turned  upon  me  !  Some  have  protuberant  waistcoats,  and  are  growing 
almost  gouty.  Some  have  that  compressed  lip  and  furrowed  brow 
which  speak  of  suppressed  grief, —  of  that  unspoken  sorrow  whose  dark- 
ling current  mines  away  the  heart  unseen.  Li  some,  the  natural  face 
is  so  changed  that  it  looks  like  a  mask.  Some  —  many  —  are  unal- 
tered.    With  them,  the  flavor  of  youth  is  unimpaired.     Towards  them. 


GEORGE    STILLMAN    HILLARD.  549 

tlie  dark  cloud  has  not  been  turned.  With  them,  the  boy  has  flowed 
into  the  man,  as  the  brook  expands  into  the  river.  As  I  pass  by  these 
early  companions,  with  a  cold  nod  of  recognition,  I  have  often  longed 
to  stop  them,  and  say  to  them,  '  Tell  me,  in  ten  words,  your  history. 
Where  do  you  feel  the  pinch  of  life  ? '  "  After  allusions  to  his  teacher 
and  certain  favorite  schoolmates,  Mr.  Hillard  writes  of  the  higher 
advantages  of  culture  now  enjoyed.  "We  were  compelled,"  says  he, 
"to  feed  on  such  husks  as  the  Gloucester  Greek  Grammar,  Lem- 
priere's  Dictionary,  and  a  Dolphin  Virgil,  with  an  oi'do  meandering 
along  the  margin, —  things  now  as  much  out  of  date  as  wigs  and  three- 
cornered  hats.  I  hear  now  in  the  school  a  sound  of  '  logical  predi- 
cates,' as  strange  to  my  ears  as  nouns  and  verbs  were  to  Jack  Cade's. 
These  fine  lads  are  striding  after  us  with  seven-leagued  boots."  Mr. 
Hillard  entered  Harvard  College  in  1824,  and  to  his  latest  Hfe  has 
never  forgotten  that  period  when,  with  heart  full  of  fear  and  satchel 
full  of  books,  he  "went  to  be  examined  before  enterino;  collese,  and 
there  breathed  the  atmosphere  of  letters.  We  cannot  forbear  embody- 
ing here  a  very  agreeable  reminiscence  of  Mr.  Hillard  in  regard  to 
Edward  Everett,  who  was  a  professor  in  the  college  when  he  became  a 
student  in  that  institution:  "We  recall,  certainly  with  no  complacent 
sense  of  superiority  for  the  colder  heart  of  manhood,  the  boyish  enthu- 
siasm with  which  we  ourselves  hung  upon  his  accents  in  those  days. 
He  seemed  to  express  and  embody  our  dreams  of  an  accomplished 
scholar  and  a  finished  man.  To  miss  hearing  him,  whenever  he 
addressed  the  public,  was  an  annoyance  which  rose  almost  to  the  dig- 
nity of  a  misfortune.  And  to  this  day,  we  confess  an  incapacity  to 
apply  anything  like  an  impartial  judgment  to  his  earlier  discourses, 
because  they  are  so  indissolubly  associated  with  all  the  entrancements 
and  illusions  of  youth.  The  fresh  gales  of  the  morning  blow  around 
as  we  read,  and  the  dew  of  hope  lies  bright  once  more  upon  the  untried 
world.  To  us,  there  are  words  between  the  lines.  Faces,  now  unknown 
on  earth,  throng  back  upon  us,  and  we  listen  again  to  voices  locked  in 
the  rugged  cell  of  death.  In  that  Nestor-like  disparaging  comparison, 
so  apt  to  come  with  coming  years,  we  have  sometimes  asked  ourselves, 
not  merely  whether  there  was  any  one  now  capable  of  awakening  such 
enthusiasm  in  young  natures,  but  whether  the  feeling  still  survived, — 
whether  any  fairy  shapes  of  enchantment  yet  hngered  in  the  morning 
twilight  of  life,  unscared  by  the  invading  blaze  of  useful  knowdedge." 
At  a  college  exhibition,  in  1827,  ^Ir.  Hillard  dehvered  an  oration  on  the 


550  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Abuses  of  Genius  ;  and,  -^hen  a  candidate,  in  1831,  for  the  degree  of 
IMaster  of  Arts,  he  gave  another  oration,  on  the  Dangers  to  which  the 
Minds  of  Young  Men  in  our  country  are  exposed.  He  -was  a  student 
in  the  Law  School  of  the  college  until  he  graduated,  in  1832,  when  he 
read  law  with  Charles  P.  Curtis,  Esq.,  and  was  an  attorney  at  the  Suf- 
folk bar.  ]\Ir.  Hillard  is  an  eminent  counsellor.  In  1835  he  married 
Susan  T.,  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Howe,  of  Northampton.  In  1845 
he  was  elected  to  the  city  Council,  of  which  he  continued  a  member  until 
July,  1847,  and  was  two  years  its  president.  He  has  been  a  represent- 
ative to  the  State  Legislature,  and  was  elected  to  the  Senate  in  1849. 

The  manly  and  decided  course  of  Mr.  Hillard,  in  the  State  Senate, 
elicited  from  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  in  the  United  States  Senate,  a  warm 
response.  In  his  remarks  on  legislative  instructions  to  representatives 
in  Congress,  Mr.  Webster  made  a  happy  allusion  to  Mr.  Hillard,  March 
7, 1850.  He  said  it  had  become  quite  too  frequent  a  practice  for  State 
Legislatures  to  present  resolutions  in  Congress  on  all  subjects,  and  to 
instruct  us  here  on  all  subjects.  "  I  took  notice,  with  pleasure,"  said 
Mr.  Webster,  "  of  some  remarks  on  this  subject,  made  the  other  day,  in 
the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  by  a  young  man  of  talent  and  of  character, 
from  whom  the  best  hopes  may  be  entertained.  I  mean  Mr.  Hillard. 
He  told  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts  that  he  would  vote  for  no  instruc- 
tions whatever,  to  be  forwarded  to  members  of  Congress,  nor  for  any 
resolutions  to  be  offered,  expressive  of  the  sense  of  Massachusetts  as 
to  what  their  members  of  Congress  ought  to  do.  He  said  he  saw  no 
propriety  in  one  set  of  public  servants  giving  instructions  and  reading 
lectures  to  another  set  of  pubhc  servants.  To  their  own  master  they 
must  stand  or  fall,  and  that  master  is  their  constituents."  Mr.  Webster 
further  remarked  :  '"If  the  question  be  one  which  affects  her  interest, 
and  at  the  same  time  aifects  the  interests  of  all  other  States,  I  should 
no  more  regard  her  political  wishes  or  instructions,  than  I  would  regard 
the  wishes  of  a  man  who  might  appoint  me  an  arbiter  or  referee  to 
decide  some  important  private  right,  and  who  might  instruct  me  to 
decide  in  his  favor." 

A  journalist,  in  noticing  the  oration  of  Mr.  Hillard  on  our  national 
independence,  remarks  that  "it  is  full  of  passages  of  the  highest  elo- 
quence, couched  in  language  of  a  Tyrian  dye."  The  clear  fountain  of 
such  a  mind  as  his  should  not  cease  to  pour  forth  copious  streams  for 
intellectual  refreshment.  Who  would  not  learn  a  lesson  from  his  beau- 
tiful Httle  moral  of  "  A  Patch  on  both  Knees,  and  Gloves  on  "  ?    He 


JEROME   VAN   CROWNINGSHIELD   SMITH.  551 

is  the  purest  classical  scholar,  of  his  generation,  in  the  Boston  bar. 
Who,  that  has  heard  his  public  lectures,  can  ever  forget  his  silvery  voice, 
its  melodious  intonations,  and  his  graceful  manner?  He  is  perfect 
master  of  a  soft  and  beautiful  diction.  His  style  is  never  entangled 
among  the  brambles  of  Carlyle,  whose  eccentric  language  and  figures 
are,  for  the  most  part,  as  thorns  to  good  taste ;  and  a  critic,  in  allusion 
to  his  oration  on  the  Relations  of  the  Poet  to  his  Age,  says  that  the 
exquisite  and  flowing  sentences  seem  allied  to  music,  and  touch  the 
outward  sense,  as  well  as  stir  the  fancy  and  excite  the  reflective  powers. 
What  Mr.  Hillard  felicitously  remarks  in  regard  to  the  orations  of 
Edward  Everett,  may  be  justly  applied  to  his  own  productions  :  "We 
do  not  find  in  them  careless  defects,  redeemed  by  careless  graces ;  nor 
epigrammatic  point ;  nor  that  picturesque  Mosaic  which  is  made  up  of 
chips  of  aphorisms  and  crystals  of  poetry ;  nor  those  terse  and  racy 
expressions  which  take  the  wings  of  proverbs  and  fly  over  the  land ; 
nor  those  inimitable  felicities  of  phrase,  which  dart  from  the  heart  of 
genius  like  lightning  from  the  cloud." 

The  introduction  and  notes  of  Mr.  Hillard  to  an  edition  of  the 
Poetical  Works  of  Edmund  Spenser,  in  five  volumes,  published  at 
Boston,  in  1839,  give  him  a  name  among  the  very  few  imperishable 
writers  of  New  England.  He  says  of  the  Faerie  Queene  that  it  is  the 
delight  of  imaginative  youth,  and  of  men  who  have  preserved,  in  man- 
hood, the  freshness  of  early  feeling,  and  ceased  not  to  reverence  the 
dreams  of  their  youth.  He  who,  at  forty,  reads  the  Faerie  Queene 
with  as  much  delight  as  at  twenty,  is  pretty  sure  to  be  a  wise  and  a 
happy  man, 

Mr.  Hillard  is  author  of  a  Memoir  of  Henry  R.  Clevelo,nd,  and  a 
Metooir  of  Capt.  John  Smith.  His  twelve  admirable  lectures  for  the 
Lowell  Institute,  on  the  character  and  writings  of  John  Milton,  should 
be  published  in  a  permanent  form,  as  they  are  identified  with  his  own 
literary  history. 


JEROME  VAN   CROWNINGSHIELD   SMITH. 

JULY  4,  1835.    FOR  THE  PEOPLE  OP  SOUTH  BOSTON. 

Was  born  at  Conway,  N.  II.,  July  20,  1800,  and  was  son  of  Rich- 
ard Ransom  Smith,  a  respectable  physician ;  and  his  mother  was  Sarah 


652  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

CumiTiings,  of  Hollis,  N.  H.  Had  a  degree  from  Brown  University, 
in  1818 ;  and  M.  D.  at  "Williams  College,  where,  in  1822,  he  was 
elected  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  in  the  medical  depart- 
ment, located  at  Pittsfield,  under  the  name  of  the  Berkshire  Medical 
Institution,  which,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  became  an  independent 
institution.  He  married  Eliza  Maria,  daughter  of  Sheriff  Henry  Clin- 
ton Brown,  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.  He  was  a  student  in  surgery  under 
the  eminent  Dr.  WilHam  Ingalls,  of  Boston.  Dr.  Smith  had  a  genius 
for  statuary,  and  executed,  with  artistical  skill,  busts  of  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick,  of  Hon.  Marshall  P.  "Wilder,  Bishop  Eastburn,  and  others. 

Dr.  Smith  established  the  Boston  Medical  Intelhgencer,  in  quarto, 
and  was  the  editor.  It  had  long  been  known  as  the  Boston  Medical 
and  Surgical  Journal,  when  it  assumed  the  octavo  form.  He  was  its 
conductor  through  more  than  forty  volumes,  and  it  is  a  good  index  of 
his  mind.  He  prepared  valuable  notes  to  a  Boston  edition  of  Cooper's 
Surgery.  He  was  editor  of  the  Boston  "Weekly  News  Letter,  in  two 
volumes  octavo,  published  in  1825-26, —  an  excellent  local  historical 
chronicle,  scarcely  extant,  as  the  copies  were  mostly  destroyed  at  a 
great  fire  in  Court-street,  at  the  same  time  when  a  part  of  the  manu- 
script of  Gov.  Winthrop's  History  was  also  destroyed.  He  prepared  a 
History  of  the  American  Indians,  published  anonymously,  by  Clark. 
He  revised  an  English  reprint  of  the  IMother's  Medical  Guide,  with 
additions.  Dr.  Smith  was  author  of  a  practical  treatise  on  the  Econ- 
omy, Habits  and  Culture,  of  the  Honey-bee ;  and  of  the  Revelations 
of  Mrs.  Fox,  aji  amusing  satire  on  Animal  Magnetism,  with  caricatures 
by  Johnston.  He  was  editor  of  six  volumes  of  Scientific  Tracts,  and 
of  Memoirs  of  Andrew  Jackson,  when  first  a  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency. One  of  his  best  productions  is  the  Natural  History  of  the 
Fishes  of  Massachusetts.  His  Class-book  of  Anatomy,  with  engrav- 
ings, exhibits  a  mind  well  furnished  with  elementary  science.  As 
editor  of  the  American  Medical  Pocket-book,  he  aided  medical  science. 
His  contributions  to  Bowen's  Picture  of  Boston  constitute  the  most 
valuable  part  of  that  work.  He  has  done  much  for  the  Boston  Alma- 
nac. Dr.  Smith  has  kept  a  diary  of  historical  and  general  information, 
regarding  Boston,  for  a  period  of  more  than  twenty-five  years,  record- 
ing facts  of  municipal  history  not  elsewhere  to  be  gathered.  It  will 
be  a  valuable  legacy  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Dr. 
Smith  has  been  a  man  of  untiring  industry. 

In  1826  Dr.  Smith  was  elected  the  Port  Physician  for  Boston,  in 


JEROME  VAN   CROWNINGSHIELD   SMITH.  553 

which  capacity  he  vaccinated  more  persons,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
physician  in  New  England.  In  1837  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Leg- 
islature, and  succeeded  in  effecting  an  alien  law  regarding  foreign  pau- 
pers, for  the  collection  of  a  capitation  tax  on  foreigners  arriving  at  any 
port  in  Massachusetts ;  which  tax  was  devoted  to  defraying  the  expenses 
of  poor  and  sick  emigrants,  until  the  declaration  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  at  Washington,  deciding  that  the  collection  of  funds  was 
unconstitutional.  Dr.  Smith  has  been  a  useful  member  of  the  school 
committee,  and  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  In  1848  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  was  chairman  of  a  special  joint  com- 
mittee on  alien  paupers.  He  prepared  a  statistical  document  on  the 
present  condition  and  future  influence  that  the  great  influx  of  for- 
eigners is  destined  to  exercise  over  the  condition  of  our  country.  In 
the  same  year,  and  in  1852,  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  mayoralty  of 
Boston.  He  was  succeeded,  in  the  quarantine  department,  July  1849, 
by  Dr.  Henry  G.  Clark.  No  man  has  been  more  familiar  with  the 
nature  of  small-pox  and  kindred  loathsome  infections,  or  more  zeal- 
ously devoted  to  the  cause,  than  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Dr.  Smith  was  an  early  advocate  for  the  universal  introduction  of  pure 
water  at  the  expense  of  the  city  of  Boston  ;  and  delivered  an  address  at 
the  Masonic  Temple,  Feb.  5,  1834,  before  the  Massachusetts  Charitable 
Mechanic  Association,  and  in  presence  of  the  city  authorities,  urging 
reasons  why  pure  water  should  be  adopted  by  the  city,  and  proposing  a 
schedule  for  the  supply  of  one  hundred  thousand  persons  from  Jamaica 
Pond.  The  last,  and  not  least,  important  service  of  Dr.  Smith,  was  in 
the  gathering  of  the  sons  of  New  Hampshire  at  the  great  hall  of  the 
Fitchburg  depot,  Nov.  7,  1849.  It  was  on  his  invitation  that  a  few 
friends  met  at  his  residence.  No.  12  Bowdoin-sti-eet.  and  in  the  base- 
ment-room decided,  Oct.  9,  1848,  to  attempt  the  first  universal  gath- 
ering of  the  whole  bi-otherhood  of  a  State,  in  the  United  States.  He 
has  been  a  frequent  lecturer  on  scientific  subjects.  His  extensive  eru- 
dition, and  remarkably  bland  and  social  manners,  render  his  society 
highly  captivating.  In  the  spring  of  1850  he  made  the  tour  of  Europe 
and  Asia,  and  was  a  constant  contributor  to  Boston  journals  during  his 
travels.     In  1854  he  was  elected  the  mayor  of  Boston. 

The  oration  of  Dr.  Smith  on  our  national  birthday  is  almost  the 

only  purely  historical  performance  in  this  collection.     It  relates  the 

ancient  history  of  Mattapan  Neck,  the  noble  feat  of  Washington  on  the 

heights  of  Dorchester,  and  its  annexation  to  Boston  by  the  annexation 

47 


554  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  Soutli  Boston  Bridge,  in  1804.  He  remarks  that  the  preservation 
of  Boston,  and  the  political  redemption  of  North  America,  was  eflfected 
on  Dorchester  Heights. 

We  cannot  resist  the  pleasure  of  alluding  to  an  impressive  incident 
that  occurred  during  the  delivery  of  this  oration.  There  was  present 
in  the  audience  a  venerable  person,  then  supposed  to  be  one  hundred 
years  of  age,  who  was  addressed  by  the  orator,  on  rising  from  his  seat, 
supported  on  one  side  by  Col.  Henry  Purkitt,  and  by  Maj.  Benjamin 
Russell  on  the  other  side  of  him,  amid  the  whole  audience,  standing 
and  gazing  with  intense  interest.  It  appeared  afterwards,  however, 
that  the  aged  veteran  had  mistaken  his  age;  as,  according  to  the 
Boston  records,  he  was  born  August  25,  1742,  being  ninety-three 
years  of  age.  A  Memoir  of  George  Robert  Twelves  Hewes,  one  of  the 
Boston  Tea  Party  of  1773,  was  pubhshed,  written  by  B.  B.  Thacher. 
He  died  at  Little  Herkimer,  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  5,  1840, 
aged  ninety-eight.     Dr.  Smith  said : 

"Nearly  the  last  of  that  fearless  company  of  patriots  who  consti- 
tuted the  celebrated  Boston  Tea  Party  is  now  before  the  audience, — 
the  venerable  relic  of  a  century.  This  is  Mr.  George  Robert  Twelves 
Hewes,  who  will  be  one  hundred  years  old  on  the  5th  day  of  the  coming 
September,  formerly  a  citizen  of  Boston, —  and  who,  on  the  verge  of 
eternity,  earnestly  desired  to  revisit  the  early  scenes  of  youth,  that  his 
eyes  might  be  gladdened  with  objects  in  which  they  once  delighted. 
How  wonderful !  One  hundred  years  of  age  !  —  yet  in  the  full  posses- 
sion of  his  faculties,  and  susceptible  of  all  the  enjoyments  and  pleasures 
of  social  intercourse. 

"Let  the  youth  who  have  this  rare  opportunity  of  gazing  upon  the 
features  of  this  extraordinary, —  this  last  man,  as  it  were, —  remem- 
ber the  circumstance,  that  in  their  old  age  they  may  say  to  their  chil- 
dren, they  saw,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1835,  a  man  who  assisted  in  throw- 
ing into  the  ocean  three  cargoes  of  tea,  in  order  to  resist  the  exactions 
of  foreign  taskmasters.  And  may  the  spirit  which  animated  him  on 
that  remarkable  occasion  live  in  them  and  their  posterity,  while  home 
has  endearments,  and  true  patriotism  exists  in  the  land  which  gave 
them  birth  !  Venerable  old  man  !  May  Heaven's  choicest  blessings 
rest  upon  your  frosted  head !  Since  you  were  born,  three  hundred 
millions  of  human  beings  have  probably  gone  down  to  the  grave ;  and 
yet  you  are  spared,  by  Divine  Providence,  to  be  a  hving  monitor  to  us, 
to  cherish  our  precious  institutions,  and  to  transmit  them  unimpaired 


THEOPHILUS  FISKE. —  JOSEPH   STORY.  555 

to  succeeding  generations.  Though  you  come  to  the  land  of  your 
childhood  leaning  upon  a  staflf,  and  feehng  your  dependence  on  the 
charities  of  a  selfish  world,  you  are  surrounded  by  friends  who  feel  that 
their  prosperity  is  referable  to  the  privations,  sacrifices  and  personal 
labors,  of  you  and  your  brave  associates  in  arms.  May  your  last  days 
be  peaceful,  calm,  and  happy ;  and  with  your  last  breath,  I  beseech 
you,  invoke  a  blessing  on  our  common  country ! 

'  May  your  last  days  in  one  smooth  channel  run, 
And  end  in  pleasure,  as  they  fii'st  begun.'  " 


THEOPHILUS   FISKE. 

JULY   4,  1833.    FOR  THE  TRADES  UlSriON. 

Was  born  at  Wilton,  N.  H.,  and  married,  at  Cazenovia,  N.  Y.,  May, 
1851,  Susan,  daughter  of  Hon.  Justin  Dwinette.  The  subject  of  Mr. 
Fiske,  in  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article,  was  on  Capital  against 
Labor.  It  was  delivered  at  Julien  Hall.  At  this  period  he  was  editor 
of  the  Workingman's  Advocate.  He  removed  to  Virginia,  in  1841, 
and  published  the  Political  Reformer.  He  entered  the  ministry,  and 
was  for  a  period  the  pastor  of  a  Universalist  church  in  Pliiladelphia ; 
has  since  become  a  practical  biologist,  or  mesmerizer. 


JOSEPH   STORY. 

OCT.  15,  1835.    EULOGY  ON  CHIEF  JUSTICE  MARSHALL.    FOR  THE  SUFFOLK 

BAR. 

In  the  eulogy  before  us.  Justice  Story  thus  expressively  enlarges 
on  the  capacity  of  Marshall  as  the  expositor  of  constitutional  law :  "It 
was  here  that  he  stood  confessedly  without  a  rival,  whether  we  regard 
his  thorough  knowledge  of  our  civil  and  political  history,  his  admira- 
ble powers  of  illustration  and  generalization,  his  scrupulous  integrity 
and  exactness  in  interpretation,  or  his  consummate  skill  in  moulding 
his  own  genius  into  its  elements,  as  if  they  had  constituted  the  exclu- 


556  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

sive  study  of  his  life.  His  proudest  epitaph  maybe  ■written  in  a  single 
line, —  Here  lies  the  Expounder  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  I  am  a^Yare  of  the  force  of  this  language,  and  have  no  desire 
to  qualify  it.  The  task  which  he  had  to  perform  was  far  different  from 
that  which  belongs  to  the  debates  in  other  places,  where  topics  may  be 
chosen,  and  expressed  or  avoided,  as  the  occasion  may  require.  In 
the  forum,  there  is  no  choice  of  topics  to  be  urged,  there  are  no  pas- 
sions to  be  addressed,  there  are  no  interests  to  be  courted.  Critical 
inquiries,  nice  discriminations,  severe  inductions,  and  progressive  dem- 
onstrations, are  demanded  upon  the  very  points  on  which  the  contro- 
versy hinges.  Every  objection  must  be  met  and  sifted ;  and  answered, 
not  by  single  flashes  of  thought,  but  by  the  closest  logic,  reasoning  out 
every  successive  position  with  a  copious  and  convincing  accuracy. 

"Let  it  be  remembered,  that  when  Chief  Justice  Marshall  first  took 
his  seat  on  the  bench,  scarcely  more  than  two  or  three  questions  of  con- 
stitutional law  had  ever  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
As  a  science,  constitutional  law  was  then  confessedly  new ;  and  that 
portion  of  it,  in  an  especial  manner,  Avhich  may  be  subjected  to  judicial 
scrutiny,  had  been  explored  by  few  minds,  even  in  the  most  general 
forms  of  inquiry.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that,  in  the  course  of  his 
judicial  life,  numerous  questions  of  a  practical  nature,  and  involving 
interests  of  vast  magnitude,  have  been  constantly  before  the  Court, 
where  there  was  neither  guide  nor  authority,  but  all  was  to  be  wrought 
out  by  general  principles.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  texts  w"hich 
scarcely  cover  the  breadth  of  a  finger  have  been  since  interpreted, 
explained,  limited  and  adjusted,  by  judicial  commentaries,  which  are 
now  extended  into  volumes.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  highest 
learning,  genius  and  eloquence,  of  the  bar,  have  been  employed  to 
raise  doubts  and  fortify  objections ;  that  State  sovereignties  have  stood 
impeached  in  their  legislation,  and  rights  of  the  most  momentous  nature 
have  been  suspended  upon  the  issue ;  that,  under  such  circumstances, 
the  infirmities  of  false  reasoning,  the  glosses  of  popular  appeal,  the 
scattered  fire  of  irregular  and  inconclusive  assertion,  and  the  want  of 
comprehensive  powers  of  analysis,  had  no  chance  to  escape  the  instant 
detection  of  the  profession.  Let  these  things,  I  say,  be  remembered, 
^  and  who  does  not  at  once  perceive  that  the  task  of  expounding  the 
constitution,  under  such  circumstances,  required  almost  superhuman 
abilities  1  It  demanded  a  mind  in  which  vast  reaches  of  thought  should 
be  combined  with  patience  of  investigation,  sobriety  of  judgment,  fear- 


JOSEPH  STORY.  557 

lessness  of  consequences,  and  mastery  of  the  principles  of  interpreta- 
tion, to  an  extent  rarely  belonging  to  the  most  gifted  of  our  race. 

"  How  this  gigantic  task  of  expounding  the  constitution  was  met  and 
executed  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  let  the  profession  —  let  the  public 
—  decide.  Situated  as  I  am,  I  may  not  speak  for  others  upon  such  an 
occasion.  But,  having  sat  by  his  side  during  twenty-four  years  ;  hav- 
ing witnessed  his  various  constitutional  labors ;  having  heard  many  of 
those  exquisite  judgments,  the  fruits  of  his  own  unassisted  meditations, 
from  which  the  Court  has  derived  so  much  honor,' —  et  nos  allqnod 
nomenque  decusque  gessmuis, —  I  confess  myself  unable  to  find  lan- 
guage sufficiently  expressive  of  my  admiration  and  reverence  of  his 
transcendent  genius.  While  I  have  followed  his  footsteps, —  not  as  I 
could  have  wished,  but  as  I  have  been  able,  at  humble  distances, —  in 
his  splendid  judicial  career,  I  have  constantly  felt  the  liveliest  gratitude 
to  that  beneficent  Providence  which  created  him  for  the  age,  that  his 
talents  might  illustrate  the  law,  his  virtues  adorn  the  bench,  and  his 
judgments  establish  the  perpetuity  of  the  constitution  of  the  country. 
Such  is  my  humble  tribute  to  his  memory.  His  saltern  accumalem 
do7iis,  et  fwigar  inani  iminere.  The  praise  is  sincere,  though  it 
may  be  perishable.  Not  so  his  fame.  It  will  flow  on  to  the  most  dis- 
tant ages.  Even  if  the  constitution  of  his  country  should  perish,  his 
glorious  judgments  will  still  remain  to  instruct  mankind,  until  liberty 
shall  cease  to  be  a  blessing,  and  the  science  of  jurisprudence  shall  vanish 
from  the  catalogue  of  human  pursuits." 

Joseph  Story,  a  son  of  Dr.  Ehsha  Story,  was  born  at  Marblehead, 
Mass.,  Sept.  18,  1779.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Boston,  an  active 
actor  in  the  Tea  Party  of  1773,  and  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of  the  Rev- 
olution. His  primary  education  was  received  in  the  academy  of  his 
native  town,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  and  Michael  Walsh, 
the  noted  author  of  the  Mercantile  Arithmetic.  He  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College,  in  1798,  on  which  occasion  his  theme  was  a  poem  on 
"  Reason."  He  pursued  the  study  of  law  with  Chief  Justice  Samuel 
Sewall,  of  INIarblehead,  where  he  attempted  to  read  Coke  on  Littleton, 
in  the  folio  edition,  thatched  over  with  those  manifold  annotations  which 
cause  the  best-trained  lawyer  "to  gasp  and  stare."  As  he  strove  in 
vain  to  force  his  weary  way  through  its  rugged  page,  he  was  filled  with 
despair.  It  was  but  for  a  moment.  The  tears  poured  from  his  eyes 
upon  the  open  book.  Those  tears,  says  Sumner,  were  his  precious  bap- 
tism into  the  learning  of  the  law.  From  that  time  forth,  he  persevered 
47* 


553  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

with  confirmed  ardor  and  confidence,  without  let  or  hindrance.  He 
pursued  his  legal  studies  at  Salem,  under  Judge  Samuel  Putnam.  In 
1801  he  was  admitted  to  the  Essex  bar,  and  it  is  said  was  the  only 
avowed  Democrat  at  that  period  among  the  lawyers  of  that  county. 
This  obstacle  to  his  success  soon  gave  way  to  his  attainments  and 
peculiar  tact  for  his  profession. 

He  has  often  avowed  that  literature  was  his  earliest  passion,  which 
yielded  to  the  stern  requirements  of  duty  beckoning  him  to  the  toils  of 
professional  life ;  and  those  who  knew  him  best  cannot  forget  that  this 
sentiment  pervaded  his  days,  remarks  Sumner,  as  with  the  perfume  of 
flowers.  Being  ardent  in  poetic  fiincy,  and  of  a  brilliant  imagination, 
his  leisure  time  was  devoted  to  the  weaving  a  poem,  published  in  1804, 
on  the  Power  of  Solitude,  the  idea  of  which  was  conceived  by  the  sen- 
timental work  of  Zimmerman.  A  collection  of  his  poetical  efi"asions 
are  gathered  in  the  second  edition  of  this  volume.  This  production, 
though  a  favorite  efibrt  of  the  author,  as  it  is  related,  like  the  Paradise 
Regained  to  the  taste  of  Milton,  never  heightened  the  power  of  his 
influence  as  a  poet,  and  it  has  slowly  passed  away  from  the  bookseller's 
shelves,  as  a  thing  of  mediocrity ;  yet  the  gushings  of  a  warm  heart 
stream  down  its  pages.  It  has  been  expressively  said  of  perishable 
poetry,  that  it  is  unnoticed  by  men,  and  abhorred  by  the  gods. 

In  1804  Mr.  Story  delivered  at  Salem  a  Democratic  oration  on  our 
national  independence.  In  allusion  to  Jefierson,  he  says,  in  this  ora- 
tion, "  The  fame  of  our  illustrious  administration  is  not  left  to  the  per- 
ishable breath  of  man.  It  is  recorded  in  deeds  which  shall  descend  to 
posterity,  and  give  immortality  to  national  gratitude.  Jefierson  has  not 
lived  for  his  own  age.  The  hand  which  traced  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence may  crumble  in  the  dust,  but  the  labors  of  thirty  years 
devoted  to  the  public  service  have  insured  a  title  to  a  glorious  perpe- 
tuity." So  ardent  was  he  in  political  zeal,  that  he  engaged  in  a  per- 
sonal rencounter,  it  is  related,  with  Gen.  Haskett  Derby,  in  one  of  the 
streets  of  Salem.  In  1805  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  of 
which  he  was  a  member  until  his  election  to  Congress,  in  1809,  where 
he  served  only  during  that  session,  when  he  declined  being  a  candidate. 
In  1810  he  was  again  elected  to  the  State  Legislature.  In  1811  Mr. 
Story  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  resigned  Jan.  12,  1812. 
When  in  the  State  Legislature,  he  exerted  a  controlling  influence  on 
judicial  reform,  rehgious  taxation,  and  other  objects.  Mr.  Story  has  the 
traditionary  reputation  of  originating  the  project  of  newly  forming  the 


JOSEPH   STORY.  559 

senatorial  districts,  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  a  Democratic  majority 
in  the  Senate.  It  is  highly  probable,  however,  that  the  Hon.  Samuel 
Dana,  who  was  President  of  the  Senate  in  that  session,  was  the  orig- 
inator of  this  measure,  which  was  caricatured  in  the  Boston  Gazette  of 
March,  1812,  by  an  engraving,  executed  by  E.  Tisdale,  a  miniature 
painter,  representing  the  new  order  of  districting  in  the  form  of  an 
unsightly  skeleton,  and  was  first  exhibited  in  the  Centinel  office. 
Washington  Allston,  calling  there  with  James  Ogilvie,  a  lecturer  on 
oratory,  and  noticing  the  figure,  remarked  to  Russell,  the  editor, 
"What  an  odd-looking  creature  is  this  !  it  looks  like  a  salamander." 
On  which  Ogilvie,  quick  as  light,  replies,  "Why,  let  it  be  named 
Gerrymander,  for  the  governor."  We  relate  this  on  the  authority  of 
Dr.  Joseph  Palmer,  who  had  the  statement  from  Benjamin  Russell. 
This  impolitic  districting  effected  a  reaction,  giving  the  Federal  party 
a  decided  majority  in  the  Legislature ;  the  districts  were  altered  to 
their  former  order,  and  the  Federalists  had  the  ascendency  for  twelve 
succeeding  years.  The  history  of  the  Gerrymander  is  a  beacon  for 
political  intolerance. 

When  in  Congress,  Mr.  Story  proposed  an  increase  of  the  navy, 
and  exerted  every  nerve  for  the  repeal  of  Jefferson's  Embargo  Act, 
which  was  effected ;  and  Jefferson  said,  "All  this  I  ascribe  to  one 
Story,  a  pseudo  Republican."  Mr.  Story  said,  in  a  letter  written  in 
1812,  "Mr.  Jefferson  has  honored  me,  by  attributing  to  my  influence 
the  repeal  of  the  Embargo  Act.  I  freely  admit  that  I  did  all  I  could 
to  accomplish  it,  though  I  returned  home  before  the  act  passed.  The 
very  eagerness  with  which  the  repeal  was  supported  by  a  majority  of 
the  Republican  party  ought  to  have  taught  Mr.  Jefferson  that  it  was 
already  considered  by  them  as  a  miserable  and  mischievous  failure." 
Mr.  Story,  after  this,  became  greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  favored  the  Republican  party,  but  not  with  so  much  zeal, 
preferring,  with  singleness  of  heart,  a  devotion  to  his  profession.  It  is 
evident  that  the  striking  disparity  between  the  generous  policy  of 
Washington  and  the  severe  and  exclusive  measures  of  Jefferson  decided 
the  discerning  mind  of  Story  to  an  abandonment  of  Democracy.  In- 
deed, Justice  Story  stated,  in  a  letter  dated  Jan.  23,  1831  :  "I  was 
always,  at  all  times,  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  Washington ;  and 
an  admirer  of  his  conduct  and  principles,  during  his  whole  administra- 
tion, though  they  were  to  me  matters  of  history.  I  read  and  examined 
his  principles,  and  have  made  them,  in  a  great  measure,  the  rule  and 


560  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

guide  of  my  life.  I  ■was,  and  always  have  been,  a  lover,  a  devoted 
lover,  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  a  friend  to  the  Union 
of  the  States.  I  never  wished  to  bring  the  government  to  a  mere 
confederacy  of  States,  but  to  preserve  the  power  of  the  general  govern- 
ment, given  by  all  the  States,  in  full  exercise  for  their  protection  and 
preservation." 

Mr.  Story  was  married,  in  1805,  to  Mary  Lynde,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Fitch  Oliver,  an  Episcopal  clergyman  of  Salem.  She  was  a 
lady  of  rare  literary  knowledge,  and  warm  affection,  who  died  in  a 
short  period ;  and  he  married  a  second  time, —  Sarah  AValdo  Wetmore. 
of  Boston,  Aug.  28,  1808,  by  whom  he  had  all  his  children. 

The  station  of  an  associate  judge  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Judicial 
Court  was  vacated,  November,  1811.  by  the  decease  of  Hon.  Wil- 
liam Gushing,  of  Scituate,  who  had  occupied  it  from  the  organization 
of  the  government.  It  was  offered  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  who 
declined.  President  Madison  then  nominated  Joseph  Story,  who  was 
at  that  time  only  thirty-two  years  of  age, —  an  instance  unprecedented 
in  this  republic,  or  of  Great  Britain,  of  such  a  youthful  appointment. 
His  fervent  love  of  truth,  and  sound  legal  learning,  evinced  that  never 
was  a  measure  more  amply  justified  in  the  result.  In  1829  Justice 
Story  was  appointed  professor  of  the  Dane  Law  School  of  Harvard 
University,  and  settled  at  Cambridge.  In  1820  he  was  a  delegate  to 
the  convention  for  revising  the  State  constitution,  where  he  exerted  his 
powers  to  secure  the  independence  of  the  judiciary. 

In  the  excellent  Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  Judge  Story, 
edited  by  his  son, —  a  work  of  inestimable  value,  especially  to  the  law 
student, —  appears  a  relation  of  his  literary  and  domestic  habits,  which 
we  herewith  take  pleasure  to  insert : 

"From  the  time  this  work  [Commentaries  on  Bailments]  was 
completed,  my  father  had  been  engaged  upon  his  '  Commentaries  on 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ; '  and,  towards  the  latter  part  of 
the  year  1832,  he  completed  the  manuscript,  and  began  to  print,  hav- 
ing been  only  about  a  year  and  a  half  in  writing  the  three  volumes  of 
this  learned  and  elaborate  work.  When  it  is  considered  that  this  was 
accomplished  in  the  intervals  between  his  double  duties  as  professor 
and  judge, —  each  of  which  would  seem  to  be  sufficient  to  occupy,  if 
not  to  exhaust,  an  intellect  even  of  energy  and  power, —  his  fertility 
of  mind,  and  great  resources,  as  well  as  his  power  of  enduring  contin- 
uous labor,  appear  extraordinary.     During  the  period  occupied  in  the 


JOSEPH   STORY.  561 

writing  of  these  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution,  three  months  of  his 
time  had  been  spent  in  attendance  on  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washing- 
ton, where  he  had  borne  his  full  part  in  preparing  the  judgments  of  the 
court ;  he  had  also  attended  all  his  circuits  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Rhode  Island  and  Massachusetts,  and  written  the  opinions  of  that  year, 
reported  in  the  first  volume  of  Sumner's  Reports ;  he  had  corrected 
and  printed  his  Commentaries  on  Bailments,  carefully  examining  every 
proof  and  revise ;  he  had  lectured  from  two  to  three  hours,  every  other 
day,  in  the  Law  School,  while  he  was  at  Cambridge ;  he  had  attended 
at  the  moot-courts ;  and,  besides  all  this,  he  had  written  the  address  at 
the  consecration  of  Mount  Auburn,  the  notice  of  Chief  Justice  Parker, 
had  conducted  an  extensive  correspondence,  and  had  been  ill  nearly  a 
month. 

"  The  secrets  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  accomplish  so  much  in  so 
short  a  time  were,  systematic  industry,  variation  of  labor,  and  concen- 
tration of  mind.  He  was  never  idle.  He  knew  the  value  of  those 
odds  and  ends  of  time  which  are  so  often  thrown  away  as  useless,  and 
he  turned  them  all  to  good  account.  His  time  and  his  work  were 
apportioned,  so  that  there  was  always  something  ready  for  the  waste 
time  to  be  expended  upon.  He  varied  his  labor,  never  overworking 
himself  on  one  subject,  never  straining  his  faculties  too  long  inr  one 
direction,  but  recreating  himself  by  change  of  occupation.  '  he 
Changement  d'e.tude  est  toiijours  relachement  pour  moi,^  said 
D'Aguesseau  of  himself ;  and  so  my  father  found  it.  He  never  suf- 
fered himself  to  become  nervous  or  excited  in  his  studies ;  but,  the 
moment  that  one  employment  began  to  irritate  him,  he  abandoned  it 
for  another,  which  should  exercise  different  faculties.  When  he  worked, 
it  was  Avitli  his  whole  mind,  and  with  a  concentration  of  all  his  powers 
upon  the  subject  in  hand.  Listlessness  and  half  attention  bring  little 
to  pass.     What  was  worth  doing  at  all,  he  thought  worth  doing  well. 

"  And  here  it  may  be  interesting  to  state  his  personal  habits  during 
the  day.  He  arose  at  seven  in  summer,  and  at  half-past  seven  in 
winter, —  never  earlier.  If  breakfast  was  not  ready,  he  went  at  once 
to  his  library,  and  occupied  the  interval,  whether  it  was  five  minutes 
or  fifty,  in  writing.  When  the  family  assembled,  he  was  called,  and 
breakfasted  with  them.  After  breakfast,  he  sat  in  the  drawing-room, 
and  spent  from  a  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  reading  the 
newspapers  of  the  day.  He  then  returned  to  his  study,  and  wrote 
until  the  bell  sounded  for  his  lecture  at  the  Law  School.     After  lee- 


562  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

turing  for  two,  and  sometimes  three  hours,  he  returned  to  his  study, 
and  -worked  until  two  o'clock,  when  he  was  called  to  dinner.  To  his 
dinner  (which,  on  his  part,  was  always  simple)  he  gave  an  hour :  and 
then  again  betook  himself  to  his  study,  where,  in  the  winter  time,  he 
worked  as  long  as  the  daylight  lasted,  unless  called  away  by  a  visiter, 
or  obliged  to  attend  a  moot-court.  Then  he  came  down  and  joined  the 
family,  and  work  for  the  day  was  over.  Tea  came  in  at  about  seven 
o'clock, —  and  how  lively  and  gay  was  he  then,  chatting  over  the  most 
familiar  topics  of  the  day,  or  entering  into  deeper  currents  of  con- 
versation with  equal  ease !  All  of  his  law  he  left  up  stairs  in  his 
library ;  he  was  here  the  domestic  man  in  his  home.  During  th-e 
evening  he  received  his  friends,  and  he  was  rarely  without  company ; 
but,  if  alone,  he  read  some  new  publication  of  the  day, —  the  reviews, 
a  novel,  an  English  newspaper ;  sometimes  corrected  a  proof-sheet, 
listened  to  music,  or  talked  with  the  family,  or,  what  was  very  com- 
mon, played  a  game  of  backgammon  with  my  mother.  This  w^as  the 
only  game  of  the  kind  that  he  liked.  Cards  and  chess  he  never 
played. 

"  In  the  summer  afternoons  he  left  his  library  towards  twilight,  and 
might  always  be  seen  by  the  passer-by  sitting  with  his  family  under 
the  portico,  talking  or  reading  some  light  pamphlet  or  newspaper,  often 
surrounded  by  friends,  and  making  the  air  ring  with  his  gay  laugh. 
This,  with  the  interval  occupied  by  tea,  woi^ld  last  until  nine  o'clock. 
Generally,  also,  the  summer  afternoon  was  varied,  three  or  four  times 
a  week,  in  fair  weather,  by  a  drive  with  my  mother  of  about  an  hour 
through  the  surrounding  country,  in  an  open  chaise.  At  about  ten  or 
half-past  ten  he  retired  for  the  night,  never  varying  a  half-hour  from 
this  time." 

Sir  James  Mackintosh  has  said  of  his  Decisions  of  Admiralty  and 
Prize,  that  they  were  justly  admired  by  all  cultivators  of  the  Law  of 
Nations.  Story's  opinions  have  often  been  cited  as  authority  in  West- 
minster Hall ;  and  the  Chief  Justice  of  England  has  made  the  remark- 
able declaration,  with  regard  to  a  point  on  which  Story  had  differed 
from  the  Queen's  Bench,  that  his  opinion  would  at  least  neutralize  the 
effect  of  the  English  decision,  and  induce  any  one  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion as  an  open  one.  In  a  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords,  he  was  char- 
acterized, by  Lord  Campbell,  as  greater  than  any  law  writer  of  which 
England  could  boast,  or  which  she  could  bring  forward,  since  the  days 
of  Blackstone. 


JOSEPH   STOEY.  563 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Suffolk  bar,  Sept.  12,  1845,  occasioned  by  the 
decease  of  Hon.  Judge  Story,  which  occurred  on  the  10th  instant, 
Daniel  Webster  remarked  that  Justice  Story  has,  in  some  measure, 
repaid  a  debt  which  America  owes  to  England ;  and  the  mother  can 
receive  from  the  daughter,  without  humiliation  and  without  envy,  the 
reversed  hereditary  transmission  from  the  child  to  the  parent.  By  the 
comprehensiveness  of  his  mind,  and  by  his  vast  and  varied  attainments, 
he  was  best  fitted  to  compare  the  codes  of  different  nations,  and  com- 
prehend the  results  of  such  research.  And  Judge  Davis,  speaking  of 
his  legal  opinions  and  well-digested  commentaries,  remarked,  at  this 
meeting,  that  they  are  a  treasure  for  his  country,  and  of  civilized  man 
in  every  region,  and  will  be  gratefully  admired  and  cherished  so  long 
as  the  light  and  love  of  all  good  learning  shall  remain  unextinguished. 

We  cannot  withhold  the  warm  tribute  of  Charles  Sumner,  who  was 
long  a  devoted  student  at  the  feet  of  our  profound  jurist,  and  had 
cherished  towards  him  a  strong  affection:  "  It  has  been  my  fortune  to 
see,  or  to  know,  the  chief  jurists  of  our  times,  in  the  classical  countries 
of  jurisprudence,  France  and  Germany.  I  remember  well  the  pointed 
and  effective  manner  and  style  of  Dupin,  in  the  delivery  of  one  of  his 
masterly  opinions  in  the  highest  court  of  France.  I  recall  the  pleasant 
conversation  of  Pardessus,  to  whom  commercial  and  maritime  law  is 
under  a  larger  debt,  perhaps,  than  to  any  other  mind,  while  he  descanted 
on  his  favorite  theme.  I  wander,  in  fancy,  to  the  gentle  presence  of 
him,  with  flowing  silver  locks,  who  was  so  dear  to  Germany, — Thibaut, — 
the  expounder  of  the  Roman  law,  and  the  earnest  and  successful  advo- 
cate of  a  just  scheme  for  the  reduction  of  the  unwritten  law  to  the  cer- 
tainty of  a  written  text.  From  Heidelberg  I  fly  to  Berlin,  where  I 
listen  to  the  grave  lectures  and  mingle  in  the  social  circle  of  Savigny, 
so  stately  in  person  and  peculiar  in  countenance,  whom  all  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  delight  to  honor  ;  —  but  my  heart  and  my  judgment, 
untravelled,  fondly  turn,  with  new  love  and  admiration,  to  my  Cam- 
bridge teacher  and  friend.  Jurisprudence  has  many  arrows  in  her 
golden  quiver,  but  where  is  one  to  compare  with  that  which  is  now 
spent  on  the  earth?  "  In  all  coming  time,  our  courts  of  justice  will 
concede  to  Joseph  Story  the  enviable  fame  of  such  liberal  interpreta- 
tions of  the  common  law,  and  enlightened  judicial  decisions,  that  we 
hope  what  Vincentio  says,  in  Measure  for  Measure,  regarding  the  stat- 
utes and  decrees  of  Austria,  may  never  be  said  of  this  republic  : 


564  THE   HrXBRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

"  We  have  strict  statutes,  and  most  biting  laws. 
The  needful  bits  and  curbs  for  headstrong  steeds, 
"Which  for  these  fourteen  years  we  have  let  sleep. 
Now,  as  fond  ftxthers. 

Having  bound  up  the  threatening  twigs  of  birch, 
Only  to  stick  it  in  their  children's  sight, 
For  terror,  not  to  use,  —  in  time,  the  rod 
Becomes  more  mocked  than  feared,  —  so  our  decrees, 
Dead  to  infliction,  to  themselves  are  dead  ; 
And  Liberty  plucks  Justice  by  the  nose." 


HENRY   WILLIS   KINSMAN. 

JULY  4,  1836.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES 

Was  born  at  Portland  ;  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College,  in  1822 ; 
read  law  with  Daniel  Webster,  and  became  his  partner  in  practice,  in 
1827.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Wilhs,  Esq.,  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company,  in  1830  ;  was  captaia  of  the  City  Guards ;  was  a 
member  of  the  Boston  city  Council  in  1832,  and  was  of  the  State 
Senate  in  1841.  He  was  the  collector  for  Newburyport  in  1841,  and 
was  again  appointed  by  President  Taylor,  in  1849,  to  the  same  station. 


DAVID   HENSHAW. 


JITLY  4,  183 6.    FOR  CITIZENS  FROM  ALL  PARTS  OF  THE  STATE,  AT  FANEUIL 

HALL. 

In  this  bold  and  manly  performance,  our  orator  says:  "We  are 
wont  to  look  back  and  compare  our  repubhc  with  the  ancient  republics 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  constitutions  of  those  renowned  nations,  in 
turn  the  mistresses  of  the  world,  were  raised  upon  foundations  so  rad- 
ically different  from  our  own,  surrounded  by  circumstances  and  influ- 
ences so  foreign  from  those  of  the  present  age,  that  they  can  no  more 
be  compared  with  us,  than  we  with  the  Chinese.  Our  government  is, 
S7U  generis,  the  first  of  its  race.  It  sprung  into  hfe  from  the  voice 
of  the  people,  as  Minerva  sprang  from  the  head  of  Jupiter.     We  can 


DAVID   HENSHAW.  565 

(yalj  measure  our  progress  by  comparing  the  different  epochs  of  our 
own  history.  By  this  measure,  we  shall  find  that  we  have  made  great 
advances.  We  shall  perceive  that,  as  Democratic  doctrines  have  pre- 
vailed,—  as  the  Democratic  party  has  held  the  reins  of  power, —  so 
has  our  progress  in  free  principles  been  accelerated.  The  pomp  and 
stateliness  of  aristocratic  forms,  under  their  rule,  have  yielded  to  a 
simpler  garb,  and  a  more  civil  deportment,  in  your  public  functionaries. 
The  moneyed  aristocracy  was  curbed  during  the  administration  of  Jeffer- 
son ;  and  the  shackles  upon  the  press,  which  the  preceding  administra- 
tion, regardless  of  the  constitutional  restrictions,  had  imposed,  as  the 
most  important  step  in  their  march  to  arbitrary  power,  were  taken  off 
in  Jefferson's  time.  The  human  mind  was  emancipated.  Mental 
slavery,  so  far  as  the  laws  of  the  United  States  could  apply  to  it,  was 
abolished.  The  freedom  of  action,  as  well  as  the  field  of  thought,  was 
enlarged.  New  force  was  given  to  the  will  of  the  majority,  exercised 
within  constitutional  limits.  The  whole  course  of  the  national  govern- 
ment, which  was  previously  fast  verging  towards  monarchical  princi- 
ples, was  changed,  and  the  ship  of  State  put  upon  'the  republican 
tack.'  Time  brought  with  it  new  abuses.  The  rigid  Democracy  of 
Jefferson  had  given  place,  in  the  government,  to  loose  political  princi- 
ples. A  moneyed  aristocracy  had  planted  itself  in  a  fortress,  which  it 
had  occupied  and  strengthened  for  half  a  generation,  which  it  thought 
impregnable,  and  by  means  of  which  it  fondly  hoped  to  rule  the  coun- 
try. The  whole  system  of  our  national  government  was  rapidly  tending 
to  a  complete  change. 

"  The  government  was  levying  taxes  to  be  spent  on  internal  improve- 
ments. It  was  draining  the  people  of  the  old  States,  who  had  made 
their  own  roads  and  bridges  and  canals,  to  pay  for  like  improvements 
in  the  newer  sections  of  the  Union.  It  was  taxing  the  whole  commu- 
nity, under  a  ruinous  tariff,  for  the  purpose  of  fostering  or  regulating 
the  labor  of  a  class.  It  was  rapidly  absorbing  the  power  of  the  States, 
and  suffocating  the  liberties  of  the  people.  While  retrograding  from 
just  principles  at  home,  the  government  was  fast  losing  its  character 
abroad.  Our  despoiled  citizens  called  in  vain  for  redress  from  the 
spoiler,  for  protection  from  their  country.  Gen.  Jackson  took  the  helm. 
He  was  called  into  power  by  the  spontaneous  votes,  the  unbought  suf- 
frages, of  the  people.  On  him  the  hopes  of  the  nation  reposed,  lie 
has  not  disappointed  them.  He  has  redeemed  his  pledges.  He  has 
far  surpassed  the  most  sanguine  anticipation  of  the  people.  The 
48 


566  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

veto  upon  the  Maysville  Road  Bill  closed  the  -wasteful  drain,  from  the 
public  treasury  for  internal  improvements.  The  principle  of  reducing 
the  taxes  to  the  wants  of  the  government  has  been  fully  recognized. 
The  national  debt  has  been  extinguished ;  the  spoiler  has  been  called 
to  his  reckoning,  and  compelled  to  pay  for  his  robberies.  The  charac- 
ter of  the  country  has  been  elevated  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole  civilized 
world ;  and  every  American  abroad  moves  in  more  safety,  and  is  treated 
with  more  respect.  The  moneyed  monster,  with  its  hydra  heads,  which 
designed  to  crush  and  strangle  our  liberties  in  its  venomous  folds,  has 
been  prostrated  by  the  blow  of  this  modern  Hercules.  But  its  heads 
are  not  yet  seared.  The  attention  of  the  people  has  been  aroused  to  the 
enormities  of  the  paper-system, —  to  the  evils  of  an  excess  of  credit 
currency;  and,  under  the  auspices  of  this  administration,  they  are 
enlarging  the  specie  basis,  and  resuming  the  use  of  hard  money.  Gold, 
which  for  a  generation  had  disappeared  from  view, —  which  had  never 
met  the  eye  of  the  younger  portion  of  the  community, —  is  now  getting 
into  circulation.  Gen.  Jackson  has  done  more  than  any  man  living  to 
bring  back  the  government  to  the  republican  path,  to  protect  our 
commerce  and  extend  its  bounds,  to  elevate  the  national  character 
abroad,  to  restore  the  rights  of  the  people  at  home,  to  confine  the 
action  of  the  national  government  to  its  legitimate  objects,  and  to  keep 
it  within  the  prescribed  limits  of  the  constitution.  His  administration 
Avill  occupy  the  brightest  page  of  American  history.  He  will  illustrate 
the  age  in  which  he  lives.  His  fame  will  commingle  with  the  fame  of 
Washington,  and  after  time  will  rank  them  together,  as  the  fathers  of 
their  country,  the  benefactors  of  the  human  race." 

David  Henshaw  was  born  at  Henshaw  Place,  in  Leicester,  April  2, 
1791.  His  good  father,  David,  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Henshaw,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Bass ;  and  was  born  at  Boston,  August  19,  17*44,  in 
Rainsford-lane,  now  Harrison-avenue,  in  the  house  known  as  the  birth- 
place of  Admiral  Sir  Isaac  Coffin.  His  father  was  the  youngest  of 
fourteen  children,  and  settled  at  Leicester,  where  he  died.  May  22, 
1808,  aged  sixty-three  years.  David,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
outline,  was  married,  by  his  father,  Daniel  Henshaw,  Esq.,  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  Nathan  Sargent,  Feb.  17,  1773.  Their  fifth  son,  David, 
was  educated  at  Leicester  Academy,  when  he  was  apprenticed,  in  Bos- 
ton, to  the  house  of  Dix  &  Brinley,  druggists.  During  this  period, 
he  devoted  his  leisure  to  the  acquirement  of  useful  knowledge,  perfect- 
ins  his  mind  in  science  and  several  lano-uasies.     In  1814  he  became  a 


DAVID   IIENSHAW.  567 

partner  in  this  business  with  his  brothers  and  David  Rice.  In  1826 
Mr.  Henshaw  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  for  Suffolk.  In  1828 
the  Legislature  created  a  board  of  internal  improvement ;  and  Mr. 
Henshaw,  though  not  of  the  dominant  party,  was  elected  to  that  board. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  for  the  establishment  of  railroads, 
and  was  highly  efficient  in  forwarding  the  Worcester  Railroad,  viewing 
it  as  the  pioneer  of  the  line  to  Albany,  over  which  the  western  trade 
would  roll  to  Boston.  He  continued  of  this  board  until  it  was  dis- 
solved. He  was  elected  a  director  of  the  Worcester  Railroad  from  its 
foundation  until  this  period. 

In  1830  Mr.  Henshaw  was  appointed,  by  President  Jackson,  to  the 
collectorship  of  the  port  of  Boston ;  and  was  a  director,  also,  of  the 
United  States  Bank.  He  resigned  the  office  of  collector  in  1836  ;  but, 
at  the  request  of  the  president,  it  was  withdrawn.  He  again  resigned 
it,  on  the  accession  of  President  Van  Buren;  but,  on  request,  he 
retained  the  station  until  he  was  succeeded  by  George  Bancroft.  On 
retiring  from  this  office,  the  officers  of  the  revenue  presented  him  a 
chastely  wrought  silver  pitcher,  after  a  model  of  one  taken  from  Her- 
culaneum,  by  Jones,  of  Boston,  with  a  silver  stand,  or  salver,  on  which 
was  inscribed,  "  To  David  Henshaw  :  From  the  officers  of  the  revenue 
associated  with  him  while  Collector  of  the  port  of  Boston.  A  token 
of  their  esteem.  Feb.  3,  1838."  A  very  flattering  letter  was  also 
sent,  signed  by  John  Crowningshield  and  fifty-two  others.  In  that 
year  he  retired  to  the  paternal  estate  at  Leicester.  In  1839  he  was 
elected  representative  by  his  native  town.  It  is  related  that  he  made 
a  powerful  argument  in  favor  of  a  liberal  construction  in  all  cases  of 
contested  election.  He  was  a  tenacious  advocate  for  the  annexation  of 
Texas.  On  the  accession  of  John  Tyler  to  the  presidency,  IMr.  Hen- 
shaw was  appointed  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Mr.  Henshaw  has  invariably  been  a  tenacious  advocate  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  In  1889  he  was  invited  to  attend  the  celebration  of 
national  independence  at  Abington ;  and,  in  a  letter  of  acceptance,  he 
remarked,  "I  consider  myself,  in  some  degree,  an  '  Old  Colony'  man, 
having  descended,  in  one  branch  of  my  ancestry,  from  John  Alden,  one 
of  the  Pilgrims  who  arrived  in  the  Mayflower,  in  1620."  The  follow- 
ing toast  was  given,  by  the  committee  of  arrangements,  at  the  festival : 
"Hon.  David  Henshaw, —  a  Hercules  in  intellect,  and  a  Democrat  in 
principle  :  We  arc  proud  to  learn  that  he  is  a  descendant  from  the  Old 
Colony." 


568  THE   IIUXDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

This  Democntic  Hercules,  Yrhose  club  is  as  a  broken  lance  to  the 
invulnerable  buckler  of  the  vigorous  Webster,  submitted  to  a  -wider 
sweep  of  indiscriminate  proscription,  ^Yllile  at  the  head  of  the  Boston 
custom-house,  than  any  of  his  predecessors, —  when  it  was  wished  the 
Democracy  were  conveniently  small,  as  numerous  factions  were  rushing 
into  their  ranks,  hungry  for  office.  But  the  removals  were  immediate, 
and  the  contention  in  the  political  hive  shortly  ceased.  Mr.  Henshaw's 
oration  in  Faneuil  Hall,  at  the  head  of  this  article,  is  a  manifesto  of 
Democratic  principles,  in  a  manly  tone.  In  the  opinion  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  David  Henshaw,  the  letters  of  Henry  Orne,  over  the  signa- 
ture of  Columbus,  published  in  the  Boston  Bulletin,  in  1819,  and 
gathered  in  a  pamphlet  of  eighty-four  pages,  as  also  Derby's  Sketch 
of  the  Origin  and  ffistory  of  the  Statesman  Party  of  Boston,  compris- 
ing one  hundred  and  seventy-two  pages,  are  material  aids  to  our  polit- 
ical history, —  excepting  a  few  mistakes  naturally  arising  from  the 
ebullition  of  party  rancor, —  revealing  a  system  of  management  and 
intrigue  unprecedented  in  the  annals  of  New  England,  ever  to  be  had 
in  remembrance  as  a  beacon  to  posterity.  We  readily  concede  to 
David  Henshaw  great  native  capacity  and  political  integrity ;  but  the 
radiation  of  the  satellites  around  him,  like  the  halo  encircling;  the  moon, 
ever  indicated  a  storm.  It  was  in  allusion  to  this  period  that  the  ven- 
erable Harrison  Gray  Otis  remarked,  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death, 
as  follows  :  "I  regard  the  administration  of  Gen.  Jackson  as  the  foun- 
tain of  all  the  subsequent  abuses,  and  refer  every  Whig  to  his  own  knowl- 
edge and  recollection  of  the  inroads  made  upon  the  constitution  by  that 
iron-willed  oppressor."'  It  has  been  further  stated,  that  President 
Jackson  was  more  independent  and  more  daring  in  his  character  than 
President  Jefferson ;  and,  therefore,  at  times,  the  more  arbitrary,  and 
the  more  dangerous  as  the  ruler  of  this  republic. 

In  December,  1827.  jNIr.  Henshaw  published,  in  the  Boston  States- 
man, a  series  of  articles,  entitled  Observations  occasioned  by  the 
Remarks  on  the  Character  of  Napoleon,  etc..  in  the  Christian  Exam- 
iner ;  which  severely  repel  the  opinions  of  its  author,  the  Bev.  Dr. 
Channing,  who  viewed  Napoleon  as  the  greatest  despot  of  modern  his- 
tory. A  pohtical  opponent  said  of  this  production,  that  it  was  a  Quix- 
otic attack  on  one  of  the  greatest  writers  of  the  age,  which  resembles, 
in  more  than  one  point,  the  scene  of  the  windmill.  In  1831  Mr.  Hen- 
shaw published  Remarks  on  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  exhibit  the  futihty  of  objections  to  the  estabhshment  of 


DAVID   HENSHAW.  569 

a  national  bank,  founded  on  the  resources  of  government, —  opinions 
which  he  afterwards  modified.  He  was  one  of  the  originators  and 
directors  of  the  Commonwealth  Insurance  Company,  created  in  1824, 
the  most  of  which  stock  was  invested  in  the  Commonwealth  Bank,  and 
ended  in  a  total  ruin,  on  the  failure  of  the  bank,  in  1835.  Judge 
Hubbard's  Report,  relating  to  the  failure  of  the  bank,  with  the  testi- 
mony of  witnesses  examined  by  the  legislative  committee,  February, 
1838,  is  an  interesting  rehc  of  banking  operations.  Mr.  Henshaw  was 
also  a  director  of  the  AVarren  Association  of  Stockholders  in  South 
Boston  real  estate,  of  which  the  Mount  Washington  House  was  a  por- 
tion. In  1839  he  published  letters  on  the  internal  improvement  and 
commerce  of  the  west, —  a  production  that  will  ever  redound  to  his 
credit. 

Mr.  Henshaw  has  the  reputation  of  having  prompted  President 
Jackson,  when  at  the  Tremont  House,  in  Boston,  June,  1833,  to  issue 
the  order  for  the  removal  of  the  government  deposits  from  the  United 
States  Bank.  On  the  failure  of  certain  favored  banks  at  the  west,  to 
which  deposits  were  removed.  President  Jackson  vented  bitter  maledic- 
tions against  certain  injudicious  advisers,  and  out  of  this  arose  the  sub- 
treasury  measure  of  Martin  Van  Buren.  Mr.  Henshaw  was  opposed 
to  a  strong  protective  tariff;  and  said,  at  a  pubhc  dinner,  in  1832,  that 
"the  pohtical  tarifiites,  like  the  mistletoe  of  the  majestic  oak,  fastened 
upon  the  manufacturing  interest,  absorbing  its  power  and  paralyzing  its 
health."  In  1844  there  was  published  a  refutation,  by  his  friends,  of 
the  calumnies  against  David  Henshaw,  in  relation  to  the  failure  of  the 
Commonwealth  Bank,  and  the  transfer  of  South  Boston  lands  to  the 
United  States.     It  was  comprised  in  a  pamphlet  of  sixty  pages. 

We  cannot  close  the  sketch  of  this  leader  of  New  England  Democ- 
racy, before  relating  his  case  at  law  against  Samuel  H.  Foster,  warden, 
and  the  inspectors  of  ward  No.  7,  in  Boston,  for  refusing  to  receive  his 
printed  vote  for  a  representative  to  the  General  Court,  presented  May 
11,  1829,  believing  it  not  to  be  a  legal  vote,  because  it  was  a  printed 
one ;  and  they  rejected  it  solely  on  that  account.  In  the  decision  of 
Chief  Justice  Parker,  the  authority  of  Livingston  was  cited,  who  con- 
tended that  wherever  the  contrary  does  not  appear  from  the  context, 
writmg  not  only  means  words  traced  with  a  pen,  or  stampe4.,  but 
printed,  or  engraved,  or  made  legible  by  any  other  device.  The  prac- 
tice had  been  to  elect  many  town  officers  by  hand  vote,  and,  probably, 
in  some  instances,  representatives  had  been  so  chosen.  It  became  nec- 
48* 


570  THE   HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

essarj,  therefore,  to  prescribe  that  the  choice  should  be  made  by  bal- 
lot ;  but  even  the  word  ballot  itself  is  ambiguous,  and  therefore  it  -was 
required  that  representatives  shall  be  elected  by  "written  votes.  Now, 
if  writing  Avas  "to  express  by  letters"  according  to  the  chirographers, 
which  may  as  well  and  better  be  done  by  writing  with  types  than  in 
manuscript,  no  inference  can  be  drawn,  from  the  terms  employed,  against 
the  use  of  printed  votes.  Suppose  one  manuscript  vote,  and  others 
copied  from  it  by  machinery, —  would  these  latter  be  legal  votes  7  Sup- 
pose lithographic  votes, —  which  was  said  to  be  the  character  of  the  one 
tendered  by  the  plaintiff.  The  supposed  inconveniences,  from  the  sub- 
stitution of  printed  for  manuscript  votes,  are  probably,  in  a  great 
degree,  imaginary.  It  is  said  it  may  be  the  means  of  introducing  car- 
icatures, or  libellous  pictures,  upon  the  ticket ;  but  is  it  not  quite  as 
easy  now  1  The  picture  may  be  stamped,  and  names  of  candidates 
written  over  or  under  it,  and  the  vote  will  be  legal.  It  has  been  done, 
and  probably  will  be  done  again,  in  times  of  fervid  struggle.  In  the 
common  and  statute  law  of  this  commonwealth  and  Great  Britain,  both 
now  and  at  the  time  of  making  the  constitution,  the  use  of  the  word 
writing,  to  express  instruments  generally  printed,  was  familiar.  Thus, 
a  bond  is  a  waiting  obligatory,  though  printed  ;  a  promise  in  writing, 
to  avoid  the  statute  of  frauds,  may  be  printed.  The  statute  of  Anne, 
respecting  promissory  notes,  speaks  of  notes  in  writing,  and  yet  nothing 
is  more  common  than  to  see  them  in  print.  Justice  Parker  rendered 
judgment  against  the  defendants.  Mr.  Henshaw  died  at  Leicester, 
Nov.  11,  1852. 


EDWARD   CRUFT,  JR. 

JULY  4,  1837.     FOR  THE   WASHINGTON   SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Boston,  May  7,  1811 ;  entered  the  Latin  School  in 
1821,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1831 ;  was  a  counsellor- 
at-lawj  and  of  the  city  Council  in  1834-35.  He  settled  at  St.  Louis; 
was  never  married ;  and  practised  law  in  the  oflSce  of  the  Hon.  Judge 
Crum,  author  of  the  Missouri  Justice,  who  remarks,  in  the  preface  to 
that  work,  that  he  "is  greatly  indebted  to  the  learning  and  professional 
skill  of  Edward  Cruft,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of  the  St.  Louis  bar,  to  whose  accurate 
and  critical  supervision  these  subjects,  in  their  course  of  preparation, 
were  especially  committed."     He  died  at  St.  Louis,  Apr.  22,  1847. 


JONATHAN   CHAPMAN.  571 

JONATHAN   CHAPMAN. 

JULY  i,  1837.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  liighlj  patriotic  performance  of  our  orator,  it  is  remarked : 
"We  extend  our  fortifications,  and  enlarge  our  navy, —  and  it  is  well. 
But  how  is  it  with  the  real  citadels  of  that  which  we  would  defend  — 
the  principles  and  hearts  of  each  citizen  1  A  love  of  order,  a  respect 
for  right, —  honesty,  political,  as  Avell  as  private, —  contentment  with 
the  inevitable  inequalities  of  temporal  conditions  which  Providence  has 
ordained, —  an  honest  endeavor  to  impi-ove  our  situation,  but  coupled 
always  with  the  feeling  that,  as  republican  citizens,  we  are  measured, 
not  by  its  elevation,  but  by  the  fidelity  with  which  we  fill  it,  whatever 
it  be, —  a  regard  for  the  law,  which  considers  the  necessity  for  a  mili- 
tary police,  whether  permanent  or  temporary,  as  the  next  dreadful 
tiling  to  the  invasion  of  a  foreign  foe, —  an  enlarged  patriotism,  indi- 
vidual self-control, —  these  are  the  cheap  yet  priceless  defences  of  our 
nation's  freedom,  and  without  which  forts  and  armies  and  navies  are 
idler  than  the  winds.  But  are  these  the  things  which  mark  our  times  ? 
Is  the  internal  fortress  of  freedom,  which  each  citizen  has  in  charge, 
guarded  as  it  should  be?  Is  there  no  crimson  upon  our  cheek,  as  we 
commune  with  the  past,  in  the  solemnities  of  this  day?  It  was  the 
possession  of  these  only  supports  of  freedom,  and  the  wonderful  devel- 
opment of  the  principle  of  individual  self-government,  which  sustained 
our  fathers,  in  their  heroic  enterprise, —  bound  them  to  it  and  to  each 
other,  when  there  was  no  other  earthly  government  which  they 
acknowledged,  and  enabled  them  to  stand  forth  to  posterity  in  the 
noble  attitude  of  genuine  freemen.  This  is  the  key  to  their  Avhole  his- 
tory. In  simplicity,  in  purity,  in  a  sense  of  individual  responsibility, 
they  planted  the  tree  of  liberty.  The  thin  soil  of  the  rocky  mountains 
was  its  only  nurture, — but,  behold  its  majesty!  We  may  have 
transplanted  it  to  the  deep  soil  which  prosperity  has  enriched,  but 
■where  is  its  vigor  ?  Its  sap  may  be  more  abundant,  but  where  is  its 
purity  7  It  may  be  more  comely  to  the  eye,  but  how  wrestles  it  with 
the  storm  7 

"  It  was  upon  the  basis  of  this  liberty,  founded  upon  individual  fidel- 
ity, that,  when  the  conflict  was  over,  our  republican  government  was 
established.     Its  founders,  as  wise  in  the  council  as  they  had  been  val- 


572  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON  ORATORS. 

iant  in  the  field,  thougli  they  ackno-wledged  and  obeyed  the  true  prin- 
ciple of  freedom,  were  aware  that  the  time  had  not  come  when  it  was 
to  be  trusted  alone, —  that  there  would  yet  be  employment  for  magis- 
trates and  laws ;  and  that,  accordingly,  an  outward  government  was 
still  indispensable.  But  what  kind  of  a  government  7  Their  answer 
was  ready :  a  government  that,  recognizing  and  based  upon  the  true 
notion  of  liberty, —  as  resting,  in  fact,  upon  the  principles  of  individual 
obligation, —  should,  in  its  form  and  operation,  tend  to  the  development 
and  perfection  of  this  principle ;  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  it  possessed 
an  external  power  sufficient,  in  all  cases,  to  supply  its  want  or  perver- 
sion ;  —  or,  in  briefer  language,  a  government  that  should  give  every 
citizen  an  opportunity  of  being  a  good  one,  from  his  own  true  idea  of 
fi-eedom,  if  he  would, —  but  compel  him  to  be  one,  if  he  would  not. 
This  is  the  theory  of  our  government ;  and,  in  this  provision  for  the 
development  of  the  individual  self-government,  on  which  liberty  rests, 
consists  the  distinction  between  a  republican  government  and  a  despotic 
one.  The  mere  outward  object  of  both  is  the  same,  —  to  govern  the 
people,  and  to  preserve  order.  The  difference  is  in  the  means,  and  in 
the  consequent  effect  upon  individual  character ;  and  this  is  a  mighty 
difference.  I  seek  no  other  consideration,  to  give  unspeakable  value  to 
our  republican  institutions,  than  this  their  characteristic  —  their  basis 
upon  and  tendency  to  develop  the  true  foundation  of  rational  freedom. 
Submission  to  external,  visible  force,  on  which  the  despot  relies,  is  in 
its  nature  degrading  ;  but  obedience  to  the  inward,  unseen  monitor,  to 
which  a  free  government  appeals,  is  always  exalting.  Despotism  is  a 
self-perpetuating  curse.  In  all  its  forms,  it  makes  and  keeps  its  sub- 
jects fit  only  for  its  iron  rod.  But  the  government  that  is  based  upon 
the  self-government  of  each  citizen  has  an  upward  tendency ;  and  if 
they  who  live  under  it  will  but  give  it  free  play,  and  not  cramp  or  per- 
vert it,  it  will  carry  them  up  with  it." 

Jonathan  Chapman  was  born  at  Boston,  Jan.  23,  1807,  and  was  a 
son  of  Captain  Jonathan  Chapman,  a  selectman  of  Boston,  who  mar- 
ried Margaret  Rogers.  He  was  educated  at  Phillips'  Academy,  in 
Exeter,  in  1817,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1825,  on  which 
occasion  he  enlarged  on  the  patronage  expected  by  hterary  men  from 
the  present  age ;  and,  when  a  candidate  for  the  degree  of  INIaster  of 
Arts,  he  gave  an  oration  on  the  spirit  which  should  accompany  our 
republican  institutions.  He  pursued  his  legal  studies  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  and  became  an  eminent  counsellor.     He 


JONATHAN   CHAPMAN.  573 

married  Lucinda,  daughter  of  Hon.  Jonathan  D  wight,  of  Springfield, 
by  whom  he  had  one  son  and  four  daughters.  He  indulged  an  early 
military  spirit,  and  was  commander  of  the  Rifle  Rangers,  an  aid-de- 
camp to  Gov.  Everett,  and  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company.  He  was  elected  to  the  city  Council  from  1835 
to  1840 ;  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  until  1843. 

On  the  opening  of  steam  navigation  between  Liverpool  and  Boston, 
Mayor  Cha,pman  gave  the  sentiment  herewith,  at  a  public  festival  in  a 
pavilion  in  front  of  the  Maverick  House,  in  East  Boston,  July  22, 1840 : 
"Old  England  and  New  England :  Oceans  may  divide  them,  and  dif- 
ferent forms  of  government  may  distinguish  them ;  but  so  long  as  their 
merchants  can  raise  the  steam,  they  cannot  be  kept  asunder."  And, 
at  a  festival  for  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  invention  of  pi-int- 
ing,  June  26th  of  the  same  year,  he  gave:  "The  Art  of  Printing: 
May  it  improve  men's  minds  as  much  as  it  has  elongated  their 
tongues." 

During  the  period  of  his  mayoralty,  the  famous  dinner  was  given  in 
honor  of  Charles  Dickens,  the  facetious  writer,  whose  sketches  of  char- 
acter in  humble  life  are  unrivalled  by  any  author  of  any  date.  It 
occurred  at  the  Papantis  Hall,  Feb.  2,  1842,  on  which  occasion  Mr. 
Chapman  gave  an  effective  speech.  Mr.  Quincy,  who  presided,  inquired, 
after  the  speech  of  George  Bancroft,  if  gentlemen  remembered  the  excur- 
sion made  by  Mr.  Pickwick,  and  his  companions,  Snodgrass  and  Win- 
kle, to  Dingley  Dell,  and  the  particulars  of  that  melancholy  ride? 
Presuming  that  they  did,  he  would  not  detain  them  with  a  narration 
of  them,  but  would  merely  read  the  pathetic  words  of  Mr.  Pickwick, 
in  reference  to  the  horse  which  he  could  not  get  rid  of  on  that  occasion. 
'•'  It's  hke  a  dream,"  ejaculated  Mr.  Pickwick,  "a  hideous  dream. 
The  idea  of  a  man's  walking  about  all  day  with  a  dreadful  horse  that 
he  can't  get  rid  of"  Gentlemen,  continued  Mr.  Quincy,  I  will  give 
you :  The  horse  that  Mr.  Pickwick  could  not  get  rid  of,  and  the  Blayor 
that  nobody  ever  wants  to  get  rid  of  On  this,  Mayor  Chapman,  after 
a  sprightly  preface,  abounding  in  flashes  of  wit,  related  an  imaginary 
interview  with  Hon.  Samuel  Pickwick  and  the  by  no  means  dishon- 
orable Mr.  Samuel  Weller,  at  his  office,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
entreat  protection  for  the  editor  of  the  Pickwick  Club.  "Indeed," 
says  Mr.  Pickwick,  "  we  should  never  have  consented  that  he  should 
visit  this  strange  country,  unless  some  of  us  should  have  been  secretly 
sent  to  take  care  of  him ;   for  we  have  learned  that  you  are  a  curious 


574  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

people  here, —  that,  as  it  has  been  said,  whom  the  gods  love  die 
young,  so  Avhom  the  Americans  bve  they  utterly  kill  Ayith  kindness." 
"Yes,"  interrupted  Mr.  Weller,  unable  longer  to  repress  his  feel- 
ings, "it  is  currently  reported,  in  our  circles,  that,  when  the  Amer- 
icans fancies  a  stranger,  they  makes  him  into  weal-pie  and  devours 
him."  "Hush,  Samuel,"  said  Mr.  Pickwick,  "don't  use  hard  words. 
Never  get  into  a  passion,  especially  in  foreign  countries,  where  you 
don't  know  the  customs.  But,  Mr.  Mayor,  this  is  my  source  of 
trouble,  and  I  come  to  complain  that  your  people  seem  determined 
to  extinguish  our  editor.  I  have  been  trying  to  get  at  him  for  a 
week,  but  have  not  dared  to  trust  my  gaiters  amidst  the  crowds  that 
surround  him.  I  tremble  when  I  hear  of  two  dinners  in  one  day,  and 
four  suppers  in  one  night.  I  fear  you  have  designs  upon  his  life ; 
nay,  that  you  mean  to  eat  him  up."  Sir,  interrupted  I,  do  I  under- 
stand you  aright  7  Do  you  mean  to  insinuate  that  the  American  peo- 
ple are  cannibals  ?  Do  you  use  the  words  in  their  common  sense  ? 
"  0,  no,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Pickwick,  resuming  his  blandest  expression; 
"  I  respect  and  honor  the  American  people, — I  mean  to  say  that  they 
are  cannibals  only  in  a  Pickwickian  point  of  view.  But,  besides  my 
personal  attachment,  I  desire  this  man's  life  to  be  spared,  for  the  sake 
of  science,  and  for  the  cause  of  humanity  and  of  the  Club.  Think  not 
that  the  Club  has  been  sleeping  Avhilst  its  editor  has  been  visiting  the 
poor-houses  and  hovels,  touching  your  hearts,  and  making  you  better 
men,  by  his  truthful  descriptions.  We  have  been  gathering  materials, 
and  are  doing  so  still.  Even  your  own  country  may  furnish  some  of 
these  materials.  Not,  however,  I  assure  you,  for  the  purposes  of  bold 
and  coarse  personalities,  either  of  praise  or  of  censure,  but  for  the  del- 
icate and  beautiful  touches  of  character. —  those  life-hke  and  soul- 
stirring  descriptions, —  those  pictures  of  humanity,  which  show  that, 
behind  the  drapery  of  human  forms  and  distinctions,  the  true  element 
of  a  man  is  a  warm  and  beating  heart.  These  are  the  purposes  for 
which  we  are  at  work, —  purposes,  sir,  for  which,  though  I,  Samuel 
Pickwick,  say  it,  the  editor  of  the  Pickwick  Club  has  no  superior  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth.  I  pray  you,  therefore,  said  he,"  rising  to  a  pitch 
of  enthusiasm  which  almost  choked  his  utterance ;  "I  pray  you  to 
protect  him.  Let  him  not  be  overrun.  Let  him  not  be  devoured. 
Spare  him  to  return  again  to  the  halls  of  the  Club.  Spare  him,  sir, 
and  the  blessings  of  "Winkle,  Tupman,  Snodgrass,  Pickwick,  and  the 
whole  race  of  Pickwickians,  shall  be  on  you  and  yours."     Having  thus 


JONATHAN  CHAPMAN.  575 

uttered  himself,  and  leaving  his  respects  for  you,  sir,  and  for  this  assem- 
bly, he  took  his  leave.  Finding  myself  most  particularly  honored  by 
this  interview,  I  give  you  as  a  sentiment, —  The  Hon.  Samuel  Pick- 
wick, and  the  Pickwick  Club  and  its  editor:  "May  they  never  say 
die,"— 

"  And  -when  they  next  do  ride  abroad, 
May  Tve  be  there  to  see." 

No  one  among  us  was  more  ready  at  repartee,  and  numerous  are 
his  witticisms  to  be  found  on  record.  He  was  an  effective  political 
writer  for  the  Boston  Atlas.  As  chairman  of  the  Whig  State  Central 
Committee,  he  drafted  a  manly  and  ingenious  set  of  resolutions,  during 
the  Harrison  campaign,  adopted  as  a  model  by  the  party  in  the  prin- 
cipal States.  His  abilities  were  equal  to  any  civil  or  political  station, 
and  he  was  a  contributor  to  the  North  American  Review  and  the 
Christian  Examiner. 

It  was  the  great  object  of  his  ambition,  during  the  whole  of  his  offi- 
cial career  as  the  mayor  of  his  native  city,  to  reduce  the  city  debt,  and 
diminish  the  expenditures  ;  and  he  saved  more  to  the  city,  by  a  course 
of  rigid  economy,  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  or  of  those  that  have 
succeeded  him.  Indeed,  the  name  of  Chapman  should  be  synonymous 
with  the  conception  of  economy,  for  his  carefulness  was  as  unbounded 
as  was  the  profuseness  of  Quincy  and  Otis  before  him. 

Mayor  Chapman,  after  reviewing  the  financial  condition  of  the  city,  in 
his  second  inaugural  address,  and  proposing  plans  of  economy,  remarks : 
"  It  would  be  pleasant  and  exciting,  I  know,  to  find  ourselves  furnished 
with  ample  means,  and  called  upon  to  embark  in  large  and  striking 
enterprises.  No  one  would  enjoy  such  a  state  of  things  more  than 
myself  But,  if  I  am  right  in  my  view  of  the  true  interest  of  our  city, 
in  its  present  condition,  the  homelier  and  less  captivating  duty  awaits 
us,  of  husbanding  resources  and  superintending  details.  It  is  remarked 
by  one  of  my  most  distinguished  predecessors,  the  present  president  of 
Harvard  College,  in  his  history  of  that  institution,  that  '  those  who 
limit  and  economize  are  never  so  acceptable  to  mankind  as  those  who 
enlarge  and  expend.'  And  he  adds,  therefore,  that  no  higher  obligation 
rests  upon  history,  than  to  do  justice  to  men  on  whom  these  unpleasant 
and  unpopular  duties  devolve.  Let  me  only  add,  in  conclusion,  that 
there  is  for  all  of  us,  whatever  may  be  our  station,  and  alike  in  public 
and  private  life,  a  higher  ground  of  reliance  than  what  other  men  may 
either  think  or  write, —  the  simple  consciousness  of  having  done  what 


576  THE   IIUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

we  deem  our  duty,  -n-ithout  reference  to  the  question  -whether  it  be 
popular  or  unpopular." 

Mr.  Chapman  was  an  editor  of  the  Practice  in  Civil  Actions,  and 
Proceedings  at  Law  in  Massachusetts,  by  Hon.  Judge  Samuel  Howe, 
published  in  1834.  His  talents,  education  and  eloquence,  made  him 
conspicuous  in  this  community,  says  Dr.  Putnam;  while  the  integrity 
of  his  character,  the  unfeigned  kindness  of  his  manners,  and  his  gen- 
erous, frank  and  magnanimous  spirit,  won  for  him  an  unusual  degree 
of  affection  and  confidence.  Perhaps  it  was  without  precedent,  that  so 
young  a  man  should  be  called  to  preside  over  the  municipal  affairs  of  so 
large  a  population;  and  yet,  Mr.  Chapman's  administration  was  as  much 
distinguished  for  calm  discretion  in  emergencies,  and  a  careful  financial 
economy,  as  for  the  grace  and  felicity  with  which  he  presided  and  spoke 
on  public  occasions.  He  steadily  shunned  political  preferment,  because 
he  feared  that  its  excitement  might  be  unfavorable  to  that  moral  tran- 
quilHty  and  health  which  he  prized  above  everything.  His  chief  delight 
was  in  his  home ;  and  it  is  as  seated  there  that  we  would  prefer  to 
draw  his  portrait,  if  we  were  permitted.  His  sunny  face,  his  warm 
heart  and  candid  speech,  bound  his  friends  to  him  with  a  singular 
strength  of  attachment.  He  was  a  temperate  advocate  of  the  tem- 
perance cause,  and  delivered  an  address  for  the  Young  Men's  Temper- 
ance Society  of  Boston,  in  1832.  Mr.  Chapman  died  at  Boston,  May 
25,  1848,  aged  forty-one  years. 


HUBBARD   WINSLOW. 

JULY  4,  1838.     FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  bom  at  Wilhston,  Vt.,  and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1825.  He  was  a  student  in  di\anity  at  Yale  and  at  Andover.  He 
was  settled  as  pastor  of  the  First  Church  at  Dover,  Dec.  4,  1828,  and 
was  dismissed  Nov.  8,  1831.  He  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Pliny  Cutler,  of  Boston.  He  became  the  pastor  of  Bowdoin-street 
Church,  and  successor  to  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  Sept.  26, 1832, 
which  station  he  resigned  March,  1844.  The  oration  at  the  head  of 
this  article  was  on  the  means  of  the  perpetuity  of  our  republic,  and  is 
a  liberal  and  enhghtened  performance.     J\Ir.  Winslow  is  a  useful  and 


WILLIAM  LLOYD   GAKRISON.  577 

efficient  member  of  the  city  school  committee,  and  principal  of  a  female 
school  of  elevated  character.  During  his  ministry,  he  was  a  devoted 
pastor,  a  persuasive  preacher,  of  fervid  imagination,  and  fine  classical 
attainments.  Among  his  publications  are  the  Young  Man's  Aid, 
■which  has  been  reprinted  in  England  and  Scotland ;  Sermons  on  Chris- 
tian Doctrines  ;  Discourses  on  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  Social  and 
Domestic  Duties ;  Are  you  a  Christian  ?  Self-examination,  reprinted 
in  Scotland ;  and  the  Elements  of  Intellectual  Philosophy,  a  -work  of 
sound  principles. 


WILLIAM   LLOYD   GARRISON. 

JULY  i,  183  S.     FOR  THE  MASSACHUSETTS   ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETY. 

Was  born  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  Dec.  10,  1805,  and  was  son  ef 
Capt.  Abijah  Garrison,  who  was  a  West  India  trader,  a  good  navigator, 
and  a  poet.  His  mother  was  Fanny  Lloyd,  a  lady  of  superior  intel- 
lect, whose  hair,  when  it  was  unbound,  like  that  of  Godiva,  fell  around 
her  like  a  veil.  His  father  dying  Avhen  he  was  very  young,  William 
was  employed  in  the  family  of  Dea.  Ezekiel  Bartlett,  and  sent  to  the 
grammar-school.  His  mother  removed  to  Lynn,  Avhere  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  a  shoemaker,  from  whence  she  removed  to  Baltimore.  Dis- 
liking the  cobbler's  last,  Dea.  Bartlett  sent  him  to  a  cabinet-maker,  in 
Haverhill ;  which  was  also  so  irksome  an  employment,  that  at  last  the 
printing-office  was  esteemed  best  for  him,  and  he  was  sent  to  the  New- 
bury port  Herald,  where,  enjoying  advantages  of  mental  culture,  he 
became  very  happy,  and  was  an  anonymous  correspondent  of  Mr. 
Allen,  the  editor,  until  he  was  discovered  by  Hon.  Caleb  Gushing,  who 
was  at  that  time  in  active  legal  practice,  and  a  temporary  editor  of  that 
paper.  At  this  period,  William  originated  an  Apprentices'  Debating 
Society;  and,  during  the  absence  of  the  editor  at  Alabama,  he  con- 
ducted the  Herald,  being  then  but  nineteen  years  old.  William,  hav- 
ing completed  his  term  with  Mr.  Allen,  in  December,  1825,  visited  his 
dear  mother  at  Baltimore,  who  shortly  after  deceased ;  and  he  returned 
to  his  native  town,  where  he  established  "The  Free  Press,"  a  journal 
which  soon  failed,  for  want  of  patronage.  With  a  heavy  heart,  Mr. 
Garrison  proceeded  to  Boston,  and  was  employed  in  the  office  of  David 
Lee  Childj  editor  of  the  Massachusetts  Journal.  In  1827  he  was 
49 


578  THE   HUNDKED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

employed  in  the  office  of  the  National  Philanthropist,  edited  by  Rev. 
William  Collier,  a  tender-hearted  philanthropist,  M'hom  he  succeeded. 

During  this  period,  the  mind  of  Mr.  Garrison  was  absorbed  in  an 
abolition  paper, —  The  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation, —  published 
at  Baltimore,  conducted  by  the  benevolent  Benjamin  Lundy.  In  1828 
he  removed  to  Bennington,  Vt.,  and  established  "The  Spirit  of  the 
Times,"  a  journal  devoted  to  the  support  of  John  Quincy  Adams  to  the 
presidency,  at  the  same  time  espousing  the  cause  of  abolition.  So 
intense  was  his  ardor  for  emancipation,  that  Benjamin  Lundy  persuaded 
him  to  devote  his  talents  to  the  journal  at  Baltimore,  as  being  a  wider 
field  of  labor,  whither  he  removed  in  1829.  Here  Garrison  became  so 
tenacious  for  the  doctrine  of  Immediatism,  that  Lundy's  banner  of 
Gradualism  was  lowered,  and  the  slave-holders  determined  to  crush 
the  paper  by  law.  Garrison  was  fined,  and  imprisoned  one  month,  when 
he  was  liberated  by  a  kind  stranger.  Soon  after  his  release,  he  became 
an  advocate  for  the  American  Colonization  Society ;  but,  believing  that 
this  institution  recognized  the  right  of  property  in  the  colored  race,  he 
renounced  its  interests.  It  may  be  proper  to  state  here,  that  Mr.  Gar- 
rison gave  an  address,  July  4,  1829,  at  Park-street  Church,  Boston, 
in  behalf  of  the  claims  of  the  colonization  enterprise ;  and  this  was 
probably  his  last  appeal  for  that  object. 

Mr.  Garrison,  in  company  with  Isaac  Knapp,  established,  Jan.  1, 
1831,  the  Liberator,  at  Boston ;  which,  for  several  years,  was  issued 
from  an  upper  room  in  the  Merchants'  Hall,  on  Water-street.  It  was 
here  that  the  first  Anti-slavery  Society  in  America  was  originated  by 
Wilham  Lloyd  Garrison,  consisting  of  only  twelve  members.  In  1832 
he  published  his  Thoughts  on  American  Colonization, —  a  production 
denouncing  its  object,  comprising  two  hundred  and  forty  pages,  and 
an  address  on  the  progress  of  the  abolition  cause.  The  Liberator,  by 
its  great  zeal  and  tenacity,  so  highly  inflamed  the  public  mind,  that  its 
editor  was  denied  membership  to  the  Boston  Debating  Society;  and 
the  Governor  of  Georg-ia  offered  a  reward  of  five  thousand  dollars  for 
the  head  of  Garrison,  and  the  enactment  of  that  State  has  never  been 
repealed.     We  here  furnish  a  copy  of  this  document : 

"  State  OF  Georgia  :  )  , 

In  Senate,  Nov.  30, 1831.  ^ 

^^Resolved,hj  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State 
of  Georgia,  in  general  assembly  met,  that  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
dollars  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  to  be  paid  to  any  per- 


WILLIAM    LLOYD    GARRISON.  '       579 

son,  or  persons,  who  shall  arrest,  bring  to  trial,  and  prosecute  to  con- 
viction under  the  laws  of  this  State,  the  editor  or  publisher  of  a  certain 
paper  called  the  Liberator,  pubhshed  in  the  town  of  Boston  and  State 
of  INIassachusetts  ;  or  who  shall  arrest,  bring  to  trial,  and  prosecute  to 
conviction  under  the  laws  of  this  State,  any  other  person,  or  persons, 
who  shall  utter,  publish  or  circulate,  within  the  limits  of  this  State, 
said  paper,  called  the  Liberator,  or  any  other  paper,  circular,  pamphlet, 
letter  or  address,  of  a  seditious  character  : 

"And  that  His  Excellency  the  Governor  is  hereby  authorized  and 
requested  to  issue  his  warrant  upon  the  treasurer  for  said  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollai'S,  in  favor  of  any  person,  or  persons,  who  shall  have 
arrested  and  brought  to  trial,  and  prosecuted  to  conviction  under  the 
laws  of  this  State,  the  editor  or  publisher  of  the  Liberator ;  or  who 
shall  have  arrested  and  brought  to  trial,  or  prosecuted  to  conviction 
under  the  laws  of  this  State,  any  other  person,  or  persons,  who  shall 
utter,  publish  or  circulate,  within  the  hmits  of  this  State,  said  paper 
called  the  Liberator :  or  any  other  paper,  circular,  pamphlet,  letter  or 
address,  of  a  seditious  character ;  —  and  that  these  resolutions  be 
inserted  in  the  appropriation  act.  Ajid  Resolved  further,  That  His 
Excellency  the  Governor  cause  the  foregoing  resolutions  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  public  journals  of  this  State,  and  such  other  papers  as  he 
may  think  proper,  and  pay  for  the  publication  thereof  out  of  the  con- 
tingent fund. 

"Approved  Dec.  26,  1831. 

"Wilson  Lumpkin,  Governor.'''' 

This  proclamation  widely  extended  the  notoriety  of  Garrison,  and 
tended  to  greatly  increase  the  number  of  his  followers.  In  1833  he 
visited  England,  where  he  was  cordially  welcomed  by  Clarkson,  Wil- 
berforce,  Buxton,  Macaulay,  Mary  Howitt,  Harriet  Martineau,  and 
other  philanthropists,  many  of  whom  signed  a  protest  against  the  Amer- 
ican Colonization  Society.  He  returned  to  New  York ;  and,  on  his 
arrival,  placards  were  posted  around  the  city,  inviting  a  pubhc  meet- 
ing, "  to  hurry  him  to  the  tar-kettle."  Mr.  Garrison  married  Eliza,  a 
daughter  of  George  Benson,  of  Brooklyn,  Conn.,  Sept.  4,  1834. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  George  Thompson  at  Boston,  in  September, 
1835,  a  gallows  was  erected,  one  night,  directly  opposite  the  dwelling  of 
Mr.  Garrison,  with  two  ropes  suspended  therefrom,  and  on  the  cross- 
bar was  this  inscription, — "Judge  Lynch' s  Law."     One  of  the  ropes 


580  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Tvas  intended  for  Thompson,  and  the  other  for  Garrison.  On  the  21st 
day  of  October  folio-wing  occurred  that  memorable  outrage  of  an  infu- 
riated populace,  -which  has  ineffaceably  stained  the  noble  city' of  Boston. 
There  had  existed  for  a  period  here  a  Female  Anti-slavery  Society. 
The  president  of  this  little  party.  Miss  Mary  Parker,  had  announced  a 
meeting  to  take  place  in  the  Anti-slavery  Hall,  No.  46  Washington- 
street,  on  Oct.  21,  p.  M.,  -when  several  addresses  might?  be  expected 
on  the  occasion.  It  -was  anticipated  that  George  Thompson  M'ould  be 
one  of  the  speakers ;  but,  that  there  might  be  no  pretext  for  disturb- 
ance, he  left  the  city  before  the  meeting.  Various  newspapers  denounced 
the  meeting,  shopkeepers  petitioned  the  city  authorities  against  it,  plac- 
ards were  posted  in  the  streets,  and  a  reward  of  one  hundred  dollars 
offered  to  any  one  who  would  be  first  to  convey  Thompson  to  the  tar- 
kettle.  A  great  concourse  of  people  filled  the  hall,  before  the  time  of 
meeting,  on  that  day ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  excitement,  the  meet- 
ing was  called  to  order  by  the  presiding  lady,  who  read  a  portion  of 
Scripture,  and  offered  up  a  fervent  prayer, —  soon  after  which,  the 
ladies  withdrew,  amid  the  abuse  of  the  populace.  Mr.  Garrison,  who 
had  conducted  his  young  wife  to  this  meeting,  was  observed  by  the 
populace,  who,  disappointed  at  not  finding  George  Thompson,  the  more 
immediate  object  of  their  wrath,  resolved  forthwith  to  seize  him, 
exclaiming,  "  Garrison  is  here  !  We  must  have  Garrison  !  Out  with 
him  !  Lynch  him  !  "  For  a  moment,  their  attention  was  diverted  to 
the  destruction  of  the  anti-slavery  sign,  when  Mayor  Lyman  earnestly 
besought  him  to  effect  his  escape  from  the  rear  of  the  building.  Pre- 
ceded by  a  devoted  friend,  Mr.  John  R.  Cambell,  Mr.  Garrison  dropped 
from  a  back  window  on  to  a  shed,  and  narrowly  escaped  falling  head- 
long to  the  ground.  We  will  conclude  this  narrative  in  the  language 
of  Mr.  Garrison:  "We  entered  into  a  carpenter's  shop  [kept  by 
Luke  Bro-wn],  through  which  we  attempted  to  get  into  Wilson's  Lane, 
but  found  our  retreat  cut  off  by  the  mob.  They  raised  a  shout  as  soon 
as  we  came  in  sight ;  but  the  proprietor  promptly  closed  the  door  of  his 
shop,  kept  them  at  bay  for  a  time,  and  thus  kindly  afforded  me  an 
opportunity  to  find  some  other  passage.  I  told  Mr.  Cambell  it  would 
be  futile  to  attempt  to  escape.  I  would  go  out  to  the  mob,  and  let 
them  deal  with  me  as  they  might  elect ;  but  he  thought  it  was  my  duty 
to  avoid  them  as  long  as  possible.  We  then  went  up  stairs ;  and,  finding 
a  vacancy  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  I  got  into  it,  and  he  and  a  young 
lad  [John  Bolan]  piled  up  some  boards  in  front  of  me,  to  shield  me 


WILLIAM   LLOYD    GARRISON.  681 

from  observation.  In  a  few  minutes,  several  ruffians  broke  into  the 
chamber,  who  seized  Mr.  Cambell  in  a  rough  manner,  and  led  him  out 
to  the  view  of  the  mob,  saying,  '  This  is  not  Garrison,  but  Garrison's 
and  Thompson's  friend,  and  he  says  he  knows  where  Garrison  is,  but 
won't  tell.'  Then  a  shout  of  exultation  was  raised  by  the  mob,  and 
"what  became  of  him  I  do  not  know ;  though,  as  I  was  immediately  dis- 
covered, I  presume  he  escaped  without  material  injury.  On  seeing 
me,  three  or  four  of  the  rioters,  uttering  a  yell,  furiously  dragged  me 
to  the  window,  with  the  intention  of  hurlinG:  me  from  that  height  to 
the  ground ;  but  one  of  them  relented,  and  said,  '  Don't  let  us  kill 
him  outright.'  So  they  drew  me  back,  and  coiled  a  rope  about  my 
body,  probably  to  drag  me  through  the  streets.  I  bowed  to  the  mob? 
and  requesting  them  to  wait  patiently  until  I  could  descend,  went  down 
upon  a  ladder  that  was  raised  for  that  purpose.  I  fortunately  extri- 
cated myself  from  the  rope,  and  was  seized  by  two  or  three  of  the  lead- 
ing rioters,  powerful  and  athletic  men,  by  whom  I  was  dragged  along, 
bareheaded  (for  my  hat  had  been  knocked  off  and  cut  in  pieces  on  the 
spot),  a  friendly  voice  in  the  crowd  shouting, '  He  shan't  be  hurt !  He 
is  an  American ! ' —  [Aaron  Cooley,  who  protected  his  person  at  the 
moment.]  This  seemed  to  excite  sympathy  in  the  breasts  of  some 
others,  and  they  reiterated  the  same  cry.  Blows,  however,  were  aimed 
at  my  head,  by  such  as  were  of  a  cruel  spirit ;  and,  at  last,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  tearing  nearly  all  my  clothes  from  my  body.  Thus  was  I 
dragged  through  Wilson's  Lane  into  State-street,  in  the  rear  of  the 
City  Hall,  over  the  ground  that  was  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  first 
martyrs  in  the  cause  of  Liberty  and  Independence,  in  the  memora- 
ble massacre  of  1770 ;  and  upon  which  was  proudly  unfurled,  only  a 
few  years  since,  with  joyous  acclamations,  the  beautiful  banner  pre- 
sented to  the  gallant  Poles  by  the .  young  men  of  Boston.  What  a 
scandalous  and  revolting  contrast !  My  offence  was  in  pleading  for 
Liberty, —  liberty  for  my  enslaved  countrymen,  colored  though  they 
be, —  liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  for  all  !  And,  upon  that 
'consecrated  spot,'  I  was  made  an  object  of  derision  and  scorn,  some 
portions  of  my  person  being  in  a  state  of  entire  nudity. 

''  They  proceeded  with  me  in  the  direction  of  the  City  Hall,  the  cry 
being  raised, '  To  the  Common  !  '  whether  to  give  me  a  coat  of  tar  and 
feathers,  or  to  throw  me  into  the  pond,  was  problematical.  As  we 
approached  the  south  door,  the  mayor  attempted  to  protect  mc  by  his 
presence  ;  but,  as  he  was  unassisted  by  any  show  of  authority  or  force, 
49* 


582  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

he  was  quickly  thrust  aside.  And  now  came  a  tremendous  rush  on 
the  part  of  the  mob,  to  prevent  my  entering  the  haU.  For  a  time,  the 
conflict  was  desperate  ;  but  at  length  a  rescue  was  effected  by  a  posse 
that  came  to  the  help  of  the  mayor,  by  whom  I  was  carried  up  into  the 
mayor's  room. 

"  In  view  of  my  denuded  condition,  one  individual,  in  the  post-oflice 
below  stairs,  kindly  lent  me  a  pair  of  pantaloons  ;  another,  a  coat ;  a 
third,  a  stock ;  a  fourth,  a  cap,  &;c.  After  a  brief  consultation  (the 
mob  densely  surrounding  the  City  Hall,  and  threatening  the  safety  of 
the  post-oflBce),  the  mayor  and  his  advisers  said  my  life  depended  upon 
committing  me  to  jail,  ostensibly  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace.  Accord- 
ingly, a  hack  was  got  in  readiness  at  the  door;  and,  supported  by 
Sheriff  Parkman  and  Ebenezer  Bailey,  Esq.  (the  mayor  leading  the 
way),  I  was  put  into  it  without  much  difficulty,  as  I  was  not  at  first 
identified  in  my  new  garb.  But  now  a  scene  occurred  that  baffles  the 
power  of  description.  As  the  ocean,  lashed  into  fury  by  the  spirit  of 
the  storm,  seeks  to  whelm  the  adventurous  bark  beneath  its  mountain 
waves,  so  did  the  mob,  enraged  by  a  series  of  disappointments,  rush 
like  a  whirlwind  upon  the  frail  vehicle  in  which  I  sat,  and  endeavor  to 
drag  me  out  of  it.  Escape  seemed  a  physical  impossibility.  They 
clung  to  the  Avheels,  dashed  open  the  doors,  seized  hold  of  the  horses, 
and  tried  to  upset  the  carriage.  They  were,  however,  vigorously 
repulsed  by  the  police.  A  constable  sprang  in  by  my  side,  the  doors 
were  closed,  and  the  driver,  lustily  using  his  whip  upon  the  bodies  of 
his  horses  and  the  heads  of  the  rioters,  happily  made  an  opening 
through  the  crowd,  and  drove  at  a  tremendous  speed  for  Leverett- 
street.  But  many  of  the  rioters  followed  even  with  superior  swiftness, 
and  repeatedly  attempted  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  horses.  To 
reach  the  jail  by  a  direct  course  was  found  impracticable ;  and,  after 
going  in  a  circuitous  direction,  and  encountering  many  '  hair-breadth 
'scapes,'  we  drove  up  to  this  new  and  last  refuge  of  liberty  and  life, 
when  another  desperate  attempt  was  made  to  seize  me  by  the  mob, — 
but  in  vain.  In  a  few  moments,  I  was  locked  up  in  a  cell,  safe  from 
my  persecutors,  accompanied  by  two  delightful  associates, —  a  good  con- 
science and  a  cheerful  mind.  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  several  of 
my  friends  came  to  my  grated  window,  to  sympathize  and  confer  with 
me,  with  whom  I  held  a  strengthening  conversation  until  the  hour  of 
retirement,  when  I  threw  myself  upon  my  prison-bed,  and  slept  tran- 
quilly. In  the  morning,  I  inscribed  upon  the  walls  of  my  cell,  with  a 
pencil,  the  following  lines  : 


WILLIAM   LLOYD    GARRISON.  583 

"  '  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison  Avas  put  into  this  cell  on  Wednesday  after- 
noon, Oct.  21,  1885,  to  save  him  from  the  violence  of  a  "  respectable 
and  influential"  mob,  who  sought  to  destroy  him  for  preaching  the 
abominable  and  dangerous  doctrine,  that  "all  men  are  created  equal," 
and  that  all  oppression  is  odious  in  the  sight  of  God.  "  Hail,  Colum- 
bia !  "     Cheers  for  the  autocrat  of  Russia,  and  the  sultan  of  Turkey ! 

"  'Reader,  let  this  inscription  remain  till  the  last  slave  in  this  des- 
potic land  be  loosed  from  his  fetters.' 

"  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  after  passing  through  the  mockery 
of  an  examination,  for  form's  sake,  before  Judge  Whitman,  I  was 
released  from  prison;  but,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  city 
authorities^  in  order  to  tranquillize  the  public  mind,  I  deemed  it  proper 
to  leave  the  city  for  a  few  days,  accompanied  by  my  wife,  whose  situa- 
tion was  such  as  to  awaken  the  strongest  solicitude  for  her  life." 

Mr.  Garrison,  in  1840,  attended  the  World's  Convention,  in  Lon- 
don, as  an  agent  of  the  American  Anti-slavery  Society.  He  was  one 
of  the  originators  of  the  Anti-Sabbath  Convention,  which  held  its 
first  gathering  at  Boston,  in  the  Melodeon,  March,  1848. 

We  doubt  not  the  sincere  devotion  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison  to  his 
favorite  cause  of  immediate  emancipation ;  but  his  published  pamph- 
lets and  newspaper  articles  abound  in  a  spirit  of  intolerance,  sweeping 
censure,  and  rash,  injurious  judgment,  tending  to  defeat  the  grand 
purpose  of  the  contest.  The  endeavor  to  extend  liberty  forthwith  to 
the  slave,  by  the  fierce,  bitter,  and  exasperating  spirit  of  fanaticism,  has 
more  firmly  bound  the  chains  of  servitude  than  when  abolition  soci- 
eties were  founded.  They  partake  largely  of  the  prevailing  ultraisms 
of  the  land.  We  doubt  not  Garrison's  strength  of  principle  in  sympa- 
thy for  the  oppressed.  Indeed,  we  hope  the  Liberty  Bell  will  resound 
over  the  whole  compass  of  this  mighty  republic,  until  the  lash  of  every 
overseer  is  thrown  away ;  but  the  system  of  affiliated  Societies,  held 
together  by  passionate  eloquence,  is  to  be  deplored,  and  their  intoler- 
ant spirit  is  without  a  parallel  in  any  great  work  of  reform  in  the  land. 
"Let the  Union  be  dissolved,"  said  orator  Douglas,  at  Syracuse;  "I 
wish  to  see  it  dissolve.  I  welcome  the  bolt,  be  it  from  heaven  or  hell, 
that  shall  shiver  it  to  pieces ! "  The  twenty  years'  excitement  for 
immediate  emancipation  is  defeated,  and  the  inipressive  theme  on  the 
mind  of  every  philanthropist  must  be  how  to  soften  the  hard  fate  of 
the  enslaved,  and  what  is  the  wisest  plan  of  device  for  effacing  the 
curse  from  our  country.     We  admire  the  intense  devotion  of  Garrison 


584  •  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

to  the  cause  of  liberty,  in  the  same  ratio  that  we  deplore  his  intem- 
perate zeal.  Indeed,  we  know  nothing  in  our  language  breathing  so 
strongly  of  the  spirit  of  disunion,  as  the  ten  violent  anathemas  of 
Garrison,  in  his  "accursed"'  article  denouncino;  the  American  Union. 


IVERS  JAMES   AUSTIN. 

JULY  4,  1839.     FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORiriES. 

"  Not  solely  to  those  who  sanctioned  the  federal  constitution  by  their 
names,"  says  Mr.  Austin,  "should  its  glory  be  ascribed.  They  who, 
poising  themselves  on  their  personal  character,  dared  dissent  from  some 
of  its  principles,  are  entitled  to  more  gratitude  than  posterity  has 
bestowed.  Had  the  advocates  of  a  stronger  government  succeeded  in 
the  convention, —  had  the  president  been  invested  with  the  useless  tin- 
sel of  a  regal  title,  and  the  fatal  brilliancy  of  royal  authority, —  this 
anniversary  would  not  now  be  hailed  as  the  jubilee  of  freedom.  If  the 
executive,  rising  above  the  darkness  of  faction,  make  the  national  inter- 
est his  cynosure,  experience  has  proved  that  liberty  is  not  endangered 
by  the  energy  of  government. 

"But  if,  descending  from  the  elevation  intended  by  the  framers  of 
the  constitution,  he  mingles  in  the  turmoil  of  political  contest,  placing 
himself  first,  his  party  next,  and  his  country  the  last,  in  his  thoughts, 
experience  has  equally  proved  that  tyranny  may  be  concealed  by  repub- 
lican robes.  The  opponents  of  the  constitution  distrusted  human  virtue. 
They  foresaw  that  the  '  golden  sceptre '  of  executive  authority  might 
become  'an  iron  rod  to  bruise  and  break'  the  disobedient.  They 
exerted  their  influence  to  diminish  its  power.  "Whether  such  appre- 
hensions were  founded  in  wisdom,  modern  experiment  will  be  able  to 
decide.  The  problem  is  yet  unsolved,  whether  American  freedom  has 
most  to  dread  from  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the  federal  head. 
Executive  power  has  already  proved  a  formidable  foe  to  popular  virtue; 
—  whether  an  invincible  foe,  coming  events  will  shortly  declare. 

"However  mistaken  the  opponents  of  the  constitution  may  have 
been  in  the  extent  of  their  objections,  their  opposition  lowered  the  high 
tones  of  those  who  desired  more  energy  in  the  government.  It  is  well 
that  the  ultraism  of  neither  party  prevailed ;  but,  were  the  executive 


IVERS  JAMES  AUSTIN.  585 

stronger,  republicanism,  in  this  age,  -would  be  in  danger  of  dissolution. 
The  minority  of  the  convention  had  a  large,  if  not  a  principal  share,  in 
the  compromise  it  effected.  The  spirit  of  independence  animated  their 
souls.  It  raised  them  above  personal  considerations.  It  led  them  to 
sacrifice  at  the  shrine  of  their  country  the  reward  of  long  and  success- 
ful toil  for  its  -welfare.  If  few  in  number,  greater  their  praise.  The 
cause  of  opposition  -was  to  them  the  cause  of  truth.  They  fearlessly 
maintained  it ; 

*'  And,  for  the  testimony  of  truth,  have  borne 
Universal  reproach,  —  for  -worse  to  bear 
Thau  violence;  for  this  -was  all  their  care, 
To  stand  approved  in  sight  of  God, 
Though  worlds  judged  them  perverse." 

Ivers  James  Austin,  son  of  Hon.  James  T.  Austin,  -was  born  at 
Boston,  and  entered  the  Latin  School  in  1822;  pursued  his  edu-* 
cation  at  the  United  States  Military  Academy,  in  West  Point,  -where 
he  graduated  in  1828 ;  engaged  in  the  study  of  la-w  in  the  La-w  School 
of  Harvard  College,  -where  he  received  an  honorary  degree  in  1831 ;  in 
the  same  year  he  entered  the  Suffolk  bar,  and  pursued  his  legal 
studies  in  the  office  of  his  father,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  He  has  been  the  commander  of 
the  Rifle  Rangers,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Boston  regiment,  and  its 
judge-advocate.  He  -was  of  the  school  committee  in  1836  and  1837. 
His  elaborate  report,  as  chairman  of  a  sub-committee  on  the  reorgan- 
ization of  the  public  schools  of  Boston,  is  a  highly  valuable  document. 
In  1838  he  -was  elected  a  representative  to  the  State  Legislature.  He 
became  a  counsellor-at-la-w ;  and  married  Elizabeth  Turner  Amory, 
Oct.  9,  1846.  Mr.  Austin  possesses  an  unusual  share  of  legal  knowl- 
edge, and  is  remarkable  for  soundness  of  judgment.  He  has  been  a 
frequent  contributor  to  the  La-w  Reporter ;  and  his  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  Mississippi  doctrine  of  repudiation,  in  that  journal,  -was 
so  highly  esteemed,  that  it  -^vas  printed  in  Illinois,  Mississippi,  and 
this  State,  in  a  separate  form.  He  furnished  a  valuable  article  for 
Willis'  American  Monthly  Magazine,  on  the  facilities  for  vice  and 
intemperance  in  the  Tremont  Theatre ;  and  has  contributed,  also,  to 
the  North  American  Revie-w  and  the  Biblical  Journal.  His  article  on 
the  nature  and  claims  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  is  of 
great  national  spirit. 


586  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

I 

THOMAS   POWER. 

JULY  4,  1840.    POR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Was  born  at  Boston,  Oct.  8,  1786 ;  and  his  birth-place  was  on  the 
estate  next  above  the  Golden  Ball  in  Hanover-street,  where  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  employed  in  ther  shop  of  a  tallow-chandler.  He  gradu- 
ated at  Brown  University  in  1808,  and  engaged  in  the  study  of  law, 
under  the  guidance  of  Hon.  Judge  Jackson.  He  became  a  counsellor- 
at-law  in  1811,  opened  an  oflSce  at  Northfield,  where  he  practised 
law  for  a  period  of  four  years,  when  he  settled  at  Boston,  and  was, 
during  a  period  of  seven  years,  an  efficient  member  of  the  primary 
school  committee.  He  married  Elizabeth  Sampson,  of  Duxbury,  a 
descendant  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers ;  and  was  the  clerk  of  the  Boston 
Police  Court,  from  the  foundation  of  the  city  government.  It  was  in 
the  office  of  Mr.  Power,  who  conceived  the  idea,  that  it  was  decided  to 
plant  the  four  rows  of  beautiful  elm-trees  that  flourish  on  the  main 
street  of  Northfield. 

Mr,  Power  possesses  a  highly  poetical  vein,  besides  great  capacity 
in  the  legal  profession ;  and  whatever  he  attempts  he  executes  with  all 
his  power,  whether  as  author  or  in  his  vocation  at  court.  He  is  a 
fervid  national  poet.  Hjs  Log  Cabin  Song,  which  was  sung  by  the 
Louisiana  delegation,  on  their  entrance  into  Boston,  in  September, 
1840,  to  attend  the  electioneering  gathering  for  Gen.  Harrison,  and 
the  song  for  President  Taylor,  in  1848, — 

"  'T  is  a  nation's  jubilee,  — 
Honor  to  tlie  brave  and  free  ; — " 

moreover,  "  The  Old  Grist  Mill,"  from  his  hand, —  reflect  much  credit 
to  the  warmth  of  his  heart.  His  contributions  to  the  Daily  Atlas 
indicate  the  purity  of  his  judgment  in  musical  criticism.  Mr.  Power 
has  been  a  political  admirer  of  the  policy  of  Harrison  Gray  Otis ;  and, 
at  a  public  festival  in  Faneuil  Hall,  March  4, 1829,  when  he  was  mayor 
of  Boston,  gave  this  sentiment, — "Hon.  H.  G.  Otis:  Made  dearer  to 
Bostonians  by  Washington  raihng  and  Boston  railways."  Amid  the 
multiplicity  of  his  engagements,  Mr.  Power  has  found  leisure  to  exer- 
cise his  native  talent ;  and  of  his  productions  we  find  Masonic  Melodies, 
108  pages  8vo. ;  Secrecy,  a  poem  delivered  before  the  Knights  Tern- 


THOMAS    POWER.  587 

plars,  Feb.  28,  1832.  His  best  effort  is,  Lafayette,  a  Poem, —  dedi- 
cated to  the  young  men  of  Boston,  1834,  in  twenty-eight  pages. 
He  gave  a  Masonic  Oration  at  Waltham,  in  1821,  and  an  oration  at 
Northfield,  July  4, 1812 ;  beside  the  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article. 
Mr.  Power  should  ever  devote  his  intervals  of  leisure  to  national 
literature.  The  poet  who  wrote  the  elegant  effusion  before  us  should 
never  restrain  the  inspiration  of  his  Muse.  Here  is  a  fine  conception 
of  the  Liberty  Tree  destroyed  by  the  British  soldiers  during  the  siege 
of  Boston,  in  1775,  which  flourished  two  centuries  ago.  We  select 
from  "  Lafayette,  a  Poem :  " 

• 
".There  stood,  in  its  unfading  green, 

A  monarch  of  the  forest-scene  ; 

Aloft,  abroad  its  branches  spread,  — 

'Mong  its  deep  foliage  zephyrs  played, — 

And  fair  its  form,  and  deep  its  shade; 

Princes  and  peasants,  too,  'tis  said,    ' 

Sought  its  protection  when  the  sun 

Half  his  bright,  burning  course  had  run. 

And  owned  their  deep  devotion  due 

Where  thoughts  are  free  and  hands  are  true. 

Fair,  too,  the  verdant  spot  where  stood 

That  towering  monarch  of  the  wood, 

And  sweet  the  flowers,  of  mingled  hues. 

That  clustered  there,  in  heaven's  own  dews, 

That  flourished  'neath  that  holy  tree 

To  throw  their  perfume  on  the  air. 

In  elemental  liberty. 
As  things  of  light,  buoyant  and  free. 

Mid  kindred  spirits  bright  and  fair. 

The  warrior  hears  the  clash  of  arms. 

The  shock  of  battle,  loudly  rise, 
t     And  courtly  rays  and  beauty's  charms 

Fade  like  a  vapor  in  the  skies. 
Fair  Freedom  now  has  power  alone 

To  lead  his  heart  and  guide  his  hand, 
For  pomp  and  honors  near  a  throne. 

He  seeks  a  home  in  foreign  land. 
The  cry  is.  Up  I  wake  !  freemen,  wake  ! 

Oppression  shrinks,  and  man  is  free  ; 
The  bolts  and  bars  of  tyrants  break, 

When  touched  by  heavenly  Liberty. 
In  the  far-distant  west  is  seen. 

Where  beauty  the  horizon  streaks, 
A  lovely  garden,  fresh  and  green,  — 

'T  is  the  new  home  the  warrior  seeks. 


588  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

His  hopes  are  higli,  and  onward  still 

Unwearied  fancy  proudly  bears, 
Where  war's  loud  trumpet,  sharp  and  shrill. 

The  march  of  Freedom's  host  declares. 
With  soul  on  fire,  his  piercing  eye, 

Prophetic,  sees  that  little  band  ; 
He  hears,  elate,  the  battle-cry  — 

For  God,  our  liberty,  our  land  ! 


RUFUS   CHOATE. 

APRIL  21,  1841.     EULOGY  ON  PRESIDENT  HARRISON. 

Was  born  at  Essex  (formerly  Chebacco),  Essex  County,  Oct.  1, 
1799.  When  at  school,  he  was  remarkable  for  a  great  memory  and 
abstracted  habits, —  avoiding  youthful  sports,  and  ever  at  the  head  of 
his  class.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1819,  and  was  a 
tutor  there  until  1821.  He  entered  the  Dane  Law  School,  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  read  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  David  Cummings,  of  Salem, 
and  under  William  Wirt,  at  Washington,  who  was  then  the  U.  S. 
Attorney  General.  He  practised  law  at  Dan  vers,  of  which  town  he 
was  a  representative  in  1826-7.  He  removed  to  Salem,  and  finally 
settled  at  Boston,  in  1834.  He  married  Helen,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Mills  Olcott,  of  Hanover,  N.  H.  In  1830  he  was  elected,  for  Essex, 
to  the  State  Senate;  in  1832  he  was  a  representative  in  Congress; 
and  in  1842  he  was  elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate,  from  Suffolk,  by  the 
State  Legislature, —  which  station  he  resigned  in  1845.  Mr.  Choate 
is  a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Listitute,  at  Washington ;  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  New  England  Historic  and 
Genealogic  Society. 

He  is  an  eminent  counsellor ;  and  the  La,w  Reporter  remarks  of 
him,  that  "he  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  gifted  orators  of  New  Eng- 
land. A  brilliant  intellect,  which  has  been  developed  by  exact  and 
laborious  study,  a  wonderful  power  of  discrimination  and  abstraction,  an 
exuberant  flow  of  language,  a  sparkhng  wit,  a  lively  fancy,  and  an  over- 
whelming enthusiasm,  enable  him  to  control  almost  any  audience,  and 
entitle  him  to  the  name  of  the  American  Erskine.  Yet,  with  many  of 
Erskine's  excellences,  he  has  some  of  his  failings.     Among  these  may 


RUFUS  CnOATE.  589 

be  included  a  strong  love  of  the  marvellous,  and  a  disposition  to  make 
too  much  of  small  things.  As  Hamlet  would  say,  he  almost  tears  a 
passion  to  tatters,  in  his  anxiety  to  bear  upon  a  single  point.  This  is 
a  great  element  of  rhetorical  power ;  but  we  doubt  whether  it  be  in 
good  taste  in  a  court  of  justice,  where  the  object  is  to  convince,  and 
not  to  carry  by  storm." 

When  Mr.  Choate  pronounced  the  eulogy  on  the  beloved  Harrison, 
his  eye  kindling  with  excitement,  his  countenance  overshadowed  with 
grief,  and,  in  his  deep-toned,  musical  voice,  enlarged  on  the  history  and 
the  virtues  of  the  departed,  in  language  breathing  the  very  essence  of 
eloquence,  it  was  a  scene  as  overpowering  as  the  oratory  of  Greece  and 
Rome.  "In  looking  over  the  history  of  his  hfe,"  said  Mr.  Choate, 
"  more  carefully,  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  aggregate  of  his  character, 
I  venture  to  think,  that  while  through  his  life  he  displayed  the  requi- 
site capacity  for  the  formation  and  administration  of  laws,  or  whatever 
public  duty  was  required  of  him,  it  was  the  warm,  pure  and  great 
heart  that  attracted  and  retained  for  him  the  love  of  his  countrymen. 
He  should  be  remembered,  and  we  will  speak  of  him  to  our  children, 
as  the  Good  President.  Homely  as  that  epithet  may  appear,  how 
much  more  has  it  of  real  significance  than  the  imperial  title  'great,'  so 
often  given  to  men  who  have  waded  through  blood  to  thrones  !  I 
need  give  but  two  anecdotes,  to  illustrate  this  trait  in  his  disposition. 
He  pardoned  the  negro  who  sought  his  life ;  and  rescued  him,  by  his 
own  solicitation,  when  fastened  to  the  stake  for  military  punishment. 
He  recovered  heavy  damages,  by  a  verdict,  in  a  case  for  slander,  and 
then  divided  the  money  received  among  the  children  of  the  slanderers, 
and  the  orphan  children  of  some  of  his  old  soldiers.  Although  he  was 
hospitable  beyond  the  usual  hospitality  of  the  west,  it  was  always  the 
remnant  of  the  armies  of  Harmar  and  St.  Clair  that  found  the  Avarmest 
welcome  at  his  ever  ready  board.  When  the  ear  heard  him,  it  blessed 
him ;  when  the  eye  saw  him,  it  gave  witness  to  him,  because  he  deliv- 
ered the  poor  that  cried,  and  the  fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to 
help  him.  Consider,  then,  that  combined  benevolence  and  integrity, 
worthy  the  accounts  of  Grecian  and  Roman  fame,  to  which  he  was  not 
ashamed  to  turn  his  attention  backwards,  —  behold  him  tried  by  the 
temptation  of  an  office  from  which  he  might  have  amassed  a  princely 
fortune,  and,  with  the  conscientious  honor  of  a  Washington,  retiring 
from  it  poor, — and  you  will  feel  and  see,  in  a  moment,  what  it  was  that 
impelled  towards  him  the  love  of  a  people.  The  country  had  long  been 
50 


590  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

unprosperous,  from  causes  into  Tvhich  we  need  not  inquire,  "We  were 
laboring  the  livelong  day,  and  feeling,  as  we  lay  down  at  niglit.  that 
we  were  growing  poorer  and  poorer.  The  people  were  puzzled  with 
various  theories  and  arguments.  They  were  growing  more  and  more 
distrustful  with  all  mere  great  talent ;  there  grew  up  a  wide  and  irre- 
pressible craving,  in  the  public  heart,  for  an  honest  man  from  among 
themselves,  to  preside  over  their  affairs,  and  help  them  backward  to 
the  glories  of  their  fathers'  days.  Then  it  was  that  they  turned  to 
him.  Be  this  the  lesson  of  his  life.  Be  tliis  his  eulogy.  That  not 
for  descent  from  an  exalted  line,  not  for  his  military  victories,  not  for 
his  dexterity  in  the  partisanship  of  professional  pohtics,  was  he  chosen 
to  relieve  and  reform  the  land,  but  because  he  was  a  good  and  just 
man,  fearing  God  and  loving  his  country."  These  were  the  last  words 
of  the  tribute :  "We  stand  on  this  spot,  where  the  heart  of  an  American 
must  throb  with  pride  and  joy.  And  yet,  perhaps  you  have  embellished 
the  glories  of  even  this  place,  by  hanging  these  emblems  of  mourning  to 
its  pillars, —  by  this  dim  religious  hght  we  have  added  to  the  memories 
of  its  ancestral  glories."  Mr.  Choate,  possessing  the  keenest  sensi- 
tiveness to  impressions,  is  distinguished  as  much  for  his  power  of  self- 
control  as  his  power  of  self-excitation ;  and  his  emotions,  like  well- 
trained  troops,  are  "  impetuous  by  rule."  They  appear  always  to  rise 
up  to  his  mind  mth  a  personal  existence.  Thus  New  York,  with  him, 
is  not  simply  a  city  distinguished  for  commercial  energy,  but  a  city 
which  with  one  hand  "  grasps  the  golden  harvests  of  the  west,  and  with 
the  other,  like  Venice,  espouses  the  everlasting  sea."  "Massachu- 
setts," he  says,  "  will  ever  be  true  to  the  constitution.  She  sat  among 
the  most  affectionate  at  its  cradle  ;  she  will  follow,  the  saddest  of  the 
procession  of  sorrow,  its  hearse."  Again,  he  observes  that,  after  we 
came  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  "the  baptism  of  fire  and  blood  was  on 
our  brow,  and  its  influence  on  our  spirit  and  legislation." 

We  will  relate  an  instance  of  the  excitable  powers  of  our  orator.  In 
an  argument  on  a  case  of  impeachment,  before  a  legislative  committee, 
Mr.  Choate  remarked  that  he  never  read,  without  a  thrill  of  sublimity, 
the  concluding  article  in  the  Bill  of  Rights, —  the  language  of  which  is 
borrowed  directly  from  Harrington,  who  says  he  owes  it  to  Livy, — that 
"  in  the  government  of  this  commonwealth,  the  legislative  department 
shall  never  exercise  the  executive  and  judicial  powers,  or  either  of 
them ;  the  executive  shall  never  exercise  the  legislative  and  judicial 
powers,  or  either  of  them ;  the  judicial  shall  never  exercise  the  legis- 
lative and  executive  powers,  or  either  of  them ;  —  to  the  end  that  it 


BUrUS  CUOATB.  591 

may  be  a  government  of  laws,  and  not  of  men;  "  thus  providing  that 
the  three  great  departments  shall  be  entirely  independent  of  each 
other ;  and  he  remembered  a  story  of  a  person  who  said  that  he  could 
read  Paradise  Lost  without  affecting  him  at  all,  but  that  there  was  a 
passage  at  the  end  of  Newton's  Optics  which  made  his  flesh  creep  and 
his  hair  stand  on  end.  I  confess,  said  Mr.  Choate,  that  I  never 
read  that  article  of  the  constitution  without  feeling  the  same, — "to  the 
end  that  it  may  be  a  government  of  laws,  and  not  of  men." 

Mr.  Choate  delivered  an  oration  at  New  Yerk,  Dec.  22,  1843, 
before  the  New  England  Society,  in  the  Tabernacle,  on  the  Pilgrims, 
their  character  and  acts,  as  constituting  one  of  the  heroic  periods  of 
history.  He  attributed  much  of  the  subsequent  course  of  the  Puritans 
to  the  residence  of  a  thousand  leading  men  of  their  number  at  Geneva 
for  five  years,  whither  they  w^ere  driven  by  the  bigoted  Queen  JNIary. 
There  they  found  a  republic.  He  described  the  valley  in  which  Geneva 
is  situated, —  its  placid  lake,  the  lofty  mountains  which  stand  around  it; 
he  expatiated  upon  its  laws,  its  quiet,  its  independence,  its  learning,  its 
religion ;  and  finished  the  description  with  the  exclamation,  ' '  There 
they  found  a  commonwealth  without  a  king,  and  a  church  without  a 
bishop,"  which  received  such  a  burst  of  emotion,  long  and  loud,  as 
never  before  resounded  in  the  Tabernacle.  Mr.  Choate  attends  the 
Essex-street  Congregational  church,  at  Boston ;  and  this  bold  sectarian 
allusion  so  sensibly  affected  those  of  the  Episcopal  order,  that  it  forth- 
with prompted  remarks  from  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright,  at  the  public 
dinner  of  the  occasion  on  that  day,  which  elicited  a  warm  controversy, 
that  continued  for  a  twelvemonth. 

In  this  connection,  we  introduce  the  highly  felicitous  allusion  of 
Daniel  Webster  to  the  Mayflower,  at  the  dinner  of  the  New  England 
Pilgrim  Society,  apropos  to  a  miniature  model  of  that  vessel  which  was 
on  the  table.  "  There  was,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "in  ancient  times,  a 
ship  which  carried  Jason  on  his  voyage  for  the  acquisition  of  the  golden 
fleece  ;  there  was  a  ship  at  the  battle  of  Actium  which  made  Augustus 
Coesar  master  of  the  world ;  there  have  been  famous  ships  which  bore 
to  victory  a  Drake,  a  Howe,  a  Nelson ;  there  are  ships  which  have 
carried  our  own  Hull,  Decatur,  and  Stewart,  in  triumph.  But  what 
are  they  all,  as  to  their  chances  of  remembrance  among  men,  to  the 
little  bark  Mayflower?  That  Mayflower  was  and  is  a  flower  of  per- 
petual blossom.  It  can  stand  the  sultry  blasts  of  summer,  resist  the 
furious  tempests  of  autumn,  and  remain  untouched-  by  the  gales  and 


592  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

the  frosts  of  winter.  It  can  defy  all  climates  and  all  times.  It  will 
spread  its  petals  over  the  whole  world,  and  exhale  a  living  odor  and 
fragrance  to  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time." 

A  satirical  journalist,  remarking  of  the  rhetorical  eloquence  of  Rufus 
Choate  in  his  arguments  for  the  license  of  spirituous  liquors,  at  Boston, 
in  1847.  says  that,  as  he  shot  his  piercing,  resolute  eyes,  hither  and 
thither,  drew  on  that  solemn  face,  and  poured  out  those  deep  tones  of 
awful  solemnity,  rolled  up  those  tremendous  climaxes,  raised  his  com- 
manding form  upon  Ihs  toes,  came  down  upon  his  heels  like  two  paver's 
rammers,  and  shook  the  whole  firmament  of  the  Common  Council  cham- 
ber, like  an  earthquake,  we  could  not  but  imagine  what  a  sensation  he 
would  have  produced  as  a  revival  preacher,  or  a  Richard  the  Third  on 
the  stage.  But,  if  he  has  mistaken  his  calling  to  either  of  the  latter 
professions,  the  mistake  is  very  slight  and  insignificant.  Seeking 
undoubtedly  for  dramatic  efiect,  he  seemed  to  combine  in  a  high  degree 
the  talents  of  all  three  professions.  Choate  has  a  playful  sympathy 
with  the  ludicrous  side  of  things,  says  Whipple,  as,  in  his  speech  on  the 
Oregon  question,  in  which  he  uses  the  figure  of  the  Legislature  putting 
its  head  out  of  the  window,  and,  in  a  voice  all  over  the  world,  speaking 
to  the  negotiators  of  the  pending  treaty,  bidding  them  God  speed ;  but 
insinuating  that,  if  they  did  not  give  up  the  whole  subject  in  dispute,  it 
would  be  settled  by  main  force.  It  has  been  said  of  Choate,  that  he 
drives  in  a  substantive  and  six ;  but  unlike  Burke,  who  had  his  reins 
upon  them  all,  each  restrained  with  a  care  essential  to  a  proper  guidance. 

Rufus  Choate  is  more  at  home  as  a  pleader  at  the  bar  than  in  polit- 
ical speeches  or  public  lectures.  ""While  pleading,  his  eye  flashes,  as 
it  turns  rapidly  from  the  court  to  the  jury,  and  the  jury  to  the  court. 
Ever  remarking,  mth.  intuitive  sagacity,  the  slightest  traces  of  emotion 
or  thought  in  the  eye,  lip,  face,  position  or  movement,  of  the  judge, — 
ever  reading  the  soul  revealed  to  him,"  as  one  graphically  sketches, 
"  perhaps  to  him  alone,  and  comprehended  by  that  mysterious  sympathy 
which  unites  the  orator  and  auditor,  as  by  an  electric  atmosphere, 
through  which  thoughts  and  feelings  pass  and  repass  in  silence,  but  in 
power,  Choate  is  aware,  with  the  certainty  of  genius  and  the  rapid- 
ity of  instinct,  of  the  effect  he  has  produced  upon  the  judge,  whose 
shghtest  word,  he  knows,  is  weightier  than  the  eloquence  of  counsel ; 
and,  at  the  first  shght  intimation  of  dissent,  rapidly,  but  almost  imper- 
ceptibly, modifies,  limits  and  explains,  his  idea,  until  he  feels  the  con- 
cert of  mental  sympathy  between  mind  and  mind. —  and  then,  hke  a 


RUFUS   CHOATE.  593 

steed  checked  into  noble  action,  or  a  river  raising  to  burst  over  its  bar- 
riers, Avith  his  mind  elevated  and  excited  by  opposition,  he  discourses  to 
the  jury  logic,  eloquence  and  poetry,  in  tones  that  linger  in  the  mem- 
ory like  the  parting  sound  of  a  cathedral  bell,  or  the  dying  note  of  an 
organ.  His  voice  is  deep,  musical,  sad.  Thrilling  it  can  be  as  a  fife, 
but  it  has  often  a  plaintive  cadence,  as  though  his  soul  mourned,  amid 
the  loud  and  angry  tumults  of  the  forum,  for  the  quiet  grove  of  the 
academy,  or  in  these  evil  times  sighed  at  the  thought  of  those  charms 
and  virtues  which  we  dare  conceive  in  boyhood,  and  pursue  as  men, 
the  unreached  paradise  of  our  despair." 

The  mind  of  Choate  is  as  rapid  as  consists  with  sanity.  In  the 
attempt  to  keep  pace  with  him,  reporters,  as  already  intimated,  throw 
down  their  pencils  in  despair.  EQs  own  pen  traces,  in  the  same  vain 
attempt,  one  long,  waving,  illegible  line,  scarcely  to  be  read  by  himself, 
and  defying  the  scrutiny  of  others.  It  has  been  said  of  him,  that,  if 
the  magnetic  telegraph  were  affixed  to  his  lips,  the  words  would  leap 
on  the  wires.  His  style  is  the  poetry  of  prose,  with  here  and  there  an 
expression,  which,  to  use  the  questionable  expression  of  Burke,  rises 
from  poetry  into  eloquence,  some  thoughts  which  entrance,  some  idea 
which  burns.  Such  is  that  inimitable  comparison,  when  speaking  of 
the  principles  of  Henry  Clay.  He  said  they  rise  like  the  peaks  of 
a  lofty  mountain-range,  from  the  table-land  of  all  illustrious  life.  Such 
is  that  sentiment,  worthy  of  Patrick  Henry,  the  greatest  orator  of  Amer- 
ica, when,  in  the  very  words  which  we  may  suppose  the  forest-born 
Demosthenes  would  have  used,  he  said,  "What !  banish  the  Bible  from 
schools  !  Never,  while  there  is  a  piece  of  Plymouth  Rock  left  large 
enough  to  make  a  gun-flint  of!  "  The  autograph  of  Mr.  Choate,  says 
one,  somewhat  resembles  the  map  of  Ohio,  and  looks  like  a  piece  of 
crayon  sketching  done  in  the  dark,  Avith  a  three-pronged  fork.  His 
hand-writing  cannot  be  deciphered  without  the  aid  of  a  pair  of  com- 
passes and  a  quadrant. 

Mr.  Choate  is  a  decided  advocate  for  the  union  of  the  States.  At 
the  Union  meeting  of  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties,  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  Nov.  26,  1850,  when  Dr.  John  C.  Warren  presided,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  sustain  the  Federal  Union,  uphold  its  constitution,  and 
enforce  the  duty  of  obedience  to  the  laws,  occasioned  by  the  sensation 
arisinw  from  the  recent  Fu";itive  Slave  Law.  Mr.  Choate  delivered  a 
noble  speech,  in  which  he  said,  after  a  train  of  argument :  "I  submit, 
that  the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  north  are  called  upon,  by 
50* 


594  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

every  consideration  of  patriotism  and  duty,  to  strike  this  Tvliole  subject 
from  tlicir  respective  issues.  I  go  for  no  amalgamation  of  parties,  and 
for  the  forming  of  no  new  party.  But  I  admit  the  deepest  solicitude, 
that  those  -which  now  exist,  preserving  their  actual  organization  and 
general  principles  and  aims, —  if  so  it  must  be, —  should  to  this  extent 
coalesce.  Neither  can  act  in  this  behalf  effectually  alone.  Honorable 
concert  is  indispensable,  and  they  owe  it  to  the  country.  Have  not 
the  eminent  men  of  both  these  great  organizations  united  on  this 
adjustment?  Are  they  not  both,  primarily,  national  parties?  Is  it 
not  one  of  their  most  important  and  beautiful  uses,  that  they  extend 
the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  our  country ;  and  that  they  help,  or 
ought  to  help,  to  hold  the  extreme  north  to  the  extreme  south,  by  a 
tie  stronger  almost  than  that  of  mere  patriotism, —  by  that  surest  cement 
of  ft'iendship,  common  opinions  on  the  great  concerns  of  the  republic? 
You  are  a  Democrat ;  and  have  you  not,  for  thirty -two  years  in  fifty, 
united  with  the  universal  Democratic  party  in  the  choice  of  southern 
presidents  ?  Has  it  not  been  your  function,  for  even  a  larger  part  of 
the  last  half-century,  to  rally  with  the  south  for  the  support  of  the  gen- 
eral administration  ?  Has  it  not  ever  been  your  boast,  your  merit  as  a 
party,  that  you  are  in  an  intense,  and  even  characteristic  degree, 
national  and  unionist  in  your  spirit  and  politics,  although  you  had  your 
origin  in  the  assertion  of  State  rights  ;  that  you  have  contributed,  in 
a  thousand  ways,  to  the  extension  of  our  territory,  and  the  estabhsh- 
ment  of  our  martial  fame,  and  that  you  follow  the  flag  on  whatever 
field  or  deck  it  waves  ?  And  will  you,  for  the  sake  of  a  temporary 
victory  in  a  State,  or  for  any  other  cause,  insert  an  article  in  your 
creed,  and  give  a  direction  to  your  tactics,  which  shall  detach  you  from 
such  companionship,  and  unfit  you  for  such  service  in  all  time  to 
come  ? 

"You  are  a  Wliig.  I  give  my  hand  on  that ;  and  is  not  your  party 
national,  too  ?  Do  you  not  find  your  flistcst  allies  at  the  south  ?  Do 
you  not  need  the  vote  of  Louisiana,  of  North  Carolina,  of  Tennessee, 
of  Kentucky,  to  defend  you  from  the  redundant  capital,  matured  skill, 
and  pauper  labor,  of  Europe  ?  Did  you  not  just  now,  with  a  wise  con- 
tempt of  sectional  issues  and  sectional  noises,  unite  to  call  that  brave, 
firm  and  good  Old  Man,  from  his  plantation,  and  seat  him,  with  all 
the  honors,  in  the  place  of  Washington  ?  Circumstances  have  forced 
both  these  parties  —  the  northern  and  the  southern  divisions  of  both 
—  to  suspend  for  a  space  the  legitimate  objects  of  their  institution.    For 


GEORGE   TICKNOR   CURTIS.  595 

a  space,  laying  them  aside,  and  resolving  themselves  into  our  individual 
capacities,  we  have  thought  and  felt  on  nothing  but  slavery.  These 
circumstances  exist  no  longer.  And  shall  we  not  instantly  revive  the 
old  creeds,  renew  the  old  ties,  and,  by  a  manly  and  honorable  concert, 
resolve  to  spare  America  that  last  calamity,  the  formation  of  parties 
according  to  geographical  lines?"  Mr.  Choate,  in  1853,  succeeded 
Gov.  Clifford  as  the  attorney-general  of  this  commonwealth. 


GEORGE   TICKNOR   CURTIS. 

JULY  4,  1841.    FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"  Our  fathers  conducted  the  Revolution  against  the  king's  govern- 
ment, and  not  against  the  institutions  of  the  country,"  remarks  our 
orator,  in  this  performance.  "They  tore  up  no  ancient  landmarks," 
continues  he,  "  except  those  which  denoted  the  state  of  colonial  bond- 
age. They  proceeded  with  the  machinery  of  society  as  they  found 
it.  The  provincial  and  continental  authorities  displaced  those  of  the 
crown,  and  went  on  to  arm  the  country  for  civil  war,  without  loosening 
the  bonds  which  held  society  together.  Without  resorting  to  the  fiction 
under  which  Charles  I.  made  war  upon  the  king  in  the  king's  name, 
they  took  up  arms  for  an  independent  government  of  their  own,  and 
not  to  eradicate  the  spirit  or  institutions  of  that  civilization  Avhich  they 
had  derived  from  home.  AVhen,  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
they  set  forth  the  whole  substance  of  the  controversy,  and  the  objects 
at  which  they  aimed,  moving  on  some  of  the  most  solid  principles  of 
the  British  constitution,  as  well  as  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  they 
clearly  demonstrated  that  their  design  was  to  '  institute  new  govern- 
ment,' but  not  to  go  beyond  what  the  abolition  of  the  old  forms 
required.  ' 

"  It  will  be  asked,  What  is  the  import  of  this  to  the  present  time? 
Not  to  give  it  any  practical  bearing  upon  any  modern  subject,  I  cannot 
but  think  that  this  forbearance  —  whether  it  was  the  purpose  of  a  Avise 
forecast,  or  the  happy  tendency  of  the  national  temper,  or  the  result  of 
circumstances  —  was  most  fortunate  for  the  country.  I  cannot  but 
think  that  we  owe  to  it,  as  much  as  to  the  lucky  accidents  of  our  posi- 
tion, and  our  vast  physical  resources,  what  the  country  has  become. 
Certain  and  manifest  it  is,  that  we  owe  to  it  the  fact,  that  when  the 


596  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

country  was  freed  bj  the  final  accomplishment  of  revolution,  society 
did  not  have  to  be  reconstructed  from  its  foundation ;  that  only  a  form 
of  government  had  to  be  framed,  and  that  immediately ;  and,  as  if  from 
a  goal  on  the  race-course,  the  young  giant  started  on  his  career.  Let 
us  suppose, —  not  that  our  fathers,  from  the  imperious  necessity  of  their 
position,  or  from  a  depraved  appetite  for  destruction  and  overthrow,  had 
uprooted  the  whole  foundations  of  the  social  state, — but  that,  with  an 
aim  to  be  thorough  in  their  work,  stimulated  by  some  degree  of  pohtical 
hatred,  they  had  banished  all  they  could  of  British  origin,  save  their 
language  and  their  blood.  To  narrow  the  hypothesis  to  a  single  illustra- 
tion, let  us  imagine  that,  when  the  last  band  of  British  soldiery  left  the 
shore,  the  American  people  had  cast  after  them,  into  the  sea,  the  whole 
body  of  the  law  of  England  ;  and  had  then  turned  to  construct  for  them- 
selves, out  of  nothing,  a  jurisprudence  upon  which  to  found  the  social 
and  political  relations  of  the  country,  —  think  you  that  in  less  than 
three-quarters  of  a  century  this  country  could  have  reached  its  present 
height  'I  Think  you  that,  without  history  to  draw  from, —  without 
precedent  and  ancient  usage, —  without  an  unwritten  law  from  the 
expansive  principles  of  which  public  and  private  rights  could  derive 
definition  and  adjustment, —  you  would  have  seen  this  harmonious 
development  of  society  that  is  now  going  on  ?  Think  you  that  the 
public  and  international  relations  of  the  country  could  have  acquired 
that  dignity  which  now  belongs  to  them ;  and  that  the  new  republic,  of 
a  little  more  than  sixty  years'  standing  among  nations,  could  have 
spoken,  as  it  has  lately  spoken,  to  the  parent  State,  in  terms  of  an 
absolute  equality,  and  with  a  moral  power  which  may  supersede  the 
use  of  arms'?"  This  oration  is  entitled ^he  True  Uses  of  American 
Revolutionary  History. 

George  Ticknor,  the  son  of  Benjamin  Curtis,  was  born  at  Water- 
town,  Nov.  28,  1812;  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1832, 
when  he  gave  a  literary  disquisition  on  the  importance  of  independent 
criticism  on  the  growth  of  national  literature  ;  and  was  a  student  in  the 
Dane  Law  School.  He  completed  his  studies  for  the  profession  in  the 
office  of  Charles  P.  Curtis,  at  Boston,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk 
bar  in  August,  1836.  He  married,  Oct.  1 7, 1844,  Mary  Oliver,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Mr.  Justice  Story.  This  lady  died  April  28,  1848. 
He  married  a  second  time,  at  Patterson,  N.  J.,  Nov.  6,  1851,  Louise 
Adale  Mystrom.  He  is  a  counsellor-at-law ;  was  a  representative  for 
Boston  in  the  State  Legislature  from  1840  until  the  year  1844,  and 
has  been  a  member  of  the  school-committee  at  different  times. 


GEORGE   TICKNOE   CURTIS.  597 

Mr.  Curtis  has  prepared  more  works,  for  the  practical  use  of  the 
public,  as  author  and  editor,  than  any  one  of  his  generation  at  the 
Suffolk  bar ;  and  has  indicated,  by  his  intense  devotion  to  the  legal 
profession,  that  he  loves  the  pursuit.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Justice 
Story,  regarding  his  treatise  on  the  Rights  and  Duties  of  Merchant 
Seamen,  that  it  is  written  with  great  ability,  accuracy  and  learning,  and 
is  by  far  the  most  valuable  work  on  that  subject  now  in  existence.  The 
digest  of  the  decisions  of  the  courts  of  Common  Law  and  Admiralty, 
two  volumes  of  which  were  prepared  by  Mr.  Curtis,  is  a  monument  of 
patient  industry.  He  prepared,  also,  a  digest  of  cases  in  the  American 
'  and  English  Courts  of  Admiralty.  His  American  Conveyancer,  being 
divested  of  the  general  technicalities  of  the  law.  is  of  great  utility  to 
business  men.  His  treatise  on  the  Law  of  Patents  for  useful  inventions 
in  this  country,  and  the  remedies  for  infringement,  is  invaluable  to  the 
profession  and  the  proprietors  of  all  useful  inventions.  The  Equity 
Precedents,  supplementary  to  the  treatise  of  Justice  Story,  ever  aids 
the  law  student.  His  tract  on  the  true  issue  of  the  question  relating  to 
the  demolition  of  the  convent  at  Charlestown.  entitled  The  Rights  of 
Conscience  and  Property,  is  written  with  eloquence  and  power.  The 
most  interesting  production  of  Mr.  Curtis,  to  the  lovers  of  literature  in 
all  professions,  and  to  the  general  reader,  is  the  treatise  on  the  Law  of 
Copyright  in  Books,  Dramatic  and  Musical  Compositions,  Letters  and 
other  Manuscripts,  Engravings  and  Sculpture,  as  administered  in 
England  and  America,  with  some  notices  of  the  History  of  Literary 
Property.  We  know  not  how  more  suitably  to  revive  an  interest  in 
this  work,  than  to  cite  the  opinion  of  the  North  American  Review, 
and  to  advise  the  printing  of  a  new  edition,  as  it  is  unknown  to  our 
public' libraries:  "The  author  has  avoided  the  dry  and  merely  tech- 
nical manner  which  writers  on  subjects  relating  to  the  law  seem  to 
consider  a  matter  of  professional  etiquette  to  adopt.  Apart  from  the 
interest  which  every  man  of  letters  may  be  suj^posed  to  feel  in  a  dis- 
cussion of  copyright,  he  will  find  in  Mr.  Curtis'  work  ample  scope  for 
literary  taste.  Many  curious  and  valuable  details  of  literary  history 
are  introduced,  and  the  notes  are  enriched  with  copious  illustrations, 
drawn  from  biographies,  criticisms  and  judicial  decisions,  embodied  in 
the  most  agreeable  manner,  collected  nowhere  else." 

In  the  winter  of  1849  Mr.  Curtis  commenced  the  delivery  of  a 
course  of  twelve  lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  which  were  closed  Fob.  7,  1850.     The  last  of  the  lee- 


598  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

tures,  the  subject  of  wliicli  was  on  the  strength  of  the  constitution,  was 
pubhshed.  They  evince  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  philosophy  of 
governmentj  a  patriotic  spirit,  and  great  research. 


HORACE   MANN. 

JULY  4,  1842.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Horace  Mann  was  born  at  Franklin,  in  Massachusetts,  May  4, 
1796.  He  was  mostly  self-educated,  being  of  limited  funds.  He 
entered  Brown  University  in  advance  of  the  customary  period,  where 
he  graduated  in  1819,  and  gave  the  valedictory  address,  on  the  improve- 
ment of  the  human  species  in  dignity  and  happiness,  and  became  a  tutor 
from  1820  to  1822.  "A  teacher  with  whom  I  partly  fitted  for  col- 
lege, Master  Samuel  Barrett,  an  itinerant  schoolmaster  and  a  profound 
linguist."  says  Mr.  Mann,  "in  hearing  the  -^neid,  the  select  orations 
of  Cicero  and  the  four  evangelists,  in  Greek,  never  took  either  grammar 
or  text-book  into  his  hand;  and  he  would  have  considered  it  an  indig- 
nity, if  a  pupil  had  offered  him  one,  by  which  to  set  the  next  lesson. 
I  know  that  this  ability  of- his  inspired  one  of  his  pupils,  at  least,  with 
sentiments  of  respect  towards  him,  with  conceptions  of  excellence,  and 
with  an  ardor  for  attainment,  such  as  all  the  places  and  prizes  ever 
bestowed,  and  a  life  of  floggings  into  the  bargain,  would  never  have 
imparted.  I  well  remember  that,  when  I  encountered  a  diflSculty, 
either  in  translation  or  syntax,  and  was  ready  to  despair  of  success  in 
overcoming  it,  the  mere  thought,  how  easy  that  would  be  to  my  teacher, 
seemed  not  only  to  invigorate  my  eifort,  but  to  give  me  an  enlargement , 
of  power,  so  that  I  could  return  to  the  charge,  and  triumph." 

Mr.  Mann  prepared  for  the  legal  profession  at  the  Law  School  in 
Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  read  law  in  the  offices  of  James  Richardson  and 
Josiah  J.  Fiske,  counsellors-at-law,  in  Dedham.  In  1828  Mr.  INIann 
was  elected  a  representative  of  Dedham,  which  station  he  honorably 
filled  for  several  years  ;  was  at  the  same  period  a  counsellor  at  the  bar. 
It  was  at  about  this  period  that  the  Hon.  Edward  Dowse,  of  Dedham, 
remarked  of  Horace  Mann,  that  if  his  talents  were  equal  to  his  ambi- 
tion, he  would  become  a  member  of  Congress.  In  1836  he  became  a 
resident  of  Boston,  where  he  was  elected  for  Suflfolk  to  the  State  Sen- 


HORACE  MANN.  599 

ate,  of  whicli  he  Avas  chosen  president  in  that  year,  and  until  1839. 
He  was  the  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  from 
its  establishment,  June  29,  1837,  until  1848;  and  -was  successor  to 
John  Quincy  Adams,  as  member  of  Congress  for  Norfolk,  from  that 
period.  He  displayed  the  same  persevering  energy  in  political  life  that 
rendered  him  so  eminent  in  education  reform,  and  was  elected  for  Nor- 
folk to  the  next  term. 

Horace  Mann  has  been  one  of  the  most  vigorous  originators  of 
philanthropic  enterprises  in  New  England.  When  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, he»was  the  principal  advocate  and  projector  of  the  State  Luna- 
tic Hospital,  at  Worcester,  in  the  year  1831,  and  wrote  all  its  earlier 
reports.  He  was  an  energetic  workman  in  the  temperance  reformation, 
and  was  president  of  the  Suffolk  County  Temperance  Society ;  and,  in 
1834,  published  remarks  on  the  comparative  profits  of  grocers  and 
retailers,  as  derived  from  temperate  and  intemperate  customers.  Mr. 
Mann  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  State  Legislature  who  made 
a  speech  in  favor  of  the  railroad  enterprise.  He  was  active  in  effecting 
the  law  abolishing  the  sale  of  lottery-tickets.  One  of  our  periodicals 
said  of  him  :  "  There  is  not  a  town  or  a  school-district  in  Massachu- 
setts in  which  his  influence  has  not  been  felt ;  there  is  not  one  which 
has  not  largely  profited  by  the  spirit  which  he  has  excited,  and  by  the 
improvements  which  he  has  introduced.  Many  new  school-houses  have 
been  erected,  and  old  ones  much  improved  ;  appropriations  of  money  to 
the  purposes  of  education  have  greatly  increased ;  seminaries  for  teach- 
ers have  been  established."  Indeed,  Mr.  Mann  originated  the  Normal 
Schools,  patronized  by  the  Legislature,  in  1838.  Improved  systems  of 
instruction  and  discipline  have  been  introduced  ;  the  number  of  scholars 
is  multiplied,  and  they  are  far  more  regular  in  their  attendance  at 
school ;  —  and,  finally,  an  interest  -in  the  subject  has  been  aroused, 
which  promises  still  more  briUiant  results.  All  this  has  been  effected 
with  the  assistance  of  a  few  individuals,  and  especially  by  the  liberality 
of  the  late  Hon.  Edmund  Dwight,  of  Boston,  who  supphed  large 
funds  for  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Mann  traversed  towns,  cities  and  vil- 
lages, lecturing  with  his  best  energies, —  urged  the  special  regard  of 
the  Legislature, —  wrote  letters,  essays,  circulars  and  reports,  infusing 
his  own  enthusiasm  into  every  active  mind  within  his  grasp.  More- 
over, he  visited,  in  1842,  the  principal  cities  in  Great  Britain,  Ger- 
many, Holland,  Belgium,  returning  by  the  way  of  France,  urging 
forward  the  moral  reform.     Gov.  Everett,  in  remarking  on  the  benefit 


600  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

of  education  in  its  broadest  sense,  at  a  public  festival  -where  Horace 
Mann  was  present,  on  turning  towards  him.  said,  "I  need  not  enlarge 
upon  its  importance ;  but  there  sits  the  person  —  the  very  apostle  of 
this  uninspired  gospel,  Horace  Mann  —  who  has  told  you,  over  and 
over  again,  that  education  is  the  great  interest  of  every  class  in  this 
community."  The  Edinburgh  Review  says  of  Mann's  twelfth  report, 
"  This  volume  is,  indeed,  a  noble  monument  of  a  civihzed  people  ;  and, 
if  America  were  sunk  beneath  the  waves,  would  remain  the  fairest  pic- 
ture on  record  of  an  ideal  commonwealth." 

We  regard  the  four  years'  administration  of  Gov.  Everett  as  the 
noblest  era  in  the  annals  of  the  old  Bay  State  since  the  times  of  Gov. 
Hancock,  it  having  been  the  period  of  founding  an  organization  of  pop- 
ular school  education,  and  the  completion  of  the  great  Western  Rail- 
road. Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the  State  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, which  owes  its  origin  to  his  indomitable  decision,  he  advanced  the 
forthcoming  sentiment,  in  a  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall,  after  remarking, 
"Talk  of  public  buildings,  sir!  Let  the  plain  brick  school-house  go 
down, —  and,  though  we  pile  our  hill-tops  with  structures  that  surpass 
the  time-defying  solidity  of  Egyptian  Thebes,  or  the  immortal  grace- 
fulness of  Corinth  or  Athens,  they  will  but  stand  the  gorgeous  monu- 
ments of  our  shame  ! "  "  Education  !  — When  we  feed  that  lamp,  we 
perform  the  highest  social  duty  ;  if  we  quench  it,  I  know  not  where 
—  (humanly  speaking,  for  time  or  for  eternity), — 

•  I  know  not  where  is  that  Promethean  heat. 
That  can  its  light  relume.'  " 

It  may  truly  be  said  of  Horace  ]\Iann,  that  he  was  a  principal 
founder  of  the  new  system  of  public  school  education  in  Massachusetts, 
which  is  the  glory  of  New  England.  Our  State,  instead  of  sending  to 
ancient  fatherland  for  counsel  and  plans  of  operation,  has  become  the 
guiding  star  of  all  Europe,  and  foreign  kingdoms  are  rapidly  adopting 
the  school  system  of  the  old  Bay  State.  The  demand  for  Mr.  Mann's 
State  productions  was  so  rapid,  that  they  are  all  taken  up.  The  twelve 
first  annual  reports  on  education,  written  by  our  apostle,  will  ever  be 
in  demand,  and  should  be  published  in  a  permanent  form  at  the  expense 
of  the  State,  and  given  to  every  member  of  a  school-committee  and  every 
school-teacher.  He  has  published  Lectures  on  Education,  in  one  vol- 
ume. He  was  editor  of  the  Common  School  Journal,  from  its  estab- 
lishment in  1838,  and  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  State.     He  was 


HORACE   MANN.  601 

one  of  the  original  committee  that  reported  in  favor  of  codifying  the 
statute  law,  and  was  on  the  committee  of  revision,  the  last-named  of 
which  was  in  connection  with  Judge  Metcalf 

In  remarking  on  the  public  indifference  towards  education,  Mr.  Mann 
said,  in  a  public  lectui-e :  "In  our  own  times,  in  such  low  estimation  is 
this  highest  of  all  causes  held,  that  in  these  days  of  conventions  for  all 
other  objects  of  public  interest, —  when  men  go  hundreds  of  miles  to 
attend  railroad  conventions,  and  cotton  conventions,  and  tobacco  con- 
ventions, and  when  the  delegates  of  political  conventions  are  sometimes 
counted  as  Xerxes  counted  his  army,  by  acres  and  square  miles, —  yet 
such  has  often  been  the  depressive  effect  upon  the  public  of  announcing 
a  common-school  convention  and  a  lecture  on  education,  that  I  have 
guessed,  in  my  own  mind,  whether,  in  regard  to  two  or  three  counties. 
at  least,  in  our  own  State,  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  alter  the  law  for 
quelling  riots  and  mobs  ;  and,  instead  of  summoning  sheriffs,  and  armed 
magistrates,  and  the  j^osse  co9nitatiis,  for  their  dispersion,  to  put  them 
to  flight  by  making  proclamation  of  a  discourse  on  common  schools." 

Horace  Mann,  in  exhibiting  the  vast  disparity  between  the  remuner- 
ation extended  to  our  school-teachers  and  those  who  minister  to  our 
amusements  and  vitiate  our  morals,  thus  eloquently  pleads  :  "  Strolling 
minstrels,  catching  the  eye  with  grotesque  dresses  and  shouting  unin- 
telligible words,  are  feasted,  feted,  and  garlanded ;  and,  when  a  Euro- 
pean dancer,  nurtured  at  the  foul  breast  of  theatrical  corruption,  visits 
our  land,  the  days  of  idolatry  seem  to  have  returned, —  wealth  flows, 
the  incense  of  praise  rises,  enthusiasm  rages  like  the  mad  Bacchantes. 
It  is  said  that  Celeste  received  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  this  country,  in 
one  year,  for  the  combined  exhibition  of  skill  and  person ;  and  that 
devotee  to  Venus,  Fanny  Ellsler,  in  1841,  was  paid  the  enormous  sum 
of  sixty  thousand  dollars  in  three  months,  for  the  same  meritorious 
consideration,  or  value  received.  In  both  these  cases,  a  fair  proportion 
was  contributed  in  the  metropolis  of  our  own  State.  At  the  rate  of 
compensation  at  which  a  majority  of  the  female  teachers  in  Massachu- 
setts have  been  rewarded  for  their  exhausting  toils,  it  would  require 
more  than  twenty  years'  continued  labor  to  equal  the  receipts  of  Fanny 
Ellsler  for  a  single  night !  Thus,  in  our  most  populous  places,  and 
amongst  people  who  profess  to  lead  society,  stands  the  relative  suprem- 
acy of  sense  and  soul,  of  heels  and  head.  And  I  blush  while  I  reflect 
that,  amongst  all  the  daughters  of  New  England  who  witnessed  the  unre- 
served displays  of  these  Cyprian  women,  there  was  not  one  to  be  found 
51 


602  '  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

in  M-liose  veins  flowed  the  chaste  blood  of  the  Puritan  mothers,  prompt- 
ing her  to  approach  these  female  sa?is  culottes  backwards,  and  perform 
for  them  the  same  friendly  service  which,  on  a  like  necessity,  the  sons 
of  Noah  performed  for  him.  And,  although  I  would  not  silence  one 
note  in  the  burst  of  admiration  with  which  our  young  men,  who  assume 
to  be  the  leaders  of  fashion,  respond  to  the  charms  of  female  beauty, 
agility  or  grace,  yet  I  do  desire  that,  in  paying  their  homage,  they 
should  distinguish  between  the  Venus  Celestial  and  the  Venus  Infer- 
nal!  " 

The  controversy  of  Horace  Mann,  running  along  three  hundred 
pages,  in  the  contest  for  reform,  Avith  thirty-one  Boston  school-teach- 
ers, adds  to  the  lustre  of  his  escutcheon ;  and  the  city  teachers  might 
as  well  have  attempted,  with  their  own  right  hands,  to  stem  the  force 
of  Niagara's  dashing  waters,  or  to  dam  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  to 
restrain  the  progress  of  the  reform  in  school  education.  His  sharp 
severity  towards  the  teachers  exceeded  the  tingling  sting  inflicted  by 
them  on  culpable  pupils,  which  mode  he  warmly  deprecates.  It  was 
said  by  the  thirty-one,  remarks  Mr.  Mann,  that  the  Hon.  Jonathan 
Chapman,  '"justly  celebrated  for  his  almost  intuitive  perceptions  of  the 
public  welfare,"  after  two  years'  ofiicial  observation,  commended  the 
schools,  in  his  inaugural  address,  in  1842.  Yes ;  and,  in  the  month 
following,  the  same  gentleman, —  and,  as  I  suppose,  with  the  same 
"intuitive  perceptions," — being  then  and  there  chairman  of  the 
school-committee,  prepared  the  report,  which  was  accepted, —  a  report 
which  bemoans  the  teachers'  scanty  resources  of  general  knowledge,  by 
whose  feeble  rills  the  parched  souls  of  the  children  were  so  seldom 
refreshed  ;  —  a  report  by  which  it  appears  that  grammar  was  taught  as 
though  it  had  no  relation  to  language,  and  geography  as  though  it  had 
little  to  do  with  earth.  Not  having,  as  it  was  affirmed,  seen  their 
schools,  my  prurient  imagination  contented  itself  with  the  simile  of 
"  hybernating  animals." 

Our  American  Junius,  in  the  tenacity  of  his  zeal,  pours  out  strains 
of  caustic  effective  reproof,  unequalled  by  any  living  man  in  the  midst 
of  us,  excepting  only  the  vigorous  "Sigma,"  of  the  Boston  Tran- 
script, whose  pointed  shafts,  Hke  the  arrows  of  Hercules,  never  fail 
of  effect.  In  a  tirade  of  biting  sarcasm,  levelled  at  one  victim  in 
especial  of  his  wrath,  he  says  :  "  Did  I  believe  that  in\isible  spirits 
were  appointed  to  watch  over  children  and  to  rescue  them  from  harm, 
and  were  the  edifice  to  be  burned  down," — it  was  destroyed  by  fire, 


HORACE   MANN.  603 

June  25,  1844,  but  four  months  previous  to  the  elate  of  the  "  Reply," 
—  "  where  such  a  teacher  goes  daily  to  lash  and  dogmatize,  I  should 
think  that  some  beneficent  angel  had  applied  the  torch,  to  scatter  the 
pupils  beyond  the  reach  of  his  demoralizing  government.  As  to 
that  man,  until  his  nature  changes,  or  my  nature  changes,  Ave  must 
continue  to  dwell  on  opposite  sides  of  the  moral  universe."  An 
eclipse  of  the  moon  occurring  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  the  Boston 
Post  perpetrated  the  following  witticism,  under  date  Nov.  27  :  "  We 
wonder  if  the  eclipse  of  the  moon,  on  Sunday  night,  appeared  the 
same  to  Horace  Mann  and  Barnum  Field,  they  being  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  moral  universe  at  the  same  time."  Doubtless,  this  severe  allu- 
sion to  the  truly  estimable  Mr.  Field,  who  has  recently  exchanged  worlds, 
where  no  burning  anger  ever  scathes  the  soul,  written  in  a  moment  of 
impulsive  fire,  has  often  been  a  source  of  regret  to  Mr.  Mann,  which 
he  would  gladly,  if  possible,  efface. 

Horace  Mann  is  famous  for  firm  and  devoted  perseverance.  Here  is 
the  secret  of  his  success.  In  his  person  he  is  tall,  very  erect,  and 
remarkably  slender,  with  silvery  gray  hair,  animated  and  expressive 
features,  light  complexion,  and  rapid  pace.  As  an  orator,  his  smooth, 
flowing  style,  musical  voice  and  graceful  manner,  with  fertility,  ampli- 
tude and  energy  of  diction,  often  adorned  with  a  graceful,  rushing  elo- 
quence, that  can  be  measured  only  by  the  celerity  of  his  movements  in 
the  street,  irresistibly  captivate  the  breathless  audience ;  especially  when, 
profoundly  absorbed  in  the  midst  of  his  favorite  theme,  he  advances 
arguments  illustrated  by  splendid  imagery  that  cannot  be  withstood. 
His  figures,  though  strongly  efiective,  are  not  uniformly  elegant.  His 
social  powers  render  him  a  great  centre  of  attraction,  and  his  society  is 
sought  wherever  he  may  be  found.  Horace  Mann,  like  most  reform- 
ers, partakes  of  excessive  zeal ;  and,  in  his  jealousy  for  the  one  absorb- 
ing idea  of  education,  descends  to  a  controversy  with  a  clergyman, 
extending  through  several  pamphlets,  abounding  on  both  sides  with 
severe  philippic.  A  bust  of  Mann,  by  Carew,  is  the  image  of  the  man. 
Let  our  Mercantile  Library  and  Mechanic's  Hall  have  a  niche  for  it, 
that  his  energy  of  character  may  be  emulated. 

Mr.  Mann  married  Charlotte,  a  daughter  of  President  Messer,  who 
died ;  and  he  married  a  second  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of  Dr.  Nathaniel 
T.  Peabody,  formerly  of  Salem.  The  oration  at  the  head  of  this  arti- 
cle, delivered  on  our  national  birthday,  establishing  the  fact  that  edu- 
cation is  the  invulnerable  shield  of  this  republic,  was  widely  circulated 


604  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

among  the  education  tracts  published  to  promote  reform.  An  eminent 
political  writer  once  remarked  of  our  republican  institutions,  that  they 
were  "like  white-birch  stakes,  whose  nature  is  to  fail  in  two  years," 
and  that  •'  a  republic  wears  out  its  morals  almost  as  soon  as  the  sap  of 
a  white-birch  rots  out  the  wood."  In  a  vein  of  sarcastic  humor,  Mr. 
Mann,  in  this  oration,  thus  repels  the  aspersion :  "If  this  had  been  the 
fact,  they  should  forthwith  have  saturated  them  with  such  a  prep- 
aration of  virtue  and  knowledge,  as  would  Kyanize,  or  render  inde- 
structible, even  the  porous  structure  of  birch  itself,  and  thus  keep  the 
dry  rot  forever  from  its  spongiest  fibres." 

When  Horace  Mann  was  elected  from  the  eighth  district  to  Con- 
gress, as  the  immediate  successor  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  he  remarks, 
in  reply  to  his  constituents,  under  date  of  March  21,  1848:  "Fully 
do  I  agree  with  you,  and  the  delegates  of  the  convention  you  represent, 
in  saying  that  the  successor  of  INIr.  Adams  should  be  one  '  whose  voice 
and  vote  shall,  on  all  occasions,  be  exercised  in  extending  and  securing 
liberty  to  the  human  race.'  Of  course,  I  do  not  understand  you  to 
imply  any  violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  which 
every  representative  swears  to  support.  Permit  me  to  say  a  word  per- 
sonal to  myself  For  eleven  years  I  have  been  estranged  from  all 
political  excitements.  During  this  whole  period,  I  have  attended  no 
political  meeting  of  any  kind  whatever.  I  have  contented  myself  with 
the  right  of  private  judgment,  and  the  right  of  voting ;  though  it  has 
usually  so  happened  that  my  official  duties  have  demanded  my  absence 
from  home  at  the  time  of  the  fall  elections,  I  have  deemed  this  absti- 
nence from  actively  mingling  in  political  contests  both  a  matter  of  duty 
towards  opposing  political  parties,  and  a  proper  means  of  subserving  the 
best  interests  of  the  cause  in  which  I  had  embarked.  I  hoped,  too,  by 
so  doing,  to  assist  in  rearing  men  even  better  than  those  now  belonging 
to  any  party.  The  nature  of  my  duties,  also,  and  all  my  intercourse 
and  associations,  have  attracted  me  towards  whatever  is  worthy  and 
beneficent  in  all  parties,  rather  than  towards  what  is  peculiar  to  any 
one.  Not  believing  in  political  pledges,  I  should  have  had  the  honor 
to  decline  giving  any  to  you,  had  you  not  had  the  first  and  greater 
honor  of  asking  none  from  me.  After  what  I  have  said  above  in  favor 
of  liberty  for  all  mankind,  it  would  be  a  strange  contradiction,  did  I 
consent  to  be  myself  a  slave  of  party.  The  hands  which  you  raised  in 
behalf  of  yourselves  and  your  constituents,  when  you  voted  for  the  noble 
sentiments  contained  in  the  resolution  I  have  quoted,  could  never  degrade 


HORACE   MANN.  605 

themselves  by  forging  a  fetter  for  the  free  mind  of  another,  or  fastening 
one  upon  it ;  and  the  hand  with  which  I  have  penned  my  hearty  response 
to  those  sentiments  can  never  stretch  itself  out  to  take  a  fetter  on." 

In  the  Drayton  trial,  which  occurred  at  Washington,  December, 
1848,  Horace  Mann  made  the  point  that  the  servitude  of  the  negroes 
ought  to  be  proved  by  something  else  than  the  claim  of  the  master; 
and  likened  it  to  the  case  of  an  indictment  for  stealing  foxes,  which, 
wild  by  nature,  must  be  shown  to  have  been  caught  and  subjected. 
While  he  was  enforcing  this  illustration,  the  District  Attorney  wrote 
the  following  squib,  and  handed  it  over  to  the  opposite  counsel : 

"  To  illustrate  the  point  he  's  making  : 
In  larceny,  there  must  be  a  taking. 
A  fox,  he  says,  cannot  be  stolen. 
Be  he  young,  or  be  he  an  old  'un  ; 
Pursuing  hounds  say  he  's  mistaken. 
At  least  so  far  as  to  the  taking." 

It  was  not  long  before  the  following  bitter  retort,  by  Mr.  Mann, 
■was  written  on  the  back  of  the  same  paper,  which  was  left  on  the  table 
for  the  serious  consideration  of  the  District  Attorney.  The  allusion  to 
"  ten  dollai"S  a  bill "  regards  the  fee  which  the  Attorney  General.  Key, 
received  on  each  of  the  three  hundred  and  forty-five  indictments  which 
he  caused  to  be  filed  against  the  prisoners  of  the  Pearl : 

"  Fox-hunting  abroad,  and  slave-hunting  in  doors, 
I  beg  leave  to  suggest  do  not  run  on  all-fours  ; 
Foxes  do  not  eat  foxes,  —  brute  natures  have  bounds ; 
But  Mr.  DioLrict  Attorney,  outhounding  the  hounds, 
Hunts  men,  •women  and  children,  his  pockets  to  fill. 
On  three  hundred  indictments,  at  ten  dollars  a  bill." 

The  political  career  of  Horace  Mann,  in  some  respects,  was  extraor- 
dinary as  in  that  of  the  education  reform,  but  was  not  followed  by  like 
healthy  results.  On  any  exciting  topic,  his  temperament  is  so  impuls- 
ive and  uncontrollable,  that  though,  in  contending  with  an  opponent,  the 
wrath  of  Achilles  pervade  his  spirit,  he  effects  at  times  a  reaction.  It  has 
been  remarked  of  him,  that  no  public  speaker  among  us  commands  more 
forcible  and  logical  style  of  argument  than  Horace  Mann,  when  divested 
of  impassioned  personahties ;  but  that,  like  one  of  Tasso's  heroes,  who 
levelled  whole  forests  with  one  stroke  of  the  sabre,  he  should  possess 
the  "Human  Prudence"  of  Herman  Mann,  his  namesake,  would  he 
51* 


606  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

be  successful  on  tlie  floor  of  Congress.  When  in  conflict  with  Daniel 
Webster,  he  pursued  a  course  of  unmitigated  severity,  as  sharp  as  in 
the  difierences  with  the  thirty-one  teachers  of  Boston,  which  elicited  a 
severe  rebuke  from  his  Herculean  antagonist. 

We  will  here  quote  the  remarks  of  Webster,  Cass,  Moses  Stuart, 
and  the  North  American  Review,  in  relation  to  Horace  Mann. 
"  Speaking  of  what  I  thought  the  impossibility  of  the  existence  of 
African  slavery  in  New  Mexico,"  says  Mr.  Webster,  "I  would  not 
take  pains  to  uselessly  reafiirm  an  ordinance  of  nature,  or  to  reenact 
the  will  of  God.  Everybody  knew  that  by  the  will  of  God  I  meant 
that  expression  of  the  Divine  purpose  in  the  work  of  creation  which 
had  given  such  a  physical  formation  to  the  earth  in  this  region  as 
necessarily  to  exclude  African  slavery  from  it  forever.  Everybody 
knew  I  meant  this,  and  nothing  else.  To  represent  me  as  speaking 
in  any  other  sense  was  gross  injustice.  Yet  a  pamphlet  has  been 
put  into  circulation,  in  which  it  is  said  that  my  remark  is  '  under- 
taking to  settle  by  mountains  and  rivers,  and  not  by  the  ten  comruand- 
ments,  the  question  of  human  duty.'  '  Cease  to  transcribe,'  it  adds, 
'  upon  the  statute-book,  what  our  wisest  and  best  men  believed  to  be 
the  will  of  God,  in  regard  to  our  worldly  afiairs,  and  the  passions  which 
we  think  appropriate  to  devils  will  soon  take  possession  of  society.' 
One  hardTy  knows  which  most  to  condemn,  the  nonsense  or  the  dis- 
honesty of  such  commentaries  of  another's  words.  I  know  no  passion 
more  appropriate  to  devils  than  the  passion  for  gross  misrepresentation 
and  libel.  And  others,  from  whom  more  fairness  might  have  been 
expected,  have  not  failed  to  represent  me  as  arguing,  or  affording 
ground  of  argument,  against  human  laws  to  enforce  the  moral  law  of 
the  Deity.  Such  persons  knew  my  meaning  very  well.  They  chose  to 
pervert  and  misrepresent  it.  That  is  all."  Lewis  Cass,  who  had  also 
taken  the  position  of  Mr.  Webster, —  that  the  physical  circumstances 
of  New  Mexico  will  prevent  the  introduction  of  slavery  in  that  country, 
—  thus  alludes  to  Horace  Mann,  in  a  speech,  wherein  he  remarks  that 
Mr.  Mann  says  he  speaks  respectfully  of  those  from  whom  he  dissents, 
"  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  attributes  the  motives  of  those  who  differ 
from  him  to  what  he  says  is  '  technically  a  bid,'  committing  the  too  com- 
mon error  of  measuring  all  other  men  by  his  own  standard,  after  making 
that  standard  a  mercenary  one.  It  is  evident  he  cannot  conceive  how 
a  public  man  can  act  without  '  a  bid.'  And,  with  a  modesty  and 
charity  worthy  of  the  school  of  dialectics  of  which  I  understand  he  is 


HORACE   MANN,  GOT 

a  distinguished  professor,  lie  assigns  to  me  the  preeminence  of  making 
a  greater  '  sacrifice  of  consistency,  honor  and  truth,'  than  any  other 
pubhc  man,  because  I  was  the  accepted  candidate  of  the  Democracy 
for  the  office  of  president.  It  has  been  my  fortune  to  receive  some 
comphmentary  notices,  during  my  Hfc  ;  but  rarely  have  I  received  a 
more  acceptable  one  than  the  honor  of  such  a  censure  from  such  a 
Mann.  But  he  is  not  partial  in  his  favors.  He  speaks  of  the  '  wag- 
gery '  of  the  distinguished  senator  from  Kentucky,  and  of  his  '  practical 
joke,'  in  the  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  the  agitation  of  his  country,  and  of 
'  the  roar  of  laughter  '  which,  '  like  Vkfeii  dejoie,  would  run  down  the 
course  of  ages,'  were  it  not  for  its  horrible  consequences.  Shade  of 
Quintilian !  what  a  figure  for  a  disciple  who  invokes  thy  name,  and 
appeals  to  thy  authority !  "  Moses  Stuart  says  of  him,  in  "  Con- 
science and  the  Constitution,"  that  he  can  never  speak  of  him  but 
with  respect.  "The  glowing  ardor  and  eloquence  of  his  composi- 
tions, the  intense  love  of  liberty  with  which  he  is  inspired,  the  humanity 
by  which  he  is  actuated,  the  fine,  scholar-like  accomplishments  which 
he  exhibits,  all  command  my  respect  and  admiration.  Whether  his 
judgment  and  prudence  are  equal  to  his  ardor  and  his  energy,  is  an- 
other question,  which  is  not  before  my  tribunal.  He  professes  the 
strongest  regard  and  the  highest  respect  for  Mr.  Webster,  and  avows, 
solemnly,  his  intention  to  treat  him  in  a  manner  that  corresponds  with 
this  avowal.  But  his  impetuosity  led  him  astray,  after  all.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  such  a  gentleman  as  I  take  Mr.  Mann  to  be  designed 
to  compliment  himself,  when  he  speaks  of  his  words  being  cool  as  the 
iron  of  the  telegrajDh  wire,  while  his  mind  is  like  the  lightning  which 
darts  through  it.  I  am  ready  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  not  a  little 
of  the  electric  fire  in  Mr.  Mann ;  but  I  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that 
this  fire  can  sometimes  scorch  and  smite  down,  as  well  as  be  the  swift 
messenger  of  tidings.  If  Mr.  Mann  has  performed  something  of  the 
last  office  of  electricity,  he  has  given  us,  also,  a  pretty  fair  specimen 
of  the  first.  '  A  wanton  surrender  of  the  right  of  the  north,'  is 
not  to  be  said  of  Daniel  Webster.  Swords  would  leap,  if  it  were 
lawful  and  necessary,  from  hundreds  of  thousands  of  scabbards,  to 
defend  him  against  such  an  assault."  The  North  American  Review 
inquires,  "Does  Mr.  Mann  wish  to  be  understood  that  he  thinks  the 
slave-owner  is  quite  as  likely  to  remove  his  slaves  of  African  descent 
from  a  sunny  and  fertile  region,  producing  an  abundance  of  cotton, 
sugar  and  rice,  to  a  cold  and  mountainous  one,  yielding  little  but 


608  THE   HUNDKED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

maize  and  potatoes,  as  he  is  to  keep  them  -where  they  are  7  If  not, — 
if  he  admits  that  so  great  a  difference  will  probably  induce  most  plant- 
ers to  keep  their  slaves  at  home,  then,  and  to  the  full  extent  of  such 
admission,  he  himself  argues  from  physics  to  metaphysics,  and  '  deter- 
mines the  law  of  the  spirit  by  geographical  phenomena,'  and  '  under- 
takes to  settle,  by  mountains  and  rivers,  the  question  of  human  duty,' 
and  '  looks  at  the  thermometer  to  ascertain  whether  the  people  will 
obey  the  divine  command,'  and  does  half-a-dozen  other  antithetical  and 
strange  things ;  which  all,  however,  amount  to  the  same  thing,  namely, 
to  the  simple  proposition,  that  men  of  property  are  usually  also  men 
of  sense,  and  Avill  not  often  remove  their  property  from  a  place  where 
it  is  valuable  to  one  where  it  will  be  entirely  worthless."  The  North 
American,  however,  gives  Mr.  Mann  the  credit  of  urging  the  ablest 
argument  in  favor  of  doing  nothing  that  they  have  seen,  or  of  insisting 
that  the  extreme  northern  doctrine  shall  be  carried  out  upon  every 
point,  yielding  to  the  south  nothing,  and  of  course  giving  up  the  hope 
of  a  settlement. 

The  blood  of  sorrow  mantles  on  our  cheeks,  that  Horace  INIann,  the 
very  apostle  of  education,  whom  Andrew  Combe  has  compared  to  Rich- 
ard Cobden,  as  being  equally  at  home  with  the  facts  and  principles  of 
education,  and  as  fully  sincere  and  in  earnest,  should,  in  a  burst  of 
vituperation,  descend  to  such  impulsive  retort,  in  his  rejoinder  to  Gen. 
Cass,  as  his  epigrammatic  puns  here  evince.    . 

"  As  a  general  rule,  I  contemn  punning,"  says  Mr.  Mann.  "As  a 
malignant  attack  upon  any  gentleman,  for  the  accident  of  his  name,  it 
is  wholly  unpardonable.  It  is  but  barely  justifiable,  as  a  retort.  To 
warn  the  general  of  the  danger  he  encounters  by  indulging  his  love  of 
punning,  I  will  venture  to  subjoin  a  specimen  or  two  of  what  might  be 
easily  and  indefinitely  extended: 

"  1.  Philologicillt. 
Small  odds  'twixt  tweedledum  and  tweedledee, 
And  Cass  means  much  the  same  without  the  C. 

2.    NUMERICALLT. 

This  Ass  is  very  big  ;  then  call  him  CASS. 
C's  Roman  for  100,  —  a  hundred  times  an  Ass. 

3.  Chemicallt. 
The  prophet  boldly  saith,  '  All  flesh  is  grass,' 
But  thistle-eating  donkey's  flesh  is  Cass  ; 
Cass  is  carbonate,  whose  base  is  Ass. 


CnARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS.  609 

"  While  Gen.  Cass  held  territorial  oflfices,  he  became  renowned  for 
the  enormous  quantities  of  rations  he  consumed.  I  have  forgotten 
■whether  the  number  was  such  as  to  be  represented  by  the  Roman 
numeral  L  or  C,  the  initial  of  his  first  or  of  his  last  name.  If  the  latter, 
it  would  suggest  the  following  : 

"  4.  Gasteonomicallt. 
Greedier  than  he  that  starved  'twixt  stacks  of  hay,  — 

An  honest  ass,  — 
Our  Jack  devours  C  rations  every  day  : 

Hence  y'clept  CASS. 

"  I  might,"  continues  Mr.  Mann,  "  thus  carry  the  general  through 
all  the  arts  and  sciences ;  but,  if  he  is  now  disposed  to  say  '  quits,'  on 
the  score  of  punning,  I  am.  and  will  draw  no  more  upon  the  assbmie 
or  Cassinine  associations  which  his  name  sua;2:ests." 

"  Life  is  a  book  of  which  we  can  have  but  one  edition,"  says  Horace 
Mann;  "as  it  is  at  first  prepared,  it  must  stand  forever.  Let  each 
day's  actions,  as  they  add  another  page  to  the  indestructible  volume,  be 
such  that  we  shall  be  willing  to  have  an  assembled  world  to  read  it." 
Moreover,  may  we  be  watchful  that  the  last  chapter  in  the  book  shall 
be  signalized  by  such  a  reform  of  past  errors,  and  such  devotion  to  past 
virtues,  that  the  rising  generation  may  resist  the  former,  and  cling  to 
the  latter.     In  1853  he  became  president  of  Antioch  College. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 

JULY  i,  1843.     FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Our  orator,  after  enlarging  on  the  warlike  spirit  of  our  country,  and 
its  danger,  remarks  that  "  we  may  be  informed  that  the  great  remedy  is 
universal  education.  Only  provide  the  school,  and  you  will  obtain  the 
intelligent  voter,  conscious  of  the  blessings  he  enjoys,  and  always  ready 
to  act  in  a  manner  that  shall  best  preserve  them.  Now,  it  is  by  no  means 
my  disposition  to  undervalue  the  advantages  that  unquestionably  follow 
from  instruction  generally  diffused.  I  see  and  admit  that  it  must  form 
one, of  the  pillars  of  our  republican  system  of  government.     But  it  is 


610  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

only  one,  and  that  not  the  most  essential.  What  is  there,  I  -would  ask, 
in  the  mere  advancement  of  the  intellectual  powers  of  men,  which  will 
lead  to  effective  resistance  against  the  dazzling  qualities  of  a  successful 
warrior  7  Did  Napoleon  have  no  servile  flatterers  among  the  literary 
men  of  France  ?  Have  not  poets,  and  historians,  and  orators,  of  all 
ages,  united  in  extolling  military  success  above  every  other  kind  of 
success  'I  Do  the  annals  of  mankind  award  the  proper  degree  of  cen- 
sure to  the  crimes  of  great  conquerors,  from  Alexander  the  Great  down 
to  Cortez  and  Pizarro  7  Fellow-citizens  !  Our  fathers  manifested  their 
patriotism  by  devotioti  to  a  principle.  It  was  in  defence  of  that  prin- 
ciple that  they  took  up  arms.  They  manifested  no  aggressive  spirit, 
—  no  disposition  merely  to  acquire.  The  same  temper  will  be  main- 
tained among  us  only  by  developing  the  high  moral  attributes  of  our 
nature,  through  the  agency  of  a  mild  and  catholic  religious  faith.  This 
is  the  true  sheet-anchor  of  our  free  institutions,  and  this  can  never  be 
secured  by  mere  instruction  of  the  mind.  Our  people's  highest  duty, 
as  a  people,  is  self-restraint.  The  cry  has  gone  out  among  us.  Educate, 
educate, —  as  if  the  schoolmaster  were  the  sovereign  remedy  against 
the  ills  which  unregulated  passions  occasion.  But  I  would  ask  whether 
education  has  contributed  nothing  heretofore  to  the  nursing  of  immod- 
erate ambition 7  Has  it  never  furnished  fuel  for  unjustifiable  popular 
excitement 7  Does  it  supply  no  means  to  confuse  instead  of  clearing 
the  sense  of  right  and  wrong  7  Does  it  never  pander  to  power,  whether 
residing  in  the  many  or  in  one  man  7  Was  not  Julius  Cfesar  one  of 
the  most  educated  men  of  antiquity, — and  yet  how  did  this  promote  his 
patriotism  7  And,  almost  within  our  own  day,  do  we  not  know  that  the 
most  cultivated  minds  of  France  combined  in  an  attempt  to  overthrow  at 
once  its  religion  and  its  social  system  7  Yes  :  the  fertile  fields  of  that 
magnificent  country  were  drenched  with  the  blood  of  multitudes  of  its 
best  citizens,  because  the  arrogant  intellect  of  its  educated  men  chose 
to  institute  an  idol-worship  of  philosophy  for  faith  in  the  true  God, 
and  respect  for  the  moral  ties  which  bind  man  in  society  with  his 
fellow-man. 

Charles  Francis,  son  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  was  born  at  Boston, 
Aug.  18,  1807.  When  his  father  sailed  for  St.  Petersburg,  as  minis- 
ter to  Russia,  in  the  summer  of  1809,  the  infant  Charles  and  his 
mother  went  also  with  him,  and  he  is  the  only  surviving  son.  He 
entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1816,  and  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1825.     He  was  a  student  at  law  in  Washington  city,  and  is 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS.  611 

a  counsellor.  He  married  Abigail  Brown,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Peter 
C.  Brooks.  He  was  a  representative  to  the  Legislature  of  Massachu- 
setts in  1841-44,  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1845-6,  when  he 
was  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  on  the  library,  which  reported  that 
the  New  England  Historic  and  Genealogical  Society,  who  had  applied 
to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation,  have  leave  to  withdraw 
their  petition.  This  report  was  rejected,  and  an  act  was  granted,  and 
approved  by  the  governor,  an  early  member,  March  18,  1845.  While 
Charles  Francis  Adams  opposed  its  incorporation, —  being  of  opinion,  it 
is  said,  that  one  historical  society  for  this  State  was  sufficient, —  yet, 
his  honored  father,  who  was  elected  a  member  Feb.  20,1845,  remarked, 
in  his  letter  of  acknowledgment  to  this  institution,  "  I  accept  gratefully 
this  testimonial  of  esteem,  and  shall  be  happy  if  it  may  be  in  my  power 
to  contribute  in  any  manner  to  the  laudable  purposes  of  the  society." 
And  President  Fillmore  sent  a  very  cordial  letter  of  acceptance  in  the 
same  period,  giving  an  outline  of  his  family  ancestry.  Mr.  Adams  has 
since  proved  his  friendly  disposition  to  the  society,  by  a  donation  of  his 
grandfather's  writings.  The  objects  of  this  historical  society  cover  a 
ground  not  embraced  by  any  similar  institution  ;  and  so  popular  has  it 
become,  that,  during  a  period  of  five  years,  it  has  risen  to  five  hundred 
members.  Its  periodical,  the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealog- 
ical Register,  which  has  reached  its 'sixth  volume,  exceeding  twenty-five 
hundred  pages,  is  a  work  of  great  public  benefit,  on  topics  not  viewed 
in  any  other  work. 

The  political  history  of  Mr.  Adams  is  identified  with  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  Free  Soil  party.  He  was  the  president  of  the  Bufialo 
Convention,  Aug.  8,  1848.  Nearly  all  the  free  States,  with  several 
of  the  slave  States,  were  represented.  The  deliberations  of  the  con- 
vention, continued  for  three  days,  were  signally  harmonious  and  digni- 
fied, and  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  Martin  Van-Buren  for  presi- 
dent, and  Charles  Francis  Adams  for  vice-president.  The  resolutions 
of  this  convention,  usually  denominated  the  Buffalo  Platform,  exhibit 
an  outhne  of  the  principles  of  the  Free  Soil  party. 

Mr.  Charles  Sumner,  in  a  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall,  Aug.  22,  1848, 
when  he  was  moderator,  on  its  ratification  by  the  party,  remarked, 
that  the  convention  "not  only  propose  to  guard  the  territories  against 
slavery,  but  to  relieve  the  federal  government  from  all  responsibility 
therefor,  everywhere  within  the  sphere  of  its  constitutional  powers." 
"The  old  and  ill-compacted  party  organizations  are  broken,  and  from 


612  THE    UUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

their  ruins  is  now  formed  a  new  party  —  the  party  of  freedom. 
There  are  good  men  who  longed  for  this,  and  have  died  without  the  sight. 
John  Quincy  Adams  longed  for  it.  William  Ellery  Channing  longed 
for  it.  Their  spirits  hover  over  us,  and  urge  us  to  persevere."  In 
allusion  to  Charles  Francis  Adams,  as  the  candidate  for  the  vice-presi- 
dency, Charles  Sumner  further  said,  "  Standing,  as  I  now  do,  beneath 
the  images  of  his  father  and  grandfather,  it  will  be  sufficient  if  I  say 
that  he  is  the  heir,  not  only  to  their  name,  but  to  the  virtues,  the  abil- 
ities, and  the  indomitable  spirit,  that  rendered  that  name  so  illustrious." 
"We  found  now  a  new  party.  Its  corner-stone  is  freedom.  Its 
broad,  all-sustaining  arches  are,  truth,  justice  and  humanity.  Like 
the  ancient  Roman  capitol,  at  once  a  temple  and  a  citadel,  it  shall  be 
the  fit  shrine  of  the  genius  of  American  institutions." 

]\Ir.  Adams  was  an  editor  of  the  Boston  Daily  Whig,  afterwards 
merged  in  the  Republican,  a  Free  Soil  paper,  now  superseded  by  the 
Commonwealth.  He  was  the  author  of  Reflections  on  the  Currency 
of  the  United  States,  a  pamphlet  of  forty  pages,  published  in  1837. 
He  published  the  Memoir  and  Letters  of  Mrs.  Abigail  Adams,  and  the 
Letters  of  John  Adams,  with  Notes.  He  is  the  editor,  also,  of  the 
Life,  Diary  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  with  appropriate  notes,  to  com- 
prise nine  large  volumes,  which  is,  emphatically,  an  inestimable 
national  acquisition.  We  find  a  singular  discrepancy  in  a  note  of  jNIr. 
Adams,  the  editor,  in  allusion  to  a  remark  of  Dr.  Johnson  in  relation 
to  Thomas  Cushing,  Speaker  of  the  House,  in  the  period  of  the  Revo- 
lution, wherein  Mr.  Adams  states  that  "He  is  the  person,  concerning 
whose  position  Dr.  Johnson,  in  '  Taxation  no  Tyranny,'  made  his  sin- 
gular blunder.     '  One  object  of  the  Americans  is  said  to  be,  to  adorn 

the  brows  of  Mr.  C g  Avith  a  diadem.'  "     We  have  examined  the 

first  and  third  London  editions  of  Dr.  Johnson's  production,  published 
in  1775,  by  Cadell;  and  we  copy  the  paragraph  verbatim,  as  it  stands 
in  both  editions.  In  a  vein  of  sarcasm,  the  great  lexicographer  says : 
"  Since  the  Americans  have  discovered  that  they  can  make  a  parlia- 
ment, whence  comes  it  that  they  do  not  think  themselves  equally  em- 
powered to  make  a  liing  ?  If  they  are  subjects,  Avhose  government  is 
constituted  by  a  charter,'  they  can  form  no  body  of  independent  legis- 
lature. If  their  rights  are  inherent  and  underived,  they  may  by  their 
own  suffraoies  encircle  with  a  diadem  the  brows  of  Mr.  Cushing." 
Thus,  it  is  evident  that,  instead  of  Dr.  Johnson  asserting  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  people  to  make  Cushing  the  king  of  America,  he 


PELEG   WHITMAN   CHANDLER.  613 

merely  expressed  the  opinion  that,  if  their  rights  ■were  undcrivecl,  they 
might,  by  their  own  votes,  elevate  Gushing  to  an  American  throne. 


PELEG  WHITMAN   CHANDLER. 

JULY   4,   1844.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

In  the  very  superior  performance  of  Mr.  Chandler  appears  a  passage 
on  the  dangers  of  party  organizations,  abounding  in  conceptions  of 
political  wisdom.  "  I  do  not  deprecate  party  spirit  as  the  worst  of 
evils.  In  a  form  of  government  like  our  own,  it  is  necessary  that 
political  principles  should  be  earnestly  discussed,  and  the  claims  of 
candidates  thoroughly  canvassed, —  and  this  may  be  done  with  zeal, 
energy,  enthusiasm,  and  yet  the  kindest  feelings  preserved.  I  have 
no  sympathy  with  those  who  are  continually  lamenting  the  party  spirit 
of  our  day,  and  at  the  same  time  join  themselves  to  other  organizations, 
in  which  it  is  easier  to  obtain  power  and  influence.  There  are  always 
disappointed  men  who  constantly  complain  of  party  discipline,  without 
lifting  a  finger  to  improve  it.  Too  selfish  to  devote  their  time  to 
accomphsh  a  reform,  they  are  contented  with  sounding  a  perpetual 
alarm.  Too  feeble  to  lead,  and  too  proud  to  serve,  they  watch,  with 
an  impatient  eye,  the  movements  of  others,  but  are  always  ready  to 
accept  of  favors  from  either  side.  Nor  do  I  believe  that  party  spirit 
is  so  extensively  felt,  and  party  organizations  so  strict,  as  is  generally 
supposed.  On  this  point  Ave  are  liable  to  be  deceived  by  appearances. 
Active  politicians,  partisan  leaders,  are  comparatively  few,  although 
they  usually  make  the  noise  of  many.  To  hear  their  harangues  on 
the  eve  of  an  election,  one  would  suppose  that  the  fable  of  Chicken 
Little  was  about  to  become  a  truth,  and  that  the  sky  was  actually  fall- 
ing ;  and  so,  from  the  statements  in  party  newspapers,  we  often  seem 
to  be  on  the  eve  of  a  revolution ;  but  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  in 
reality,  take  very  little  interest  in  the  matter.  '  Because  half  a  dozen 
grasshoppers  under  a  fern,'  says  Burke,  'make  the  field  ring  with 
their  importunate  chink,  while  thousands  of  great  cattle,  reposed  beneath 
the  shade,  chew  the  cud,  and  are  silent,  do  not  imagine  that  those  who 
make  the  noise  are  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  fields ;  that  they  are, 
of  course,  many  in  number ;  or  that,  after  all,  they  arc  other  than  the 


G14  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

little,  slirivelled,  meagre,  hopping,  though  loud  and  troublesome,  insects 
of  the  hour.' 

"It  is  also  to  be  taken  into  the  account,  that  selfish  party  politicians 
operate  as  a  check  upon  each  other.  The  ins  are  exerting  all  their 
strength  to  keep  in,  and  the  outs  are  doing  all  they  can  to  get  in ; 
mean-while,  sober  and  industrious  citizens  are  ordinarily  too  much 
occupied  -with  their  own  practical  concerns  to  give  much  attention  to 
either ;  and  I  apprehend  more  danger  from  this  indifference  to  politics 
on  the  part  of  the  people,  than  from  the  excess  of  party  spirit.  They 
■who  are  familiar  with  election  returns  are  aware  that  most  great  polit- 
ical revolutions  are  effected,  not  so  much  by  the  change  of  opinion 
among  those  wdio  ordinarily  exercise  the  elective  franchise,  as  by  the 
votes  of  those  who  do  not  usually  perform  this  duty.  There  is,  in  this 
country,  an  immense  reserved  corps  of  voters,  who  only  come  out  upon 
extraordinary  occasions ;  and,  so  far  as  party  discipline  tends  to  bring 
out  these  voters,  it  is  a  positive  good,  and  they  who,  from  good  motives, 
engage  in  political  organizations  of  this  sort,  are  really  entitled  to  great 
credit. 

"Infinitely  more  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from  those  organiza- 
tions which  involve  the  consideration  of  great  moral  questions,  which 
are  hurrying  forward  Avith  a  zeal  that  knows  no  reason,  and  an  enthu- 
siasm that  cannot  be  restrained.  The  doctrine  is  practically  maintained, 
that  men  may  do  acts  as  a  society,  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  good 
object,  which  it  would  not  be  lawful  for  them  to  do  as  individuals. 
Such  a  principle  as  this  is  dangerous  to  the  State ;  it  is  disorganizing 
in  its  tendency,  and  destructive  of  all  true  freedom.  An  association 
founded  upon  such  a  principle  is,  in  effect,  a  moral  mob, —  a  conspiracy 
upon  the  rights  and  happiness  of  the  people.  What  is  a  riot  more 
than  this  ?  Here,  if  the  end  will  justify  the  means, —  if  men  in  a  society 
may  do  what  it  would  not  be  right  for  them  to  do  as  individuals,  a 
perfect  defence  is  made  out, —  for  there  has  hardly  been  a  riot,  witliin 
the  memory  of  man,  where  the  end  proposed  was  not  regarded  by  those 
engaged  in  it  as  plausible  and  just.  What  is  a  riot,  but  the  joining 
together  of  men  to  accomplish  some  good  object  in  a  less  space  of  time 
than  it  could  otherwise  be  effected;  to  hasten  that* which  the  laws  will 
too  slowly  reach;  to  act  in  aid  of  Divine  justice  in  the  punishment  of 
some  crime,  or  attempt, —  to  borrow  a  daring  German  expression, —  to 
grind  down  the  gaps  in  the  sword  of  Almighty  justice  ? 

"It  will  be  found  that  the  riots  of  our  day  differ,  in  an  important 


PELEG  WHITMAN   CHANDLER.  615 

particular,  from  those  of  an  earlier  date  ;  and  the  fact  is  remarkable,  as 
tending  to  show  that  these  lawless  outbreaks  are  only  the  external  and 
gross  manifestation  of  the  principles  advocated  by  other  associations. 
They  are  no  longer  the  sudden  ebullitions  of  passion  and  rage,  rushing 
forward  without  aim  or  end,  and  rendered  comparatively  harmless  by 
the  want  of  system  and  skilful  directors,  but  they  have  become  organ- 
ized bodies,  with  conspicuous  leaders,  and  with  plans  deliberately 
made.  They  go  forward  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  object  with  a 
coolness  and  deliberation,  that  wins  for  them,  in  some  instances,  the 
title  of  respectability.  We  sometimes  hear  of  a  mob  of  gentlemen, —  a 
quiet  assemblage, —  a  peaceable  gathering,  which  calmly  accomplished 
its  object,  and  dispersed.  •  We  read  of  courts  regularly  conducted  to 
try  culprits  by  Lynch  law ;  and  a  tribunal  of  this  sort,  which  orders 
the  burning  of  a  negro,  or  the  public  whipping  of  a  thief,  or  the  expul- 
sion of  gamblers  from  a  town,  or  the  destruction  of  a  newspaper  press, 
is  not  seldom  praised,  by  implication  at  least,  for  the  order  and  regu- 
larity of  its  proceedings." 

Peleg  Whitman  Chandler  was  born  at  New  Gloucester,  Maine,  April 
12,  1816  ;  fitted  for  college  at  Bangor  Seminary,  in  the  classical 
department;  graduated  at  Bowdoin  College  in  1834,  when  his  subject 
was  the  Character  and  Genius  of  Byron;  entered  the  Dane  Law 
School,  at  Cambridge ;  and  j)ursued  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  The- 
ophilus  Parsons,  Esq.,  at  Boston.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Boston,  1837.  Before  Mr.  Chandler  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  was 
reporter,  for  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser,  of  law  cases  in  the  higher 
courts,  and  was,  during  ten  years,  connected  with  that  paper.  He  is  a 
counsellor  eminent  for  chamber  advice ;  was  three  years  a  member  of 
the  city  Council,  and  its  president  in  1844-5.  He  married,  Nov.  30, 
1837,  Martha  Ann  Bush,  daughter  of  Professor  Parker  Cleaveland ; 
and  was  a  State  representative  from  1840  to  1846.  In  the  important 
station  of  city  solicitor,  which  he  has  occupied  since  1848,  Mr.  Chandler 
has  sustained  himself  with  a  prompt  energy  and  wise  forecast. 

"  The  fulsome  flattery,"  remarks  the  North  American  Review,  "with 
which  Fourth-of-July  orators  have  been  very  generally  in  the  habit  of 
entertaining  their  audiences,  has  been  made  to  give  place  to  wiser  and 
better  views ;  to  the  lessons  and  warnings  of  experience ;  to  admonitions 
upon  our  national  faults,  and  to  the  circulation  of  a  higher  system  of 
national  morality  and  honor.  While,  on  the  one  hand,  the  orator  does 
not  fail  to  see  the  faults  and  follies  which  our  popular  organizations 


616  THE  HUNDKED   BOSTON   ORATOBS. 

liavG  often  manifested,  on  the  other,  he  does  not  fall  into  the  strain  of 
sinister  forebodings  which  many  eminent  citizens  feel  it  impossible  to 
avoid,  in  contemplation  of  the  outbreaks  of  that  anarchical  spirit  ^rith 
which  the  history  of  recent  times  has  been  in  some  quarters  mournfully 
signalized."  Mr.  Chandler  originated  the  Law  Reporter,  which  he 
conducted  for  the  first  ten  years ;  and  in  his  style  exhibited  clearness, 
force,  purity,  and  sound  legal  learning.  It  is  a  journal  of  practical 
service  to  the  bar  and  men  of  business.  His  American  Criminal  Trials, 
commencing  with  the  case  of  Anne  Hutchinson,  including  the  best 
statement  extant  of  the  trial  of  the  British  soldiers  in  the  massacre  of 
1770,  is  a  valuable  work,  that  should  be  brought  down  to  a  later  pe- 
riod. It  has  been  published,  also,  in  London.  The  Bankrupt  Law 
of  the  United  States,  and  an  Outline  of  the  System,  with  Rules  and 
Forms  in  Massachusetts,  was  prepared  by  Mr.  Chandler.  The  elab- 
orate review  of  the  D'Hauteville  case,  in  the  Law  Reporter,  1841, 
wherein  he  very  learnedly  argues  in  favor  of  the  precedence  of  the 
father  to  the  custody  of  the  children,  in  cases  of  divorce,  will  often  be 
cited  in  our  courts. 

As  an  instance  of  the  playful  humor  of  Mr.  Chandler,  we  will  relate 
an  incident  which  occurred  at  the  dinner  of  the  city  authorities,  July 
4,  1848.  Mayor  Quincy,  junior,  who  presided,  announced  the  recep- 
tion of  a  note  complaining  that  the  candles  had  burnt  out,  and  gentle- 
men could  not  light  their  cigars,  suggesting  that,  as  there  was  a 
Chandler  present,  he  should  give  them  the  benefit  of  his  art.  The 
Chandler  was  not  forthcoming,  which  gave  occasion  for  the  following 
order  from  the  mayor, — "  Mr.  City  Solicitor,  you  will  please  give  your 
attention  to  this  case;"  whereupon,  Peleg  W.  Chandler  arose,  and 
censured  the  conception  of  engaging  unmarried  men  to  deliver  orations, 
—  Mr.  Giles,  the  present  orator,  being  a  bacheloi^, —  and  he  hoped  an 
order  would  be  passed,  regulating  this  matter.  Mr.  Chandler's  remarks 
were  principally  directed  to  the  bachelor  state  of  the  orator  of  the  day. 
He  was  surprised  to  see  him  enter  Tremont  Temple,  take  his  stand 
coolly  upon  the  platform,  surrounded  with  a  bevy  of  young  beauties  — • 
the  girls  of  the  public  schools, —  and  discourse  upon  responsibilities. 
What  responsibilities  had  he  7  Here  some  arch  hits  M^ere  made  at  an 
old  bachelor's  virtues,  which  excited  the  loud  laughter  of  the  assembly. 
The  witty  solicitor  concluded,  with  hoping  that  the  orator,  when  he 
retired  for  the  night  to  his  attic  and  his  narrow  couch,  would  ponder 
well  upon  what  he  had  said.     It  was  his  fault  that  he  was  not  married, 


CHARLES   SUMNER,  617 

for  many  men,  twice  as  homelj-looking,  had  wives, —  and  here  a  queer 
allusion  was  made  to  somebody  on  the  platform,  that  had  been  married 
twenty  years,  Mr.  Chandler's  eye  being  upon  his  honor  the  mayor. 
''If,"  said  the  solicitor,  "the  orator  should  address  any  woman  with 
half  the  eloquence  he  had  employed  in  his  oration,  she  would  have  to 
give  him  her  heart." 


CHARLES   SUMNER. 

JULY  i,  1845.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"  Let  it  not  be  forgotten,"  says  our  orator,  "  that  the  virtues  which 
shed  their  charm  over  the  annals  of  war,  in  all  its  horrors,  are  all  bor- 
rowed of  peace, —  they  are  emanations  of  the  spirit  of  love,  which  is  so 
strong  in  the  heart  of  man  that  it  survives  the  rudest  assaults.  The 
flowers  of  gentleness,  of  kindness,  of  fidelity,  of  humanity,  which  flour- 
ish in  unregarded  luxuriance  in  the  rich  meadows  of  peace,  receive 
unAvonted  admiration  when  we  discern  them  in  war, —  like  violets, 
shedding  their  perfume  on  the  perilous  edges  of  the  precipice,  beyond 
the  smihng  borders  of  civilization.  God  be  praised  for  all  the  exam- 
ples of  magnanimous  virtue  which  he  has  vouchsafed  to  mankind ! 
God  be  praised  that  the  Roman  emperor,  about  to  start  on  a  distant 
expedition  of  war,  encompassed  by  squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  by  golden 
eagles  which  swayed  in  the  winds,  stooped  from  his  saddle  to  listen,  to 
the  prayer  of  the  humble  widow,  demanding  justice  for  the  death  of 
her  son  !  God  be  praised  that  Sydney,  on  the  field  of  battle,  gave, 
with  dying  hand,  the  cup  of  cold  water  to  the  dying  soldier !  That 
single  act  of  self-forgetful  sacrifice  has  consecrated  the  fenny  field  of 
Zutphen  far,  oh  !  far  beyond  its  battle ;  it  has  consecrated  thy  name, 
gallant  Sydney,  beyond  any  feat  of  thy  sword,  beyond  any  triumph  of 
thy  pen !  But  there  are  humble  suppliants  for  justice  in  other  places 
than  the  camp;  there  are  hands  outstretched  elsewhere  than  on 
fields  of  blood  for  so  little  as  a  cup  of  water ;  the  world  constantly 
afibrds  opportunities  for  deeds  of  like  greatness.  But,  remember  well, 
that  these  are  not  the  product  of  war.  They  do  not  spring  from 
enmity,  hatred  and  strife,  but  from  those  benign  sentiments  whose  nat- 
ural and  ripened  fruit  of  joy  and  blessing  can  only  be  found  in  peace. 
52* 


618  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

If,  at  any  time,  they  appear  in  the  soldier,  it  is  not  because,  but  not- 
withstanding, he  is  the  hireling  of  battle.  Let  me  not  be  told,  then, 
of  the  virtues  of  war.  Let  not  the  acts  of  generosity  and  sacrifice 
which  have  blossomed  on  its  fields  be  invoked  in  its  defence.  From 
such  a  great  root  of  bitterness  no  true  good  can  spring.  The  poisonous 
tree,  in  oriental  imagery,  though  watered  by  nectar  and  covered  with 
roses,  can  produce  only  the  fruit  of  death.  *  *  *  *  And  yet 
Christ  and  Mars  are  still  brought  into  fellowship.  Let  us  see  them 
together.  There  is  now  floating  in  this  harbor  a  ship-of-the-line  of 
our  country.  Many  of  you  have,  perhaps,  pressed  its  deck,  and 
observed,  with  admiration,  the  completeness  which  prevails  in  all  its 
parts, —  its  lithe  masts,  and  complete  net- work  of  ropes, —  its  thick 
wooden  walls,  within  which  are  more  than  the  soldiers  of  Ulysses, — 
its  strong  defences,  and  numerous  dread  and  rude-throated  engines  of 
war.  There,  each  Sabbath,  amidst  this  armament  of  blood,  while  the 
wave  comes  gently  plashing  against  the  frowning  sides,  from  a  pulpit 
supported  by  a  cannon, —  in  repose  now,  but  ready  to  awaken  its  dor- 
mant thunder,  charged  with  death, —  a  Christian  preacher  addresses 
the  officers  and  crew.  May  his  instructions  carry  strength  and  succor 
to  their  souls  !  But  he  cannot  pronounce,  in  such  a  place,  those  high- 
est words  of  the  Master  he  professes,  '  Blessed  are  the  peace-makers,' 
'Love  your  enemies,'  'Render  not  evil  for  evil.'  Like  Macbeth's 
'  Amen,'  they  must  stick  in  his  throat !  " 

Charles  Sumner,  a  son  of  Charles  Pinckney  Sumner,  the  High 
Sheriff  of  Sufiblk,  was  born  in  Boston,  Jan.  6,  1811.  His  birth-place 
was  on  the  location  of  the  Bowdoin  schoolhouse.  He  was  fitted  for 
college  at  the  Boston  Latin  School,  where  he  bore  ofi"  the  prizes  for 
English  composition  and  Latin  poetry,  besides  the  Frankhn  medal,  at 
the  end  of  his  course.  During  this  period  he  was  a  devoted  student 
of  history,  often  rising  before  daylight  to  read  Hume  and  Gibbon.  In 
allusion  to  youthful  associations,  Mr.-  Sumner  once  expressively  re- 
marked, "We  inchne,  by  a  natural  emotion,  to  the  spot  where  we 
were  born,  to  the  fields  which  witnessed  the  sports  of  childhood,  to  the 
seat  of  youthful  studies,  and  to  the  institutions  under  which  we  have 
been  trained.  The  finger  of  God  writes  all  these  things,  in  indelible 
colors,  on  the  heart  of  man ;  so  that,  in  the  dread  extremities  of  death, 
he  reverts,  in  fondness,  to  early  associations,  and  longs  for  a  draught  of 
cold  water  from  the  bucket  in  his  father's  well.''  His  father's  family 
attended  divine  -worship  at  Trinity  Church ;  and,  doubtless,  the  influ- 


CHARLES  StJMNER.  619 

ence  of  tlie  rector,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Gardiner,  in  the  iUustrations  of  cat- 
echetical instruction  and  learned  pulpit  discourse,  contributed  greatly 
to  the  moulding  of  his  literary  taste.  How  obvious  is  the  -warm  love 
of  his  native  city,  where  he  exclaims,  "  Boston  has  always  led  the  gen- 
erous and  magnanimous  actions  of  our  history.  Boston  led  the  cause  of 
the  Revolution.  Here  was  commenced  that  discussion,  pregnant  with 
the  independence  of  the  colonies,  which,  at  first  occupying  a  few  warm 
but  true  spirits  only,  finally  absorbed  all  the  best  energies  of  the  conti- 
nent,— the  eloquence  of  Adams,  the  patriotism  of  Jefferson,  the  wisdom 
of  Washington.  Boston  is  the  home  of  noble  charities,  the  nurse  of  true 
learning,  the  city  of  churches.  By  all  these  tokens  she  stands  con- 
spicuous, and  other  parts  of  the  country  are  not  unwilling  to  follow 
her  example.  Athens  was  called  the  eye  of  Greece, —  Boston  may  be 
called  the  eye  of  America ;  and  the  influence  which  she  exerts  is  to  be 
referred,  not  to  her  size, —  for  there  are  other  cities  larger  far, —  but 
to  her  moral  and  intellectual  character." 

Through  the  whole  range  of  this  work,  we  have  alluded  to  the  liter- 
ary festival  of  commencement,  whenever  the  occasion  offered ;  and  we 
cannot  forbear  citing  a  passage  from  Sumner  to  the  point.  "  The 
ingenuous  student,  who  has  passed  his  term  of  years  —  a  classical 
Olympiad  —  amidst  the  restraints  of  the  academy,  in  the  daily  pursuits 
of  the  lecture-room,  observant  of  forms,  obsequious  to  the  college  cur- 
few, now  renounces  those  restraints,  heeds  no  longer  the  summoning 
bell,  divests  himself  of  the  youthful  gown,  and  here,  under  the  auspices 
of  Alma  Mater,  assumes  the  robe  of  manhood.  At  such  a  change,  the 
mind  and  heart  are  open  to  receive  impressions  which  may  send  their 
influence  through  remaining  life.  A  seasonable  word  to-day  may, 
peradventure,  like  an  acorn  dropped  into  a  propitious  soil,  send 
upwards  its  invigorating  growth,  till  its  stately  trunk,  its  multitudinous 
branches,  and  sheltering  foliage,  shall  become  an  ornament  and  a  pro- 
tection of  unspeakable  beauty." 

Mr.  Sumner  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1830,  when  he  took 
a  part  in  a  conference  on  the  Roman  ceremonies,  the  system  of  the 
Druids,  the  religion  of  the  Hindoos,  and  the  superstition  of  the  Amer- 
ican Indians.  After  having  devoted  his  mind  to  literary  studies  until 
1831,  he  entered  the  Law  School  at  Cambridge,  where  he  was  assidu- 
ous in  the  study  of  juridical  science,  never  relying  upon  the  text-books, 
but  sought  the  original  sources,  read  all  the  authorities  and  references, 
and  made  liimself  familiar  with  books  of  the  common  law,  from  the 


620  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

Year  Books,  in  uncouth  Norman,  down  to  the  latest  Reports.  It  was 
said  that  he  could  go  into  the  law  library,  of  which  he  was  the  libra- 
rian, and  find  any  volume  in  the  dark,  when  in  their  proper  places. 
While  still  a  pupil,  he  wrote  several  articles  in  the  "  American  Jurist," 
wliich  were  creditable  to  his  reputation.  He  read  law  for  a  period  in 
the  office  of  Benjamin  Rand,  a  counsellor  of  Boston,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Worcester  in  1831,  and  forthwith  commenced  practice  in 
Boston,  1834,  when  he  was  appointed  Reporter  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
in  which  capacity  he  published  three  volumes,  known  as  "Sumner's 
Reports."  Before  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  became  the  principal 
editor  of  the  "  American  Jurist,"  at  which  period  he  detected  a  curious 
error  of  so  great  a  name  in  the  law  as  Lord  Chief  Baron  Comyns, 
repeated,  also,  by  Chitty,  with  respect  to  the  action  of  replevin.  Dur- 
ing the  first  three  winters  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  while  Judge 
Story  was  absent  at  Washington,  he  lectured  to  the  law  students  at 
Cambridge,  having  the  sole  charge  of  Dane  School,  for  part  of  the 
time,  during  the  absence  of  Professor  Greenleaf,  and  performed  like 
duties  during  Judge  Story's  illness,  in  1843.  Mr.  Sumner  was  the 
editor  of  "  A  Treatise  on  the  Practice  of  the  Courts  of  Admiralty  in 
Civil  Causes  of  Maritime  Jurisdiction,  by  Andrew  Dunlap,"  with  a 
valuable  appendix  and  indexes,  amounting  to  more  matter  than  the 
original  treatise,  published  at  Philadelphia,  in  1836.  This  labor  was 
attempted  because  of  the  illness  of  Mr.  Dunlap,  who  died  before  the 
work  was  completed,  and  stated,  four  days  previous  to  his  decease, 
that  Mr.  Sumner  had  worked  over  it  "with  the  zeal  of  a  sincere 
friend,  and  the  accuracy  of  an  excellent  lawyer." 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1837,  Mr.  Sumner  departed  for 
Europe,  where  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1840.  In  order  to 
show  the  estimate  of  his  character  extended  by  Judge  Story,  we  here 
extract  a  passage  from  his  letter  of  introduction,  addressed  to  a  gen- 
tleman in  London, — James  John  Wilkinson,  Esq., —  under  date  of 
Nov.  3,  1837  •- —  "  Mr.  Sumner  is  a  practising  lawyer  at  the  Boston 
bar,  of  very  high  reputation  for  his  years,  and  already  giving  the 
promise  of  the  most  eminent  distinction  in  his  profession ;  his  literary 
and  judicial  attainments  are  truly  extraordinary.  He  is  one  of  the 
editors  —  indeed,  the  principal  editor  of  the  '  American  Jurist,'  a 
quarterly  journal  of  extensive  circulation  and  celebrity  among  us,  and 
without  a  rival  in  America.  He  is  also  the  reporter  of  the  court  in 
which  I  preside,  and  has  already  published  two  volumes  of  reports. 


CHARLES  SUMNER.  621 

His  private  character,  also,  is  of  tlie  best  kind  for  purity  and  pro- 
prietj;  but,  to  accomplish  himself  more  thoroughly  in  the  great 
objects  of  his  profession, —  not  merely  to  practise,  but  to  extend  the 
boundaries  in  the  science  of  law, —  I  am  very  anxious  that  he  should 
possess  the  means  of  visiting  the  courts  of  Westminster  Hall  under 
favorable  auspices ;  and  I  shall  esteem  it  a  personal  favor  if  you  can 
give  him  any  facihties  in  this  particular." 

In  Paris,  he  attended  the  debates  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and 
the  lectures  of  all  the  eminent  professors  in  different  departments,  at 
the  Sorbonne,  at  the  College  of  France,  and  particularly  in  the  Law 
School.  He  became  personally  acquainted  with  several  of  the  most 
eminent  jurists, —  with  Baron  Degerando,  renowned  for  his  works  on 
charity ;  with  Pardessus,  at  the  head  of  commercial  law ;  with  Foelix, 
editor  of  the  "  Review  of  Foreign  Jurisprudence ;  "  and  other  famous 
men.  He  attended  a  whole  term  of  the  Royal  Court  at  Paris,  observ- 
ing the  forms  of  procedure ;  received  kindness  from  the  judges,  and 
was  allowed  to  peruse  the  papers  in  the  cases.  His  presence  at  some 
of  these  trials  was  noticed  in  the  rejiorts  in  the  law  journals. 

In  England,  a  welcome  awaited  him  such  as  gave  gratifying  evi- 
dence of  the  power  of  an  intelligent,  upright  and  accomplished  mind, 
accompanied  by  simplicity  and  friendliness  of  manners,  to  break  down 
social  barriers.  He  remained  there  nearly  a  year,  attending  the 
debates  in  Parliament,  hearing  all  the  chief  speakers  often,  and  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  many  of  them,  of  all  sides  in  politics.  We  know 
not  the  man  that  is  more  lovable,  companionable  and  profitable,  in 
social  intercourse,  than  is  Charles  Sumner ;  and  this  letter  of  Justice 
Story  confirms  our  opinion. 

Mr.  Justice  Story,  in  writing  to  Charles  Sumner,  under  date  of 
August  11,  1838,  says:  "I  have  received  all  your  letters,  and  have 
devoured  them  with  unspeakable  delight.  All  the  family  have  heard 
them  read  aloud,  and  all  join  in  their  expressions  of  pleasure.  You 
are  now  exactly  where  I  should  wish  you  to  be, —  among  the  educated, 
the  literary,  the  noble,  and,  though  last,  not  least,  the  learned  of  Eng- 
land, of  good  old  England,  our  mother  land,  God  bless  her !  Your 
sketches  of  the  bar  and  bench  are  deeply  interesting  to  me,  and  so  full 
that  I  think  I  can  see  them  in  my  mind's  eye.  I  must  return  my 
thanks  to  Mr.  Justice  Yaughan  for  his  kindness  to  you ;  it  has  grati- 
fied me  beyond  measure,  not  merely  as  a  proof  of  his  liberal  friend- 
ship, but  of  his  acuteness  and  tact  in  the  discovery  of  character.     It  is 


622  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

a  just  homage  to  your  own  merits.  Your  Old  Bailey  speech  was  cap- 
ital, and  liit,  by  stating  sound  truths,  in  the  right  way."  In  another 
passage.  Justice  Story  says  to  Sumner :  ' '  Pray,  put  your  conservative 
friends  right  as  to  us  in  America.  We  are  not  all  demagogues,  or  mad, 
conceited  democrats.  They  seem  hostile  to  all  of  us,  and  to  our  insti- 
tutions, from  gross  mistakes  of  our  opinions  and  our  principles.  Why, 
our  Whigs  are  quite  as  conservative  as  themselves,  making  only  the 
proper  distinctions  as  to  the  form  of  government." 

The  cordial  hospitality  of  the  bar  and  judges  made  him  as  one  of 
themselves.  He  attended  the  courts  at  Westminster  Hall ;  and  more 
than  once,  at  the  pressing  invitation  of  the  judges,  sat  by  their  side  at 
the  trials.  He  also  observed  the  courts  on  the  circuit,  where  he  was 
often  the  guest  of  the  bar  and  bench.  At  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Scientific  Association,  he  experienced  the  same  flattering  attentions. 
In  town  and  country,  he  moved  freely  in  society,  to  which  intelhgence 
and  refinement,  wealth  and  worth,  lend  every  charm  and  grace.  Xor 
did  the  evidence  of  such  respect  and  confidence  pass  away  with  his 
presence.  Two  years  after  liis  return  from  England,  the  Quarterly 
Review,  alluding  to  his  visit,  stepped  aside  to  say:  "He  presents,  in 
his  own  person,  a  decisive  proof  that  an  American  gentleman,  without 
official  rank  or  wide-spread  reputation,  by  mere  dint  of  courtesy,  can- 
dor, an  entire  absence  of  pretension,  an  appreciating  spirit,  and  a  cul- 
tivated mind,  may  be  received  on  a  perfect  footing  of  equality  in  the 
best  circles,  social,  political,  and  intellectual;  which,  be  it  observed, 
are  hopelessly  inaccessible  to  the  itinerant  note-taker,  who  never  gets 
beyond  the  outskirts  of  the  show- houses."  Eight  years  later  yet,  he 
received  a  compliment,  which,  from  an  English  bench,  is  of  the  rarest 
occurrence.  On  an  insurance  question,  before  the  Court  of  Exchequer, 
one  of  the  counsel  having  cited  an  American  case.  Baron  Parke,  the 
ablest  of  the  English  judges,  asked  him  what  book  he  quoted.  He 
replied,  "Sumner's  Reports."  Baron  Rolfe  said,  "Is  that  the  Mr. 
Sumner  who  was  once  in  England?"  On  receiving  a  reply  in  the 
affirmative,  Baron  Parke  observed,  "We  shall  not  consider  it  entitled 
to  the  less  attention  because  reported  by  a  gentleman  whom  we  all 
knew  and  respected."  Not  long  ago,  some  of  Mr.  Sumner's  estimates 
of  war  expenses  were  quoted  by  Mr.  Cobden,  in  debate,  in  the  House 
of  Commons. 

In  Italy,  he  gave  himself  to  the  study  of  art  and  literature,  and 
finished  the  reading  of  all  the  notable  works  of  that  country  in  his- 


CHARLES   SUMNER.  623 

torj,  politics,  or  poetry.  While  at  Rome,  Crawford  took  Lis  bust,  in 
marble,  and  it  is  in  the  family.  In  Germany,  where  his  visit  was 
shorter,  he  acquired  the  regard  of  the  most  eminent  jurists, —  of 
Savigny,  Thibaut  and  Mittermaier,  with  the  latter  of  whom  he  has  had 
constant  correspondence.  He  was  kindly  received  by  Prince  Metter- 
nich,  and  became  acquainted  with  most  of  the  professors  at  Heidelberg ; 
and  with  many  other  individuals  of  those  most  distinguished  in  science 
and  letters,  as  Humboldt  the  philosopher,  Ranke  the  historian,  and 
Ritter  the  geographer,  at  Berlin. 

Mr.  Sumner  has  highly  elevated  conceptions  of  the  character  of  the 
legal  profession  in  the  United  States.  When  at  a  social  dinner-party 
at  Heidelberg,  in  Germany,  where  were  present  the  eminent  jurists 
Thibaut  and  Mittermaier,  one  of  them  inquired  of  Mr.  Sumner  what 
"was  the  position  of  the  American  lawyer,  and  both  seemed  in  earnest 
for  an  answer.  He  promptly  replied,  "  No  person  is  his  superior.  His 
position,  gentlemen,  if  you  will  pardon  me  for  saying  it,  is  what  yours 
would  be  in  Germany,  if  there  were  no  aristocracy  of  birth."  Both 
seemed  penetrated  by  this  allusion  ;  and,  looking  each  other  in  the  face, 
exclaimed,  at  once,  in  apparent  consciousness  of  their  true  rank,  "That 
is  very  high,  indeed." 

While  in  Europe,  he  was  repeatedly  consulted  by  writers  on  the  law 
of  nations.  In  Paris,  at  the  request  of  Gov.  Cass,  he  wrote  a  defence 
of  the  American  claim,  in  controversy  Avith  England,  on  the  north- 
eastern boundary,  which  was  published  in  "  Galignani's  Messenger," 
republished  in  many  papers  at  home,  and  in  the  Washington  "  Globe" 
attributed  to  Gov.  Cass.  It  was  highly  commended  by  that  gentle- 
man, who  expressed  his  intention  to  make  it  the  subject  of  a  special 
despatch.  The  idea  of  Mr.  Wheaton's  last  work  on  the  "  History  of 
the  Law  of  Nations  "  occurred  in  conversation  at  Mr.  Sumner's  rooms. 
Having  conceived  the  plan  of  such  a  treatise,  he  consulted  Mr.  Wheaton 
respecting  it.  My.  Wheaton  afterwards  called  upon  him,  and  said  that 
he  proposed  to  undertake  it,  unless  Mr.  Sumner  intended  to  execute 
the  plan  himself  It  was  to  be  written  for  a  prize  of  the  French  Insti- 
tute. 

On  his  return  from  Europe,  Mr.  Sumner  was  received  in  Boston 
■with  flattering  assiduities.  He  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion only  to  a  moderate  extent,  being  now  more  interested  in  its  science, 
and  in  other  studies.  In  1844-6,  he  published  an  edition  of  Yesey's 
ReportSj  in  twenty  volumes.     In  announcing  this  work,  the  Boston 


624  THE   nuiS'DRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

"Law  Reporter"  bore  testimony  to  his  ''distinguished  professional 
reputation"  and  "great  professional  resources."  "Wherever  the 
occasion  offers  itself,"  said  that  journal,  "the  editorial  note  has  been 
expanded,  till  it  assumes  something  of  the  port  and  stature  of  a  brief 
lecfal  dissertation,  in  which  the  topics  are  discussed  in  the  assured  man- 
ner of  one  who  feels  that  his  foot  is  planted  upon  familiar  ground,  and 
■whose  mind  is  so  saturated  with  legal  knowledge,  that  it  readily  pours 
it  forth  at  the  slightest  pressure,  reminding  us  of  those  first  '  sprightly 
runnings  '  of  the  wine-press  extracted  by  no  force  but  the  mere  weight  of 
the  grapes.  Mr.  Sumner  has  also  introduced  a  new  element  into  his 
notes.  We  allude  to  his  biographical  notices  of  the  eminent  men  whose 
names  occur  in  the  reports,  either  in  a  judicial  or  forensic  capacity,  and 
to  his  occasional  historical,  political  and  biographical,  illustrations  of  the 
text.  In  what  may  be  called  the  literature  of  the  law,  —  the  curios- 
ities of  legal  learning, —  he  has  no  rival  among  us." 

On  the  death  of  Judge  Story,  in  the  autumn  of  1845,  he  was  men- 
tioned in  the  newspapers  as  the  natural  successor  in  the  vacant  profess- 
orship. Judge  Story  had  said,  more  than  once,  "I  shall  die  content, 
so  far  as  my  professorship  is  concerned,  if  Charles  Sumner  is  to  suc- 
ceed me."  Chancellor  Kent  declared  that  he  was  "  the  only  person 
in  the  country  competent  to  succeed  Story."  Different  gentlemen  of 
the  highest  name  in  jurisprudence,  both  of  Massachusetts  and  other 
States,  proposed  to  interest  themselves  with  the  corporation  for  his 
appointment ;  but  he  discouraged  the  movement,  saying  that,  as  he  was 
unwilling  to  engage  to  accept  the  post,  if  offered  to  him,  he  could  not 
sanction  any  application  or  suggestion  in  his  behalf  It  never  was 
offered  to  him.  Report  said  that  his  opinions  on  questions  of  great 
public  interest  which  had  then  begun  to  agitate  the  community  weighed 
against  him. 

In  relation  to  Mr.  Sumner's  oration  at  the  head  of  this  article, 
entitled  "The  True  Grandeur  of  Nations,"  the  Hon.  Judge  Story 
wrote  of  it  to  the  author,  that  "  it  is  certainly  a  very  striking  production, 
and  will  fully  sustain  your  reputation  for  high  talents,  various  reading, 
and  exact  scholarship.  There  are  a  great  many  passages  in  it  which 
are  wrought  out  with  an  exquisite  finish,  and  elegance  of  diction,  and 
classical  beauty.  I  go  earnestly  and  heartily  along  with  many  of  your 
sentiments  and  opinions.  They  are  such  as  befit  an  exalted  mind,  and 
an  enlarged  benevolence.  But,  from  the  length  and  breadth  of  your 
doctrine  as  to  war,  I  am  compelled  to  dissent.      Li   my  judgment, 


CHARLES  SUMNER.  625 

war  is,  under  some  (although  I  agree  not  under  many)  circumstances, 
not  only  justifiable,  but  an  indispensable  part  of  public  duty ;  and  if 
the  reasoning  which  you  have  adopted  be  sound,  it  extends  far  beyond 
the  limits  to  which  you  have  now  confined  it.  It  is  not,  however,  my 
intention  to  discuss  the  matter  at  all  with  you.  I  am  too  old  to  desire 
or  even  indulge  in  controversy.  No  one  who  knows  you  can  doubt  the 
entire  siijcerity  with  which  you  have  spoken.  All  that  I  desire  to 
claim  is  as  sincere  a  conviction  that,  in  the  extent  to  which  you  seem 
to  press  your  doctrines,  they  are  not,  in  my  judgment,  defensible.  In 
many  parts  of  your  discouree,  I  have  been  struck  with  the  strong 
resemblances  which  it  bears  to  the  manly  enthusiasm  of  Sir  James 
Mackintosh  ;  but  I  think  that  he  would  have  differed  from  you  in 
respect  to  war,  and  would  have  maintained  a  moderation  of  views 
belonging  at  once  to  his  philosoi^hy  and  his  life." 

In  this  performance  of  Mr.  Sumner,  at  the  celebration  of  independ- 
ence, there  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  ability  of  the  author  to  distin- 
guish himself  as  a  rhetorician  and  orator.  There  are  glowing  passages 
in  this  oration,  which  thrill  the  very  soul.  There  is  here  and  there  a 
pomp  of  language,  says  the  North  American  Review,  a  procession  of 
gorgeous  periods,  that  hurries  the  reader  irresistibly  and  willingly 
along.  But  these  spots  are  interspersed  and  intersected  by  veins  and 
seams  of  quite  another  ore.  We  are  sometimes  surprised  and  disap- 
pointed by  a  prosaic  dash  in  the  very  midst  of  an  eloquent  paragraph, 
and  occasionally  bewildered  by  a  chaotic  confusion  of  metaphors.  It 
would  be  ungrateful  and  unfair  to  ransack  a  popular  oration  for 
instances  of  bad  taste  and  faulty  expression ;  and  yet,  where  a  per- 
formance bears  ample  marks  of  supplementary  additions,  we  could 
Avish  that  the  author's  privilege  of  retrenchment  had  also  been  more 
liberally  exercised.  The  very  confines  of  courtesy  are  reached  in  the 
phrase,  "respectable  citizens  volunteer  to  look  like  soldiers,"  consid- 
ering the  circumstances  of  the  occasion.  We  must  also  call  the  author's 
attention  to  the  incongruity  of  the  several  kinds  of  physical  elevation 
and  moral  grandeur  that  are  huddled  together  in  the  following  pas- 
sage:  "As  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  are  higher  than  the  grass  of  the 
valley ;  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth ;  as  man  is  higher 
than  the  beasts  of  the  field ;  as  the  angels  are  higher  than  man ;  as  he 
that  ruleth  his  spirit  is  higher  than  he  that  taketh  a  city, —  so  are  the 
virtues  and  victories  of  peace  higher  than  the  virtues  and  victories  of 
vrar."  Once  more :  we  cannot  conceive  how,  in  his  description  of  the 
53' 


62G  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

massacre  of  the  Roman  senators  by  the  Gauls,  the  author  could  have 
tortured  Livy's  in  vestihiiUs  oediuni  into  "on  a  temple."  The  very 
ingenious  and  striking  parallel  drawn  by  the  orator  between  national 
wars  and  the  old  wager  of  battle,  is  the  most  original  and  effective  por- 
tion of  the  address.  It  was  published  in  England,  in  a  neat  tract 
form,  and  also  in  Scotland,  by  the  advocates  of  peace,  and  scattered 
over  the  queen's  dominions  by  the  tens  of  thousands;  and  probably  no 
national  oration  was  ever  more  widely  circulated,  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic.  It  has  been  carefully  revised,  and  objectionable  passages 
expunged.  An  exuberance  of  classical  allusions  is  a  pecuhar  defect 
in  the  compositions  of  Charles  Sumner. 

Mr.  Sumner  interweaves  his  peace  principles  in  the  admirable  sketch 
of  Washington  Allston,  the  artist,  where  he  remarks  that,  early  in  Life, 
Allston  had  a  fondness  for  pieces  representing  banditti,  but  this  taste 
does  not  appear  in  his  later  works.  And,  when  asked  if  he  would 
undertake  to  fill  the  vacant  panels  in  the  rotunda  of  the  capitol  at 
Washington,  should  Congress  determine  to  order  such  a  work,  he  is 
reported  to  have  said,  in  memorable  words,  "  I  will  paint  only  one  sub- 
ject, and  choose  my  own;  no  battle-piece."  This  decision  Mr.  Sum- 
ner urges  as  an  anti-war  appeal,  though  it  may  have  been  a  matter  of 
individual  taste.  This  is  about  equivalent,  in  effect,  says  a  critic,-  to  a 
clergyman  forbidding  from  the  pulpit  the  handling,  by  artists,  of  heathen 
subjects  ;  waging  a  warfare,  in  the  name  of  Christianity,  against  Bac- 
chus, Jupiter  and  Apollo,  on  the  walls  of  our  parlors ;  the  idolatry  of 
cameos  and  breastpins,  and  the  damnatory  influences  of  pagan  bronzes 
and  letter-seals.  If  a  painter  has  the  genius  of  Vernet,  or  a  Wou- 
vermans,  for  battle-pieces,  in  the  name  of  the  peace-societies,  let  him 
paint  them.  Are  not  the  war-painters  the  true  peace  evangelists,  by 
bringing  Mr.  Sumner's  arguments  most  vividly  before  the  "faithful 
eyes"  of  spectators? 

Hitherto,  though  voting  with  the  Whig  party,  he  had  taken  no  active 
part  in  politics.  The  confused  state  of  public  affairs  in  the  year  1845 
drew  him,  by  his  sense  of  justice  and  philanthropy,  into  that  line  of 
action.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  the  measures  for  the  extension  of 
the  slave-power,  by  the  annexation  of  Texas,  being  in  progress,  meet- 
ings were  held  in  different  towns  of  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  in  other 
States,  with  a  view  to  concentrate  the  public  opinion  opposed  to  the 
consummation  of  that  measure,  in  remonstrances  to  the  Congress  then 
about  to  meet.     At  a  popular  convention,  held  at  Faneuil  Hall  for  that 


CHARLES   SUMNER.  627 

purpose,  on  the  4tli  of  November,  INIr.  Sumner  pronounced  the  brilliant 
speech  preserved  in  the  second  volume  of  his  "  Orations  and  Speeches," 
lately  published.  His  next  appearance  of  the  kind  was  in  September 
of  the  following  year,  when,  at  the  request  of  those  charged  with  the 
arrangements  of  the  occasion,  he  addressed  the  Whig  State  Convention 
"on  the  anti-slavery  duties  of  the  Whig, party."  In  the  following 
month,  he  addressed  through  the  newspapers  a  letter  of  rebuke  to  Mr. 
Winthrop,  then  member  of  Congress  from  Boston,  for  the  vote  in  fevor 
of  the  war  with  Mexico,  by  which  that  gentleman  had  agitated  a 
portion  of  his  immediate  constituents,  as  well  as  the  people  of  this 
commonwealth. 

The  best  productions  of  Charles  Sumner  are  odoriferous  as  the 
freshly  gathered  bouquet ;  and  it  is  tribute  enough  to  the  oration  for  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at  Cambridge,  to  respond  to  the  sentiment  of 
John  Quincy  Adams,  at  the  festival  after  it  was  delivered:  "The 
memory  of  the  scholar,  the  jurist,  the  artist,  and  the  philanthropist ; 
and  not  the  memory,  but  the  long  life,  of  the  kindred  spirit  who  has 
this  day  embalmed  them  all."  A  reviewer,  in  criticizing  the  allusions 
of  Sumner  to  the  value  of  classical  learning  on  the  intellect,  remarks 
that  he  shrinks  from  the  moral  effects  of  a  class  of  writings  which  are 
deficient  in  the  highest  charm  of  purity.  He  speaks  of  the  torrent  of 
Demosthenes,  dark  with  self-love  and  the  spirit  of  vengeance,  but  has 
quenched  the  recollection  of  his  patriotic  fire.  Fitful  philosophy  is 
about  as  appropriately  ascribed  to  Tully,  as  intemperate  eloquence  with 
which  it  is  coupled.  Mr.  Sumner  speaks,  with  implied  censure,  of 
Homer's  inspiring  tale  of  blood,  apparently  not  bearing  in  mind  the 
parting  of  Hector  and  Andromache,  or  the  domestic  beauty  of  the 
patriarchal  scenes  of  the  Odyssey ;  and  the  blame  is  extended  even  to 
Socrates,  in  his  "marvellous  teachings,"  and  the  "melhfluous  words 
of  Plato,"  and  concludes  with  these  words  :  "  Greek  poetry  has  been 
likened  to  the  song  of  the  nightingale,  as  she  sits  on  the  rich,  symmet- 
rical crown  of  the  palm-tree,  trilling  her  thick-warbled  notes ;  but  even 
this  is  less  sweet  a.nd  tender  than  the  music  of  the  human  heart." 
There  is  no  charitable  foot-note  here,  to  inform  us  of  the  source  from 
which  this  comparison  is  drawn.  This  nightingale,  of  course,  is  not 
Milton's,  which  trilled  its  thick  warbled  notes  "in  the  olive-grove  of 
Academe,"  and  whose  song  is  not  compared  to  Greek  poetry.  "  Nordo 
we  clearly  understand,"  says  the  reviewer,  "what  is  meant  by  the  music 
of  the  human  heart ;  but,  if  the  chords  of  that  love  which  is  stronger 


628  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

than  death  have  power  to  breathe  such  music,  the  ear  must  be  dull 
indeed  which  cannot  detect  it  in  the  Alcestis  and  the  Antigone."  Mr. 
Sumner,  however,  freely  and  candidly  concedes  the  wholesome  influ- 
ence of  ancient  letters,  with  the  exception  of  a  clear  want  of  moral 
power ;  and  his  performance  is  masculine,  often  genial,  ornate,  and 
dignified. 

Mr.  Sumner  is  remarkable  for  rhetorical  power,  blandness  of  man- 
ners, and  melodious  voice  ;  and  we  know  not  the  native  Bostonian  who 
so  effectively  enchains  the  people  at  Faneuil  Hall,  as  this  manly  orator. 
One  of  his  warmest  admirers  expresses  the  opinion,  that  his  orations  and 
speeches  will  live  long  as  liberty  and  humanity  continue  to  be  the  prey 
of  despotism  and  cruelty ;  and  his  principles  will  live  and  burn  in  the 
bosoms  of  liberty's  own  apostles,  so  long  as  war,  violence  and  slavery, 
shall  be  permitted  to  shower  their  curses  upon  the  world.  And  it  is 
not  likely  that  he  will  become  the  favorite  of  a  party  whose  standard  is 
the  muck-rake  ;  and  a  Cambridge  poet  thus  apostrophizes  : 

"  Sumner,  from  thy  -well-ordered  mind  tliere  grows 
The  -wondrous  fount  of  learning  manifold  ; 
Thine  eloquence  o'er  stores  of  wisdom  flows, 
Like  a  broad  river  over  sands  of  gold." 

There  is  a  large  portion  of  the  community  who  have  no  doubt  that, 
if  his  philanthropic  heart  were  divested  of  the  ultraisms  of  the  age,  his 
influence  for  public  good  would  over-balance  the  retrograde  spell  that 
binds  him.  Such  radical  views  are  rendered  ineffective,  as  an  effort 
with  his  own  extended  arm  to  grasp  and  roll  up,  like  a  scroll,  the  entire 
extent  of  the  Niagara  Suspension  Bridge. 

The  persevering  and  ingenious  efforts  of  Mr.  Sumner,  for  prison 
discipline  reform,  in  18-47,  advocating  the  exclusive  or  sohtary  system 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  preference  to  the  social  system  of  Auburn  and 
Charlestown,  which  elicited  impassioned  debates  during  seven  pro- 
tracted adjourned  and  densely  crowded  meetings  of  the  Massachusetts 
Prison  Discipline  Society,  strongly  indicate  the  energy  of  his  mind, 
and  his  power  of  discussion. 

We  notice  the  intellectual  strength,  forming  a  rare  union,  in  his 
writings,  with  an  acute  sense  of  the  beautiful,  and  delicacy  in  the 
shadings  and  coloring  of  expression.  Mr.  Sumner  rarely  lets  the  har- 
mony of  a  sentence  weaken  its  force,  or  the  wealth  of  his  diction  obscure 
the  clearness  of  his  thought.     One  of  the  pecuharities  of  mere  style, 


CHARLES   SUMNER.  629 

"U'liich  we  have  often  noticed  as  giving  the  effect  of  vigor  to  his  compo- 
sition, is  in  rejecting  every  superfluous  syllable  from  the  latter  limb  of 
the  sentence,  so  as  to  give  a  short  cadence,  and  a  sharp  termination. 
He  lavishes  his  riches  upon  the  earlier  clauses,  but  is  economical  at  the 
end ;  crowds  the  attention  at  first,  but  spares  it  with  a  grateful  sur- 
prise, finally.  This  rarely  fails  to  be  an  effective  style  for  delivery ; 
and,  aided,  in  Sumner's  case,  by  his  fine  personal  qualifications,  it  gives 
a  certain  character  of  manliness  and  directness  to  his  oratory.  It 
aiBxes  the  charm  of  simplicity  just  where  it  was  in  danger  of  being 
missed. 

Mr.  Sumner,  in  sketching  the  lineaments  of  another,  has  very  graph- 
ically drawn  his  own  portrait,  when  he  says,  "  He  was  of  that  rare  and 
happy  constitution  of  mind,  in  which  occupation  is  the  normal  state. 
He  was  possessed  by  a  genius  for  labor.  Others  may  moil  in  the  law 
as  successfully  as  he,  but  without  his  loving,  successful  earnestness  of 
study.  What  he  undertook  he  always  did  with  his  heart,  soul,  and 
mind ;  not  with  reluctant,  vain  compliance,  but  with  his  entire  nature 
bent  to  the  task.  As  in  his  friendships  and  in  the  warmth  of  society, 
so  was  he  in  his  studies.  His  heart  embraced  labor,  as  his  hand 
grasped  the  hand  of  a  friend." 

By  his  perseverance  in  a  course  opposed  by  a  majority  of  the  Whig 
party,  Mr.  Sumner's  ties  to  it  were  weakened,  though  he  had  nofe 
yet  become  entirely  separated  from  its  counsels.  Partly  because  he 
could  not  yet  prevail  upon  himself  to  renounce  a  resolution  long  ago 
formed,  to  avoid  public  office  altogether  (for,  to  use  his  own  expression, 
"  the  strife  of  parties  had  seemed  ignoble  to  him  "),  partly  from  con- 
siderations of  delicacy,  incident  to  the  course  he  had  taken  in  opposition 
to  Winthrop,  he  refused,  when  urgently  invited,  to  allow  himself  to  be 
put  forward  as  a  rival  candidate  to  that  gentleman,  in  the  election  then 
coming  on.  On  the  4th  of  November,  1846,  at  a  meeting  of  citizens 
favorable  to  the  election  of  his  friend  who  had  consented  to  fill  the  unin- 
viting place  of  candidate  against  an  overwhelming  majority,  he  deliv- 
ered a  "speech  against  the  Mexican  war,  and  all  supplies  for  its  pros- 
ecution." Determined,  as  he  continued  to  be,  against  public  office,  he 
was  now  unavoidably  embarked  in  politics.  He  could  not  be  spared 
from  the  great  exigencies  of  the  time.  There  was  no  retreat,  except 
in  desertion  of  a  cause  to  which  nature  and  training  alike  had  pledged 
him.  The  course  of  public  affairs,  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  year, 
gave  rise  to  the  succession  of  speeches  and  writings  contained  in  the 
53* 


630  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

second  of  his  volumes  lately  published, —  volumes  rich  in  exposition 
and  brilliant  enforcement  of  the  doctrines  of  Christian  politics,  applied 
to  the  existin<i  condition  of  affairs  in  this  countrv.  A  crreat  occasion 
and  a  great  impulse  seized  upon  him,  and  enforced  the  appeal  of  his 
friend  John  Quincj  Adams,  ^\dien,  in  an  interview  during  Mr.  Adams' 
illness,  that  illustrious  man  urged  upon  him  the  obligations  which 
demanded  him  for  the  public  service,  and  said  to  him.  at  parting,  "  Be 
not  xVtticus." 

Mr.  Sumner  was  not  an  associate  to  be  wilhnglj  parted  with;  and, 
notwithstanding  his  intractableness,  he  continued  to  be  recognized  by 
the  "Whig  party,  till  its  presidential  nomination  in  1848.  But  in  the 
autumn  of  that  year,  in  the  presidential  canvass,  which  issued  in  the 
election  of  Gen.  Taylor,  he  took  an  efScient  part,  repeatedly  addressing 
popular  conventions,  in  different  parts  of  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere, 
in  behalf  of  Mr.  A^an  Buren,  the  candidate  of  the  new  Free  Soil  party. 
On  the  24th  day  of  April,  1851,  he  received  the  election  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  State,  in  concurrence  with  the  previous  vote 
of  the  Senate,  after  twenty-six  ballottings. 

We  would  here  take  occasion  to  notice  a  pleasant  allusion  to  the 
new  party  that  has  risen  amongst  us,  contained  in  a  speech  at 
Salem,  during  the  presidential  contest  of  1848:  "I  do  not  know 
how  it  is  with  you,"  said  Rufus  Choate;  "but  I  must  confess  I 
have  never  met  with  any  man  who,  having  been  a  Whig,  has  devoted 
himself  to  this  new  organization,  and  yet  who,  directly  and  in  terms, 
has  expressed  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  objects  of  the  Whig  party 
have  ceased  to  be  important  and  of  value.  They  say  they  thought 
that  '  the  Whig  party  was  dead ; '  very  much  as  the  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Cruikshank,  I  beheve,  in  the  Pickwick  Papers,  being  himself  in  a 
genial  condition,  and  his  audience  all  sober,  begins  by  saying,  '  In  my 
opinion,  the  assembly  is  drunk.'  '  The  Whig  party  was  dead ; '  but  I 
have  never  met  the  first  man  who,  having  been  a  Whig,  has  ever 
dared  to  say  that,  in  his  judgment,  the  great  doctrines  of  our  creed 
are  not  as  important  and  as  valuable  as  ever,  could  we  but  be  united 
upon  what  he  has  come  to  consider  a  larger  and  a  paramount  object  — 
the  rescue  of  our  new  territory  from  slavery.  The  Whig  party  is 
'dead,' is  it  1  This  looks  mightily  hkeit!  this  sounds  mightily  like 
it !  [alluding  to  the  immense  assembly,  and  to  the  cheering  of  the 
crowd  outside.]  Somebody  is  dead, —  there  is  no  doubt  of  that;  —  but 
it  is  not  we, —  it  is  not  the  Whig  party.  '  Thou  art  not  dead !  '  as 
Grattan  used  to  apostrophize  to  Ireland,  — 


CHARLES   SUMNER.  631 

'  Thou  art  not  vanquished  ! 
Youth  and  beauty  still  are  crimson 
On  thy  lip  and  on  thy  cheek,  — 
Death's  pale  flag  is  not  advanced  there.' 

I  repeat  it,  that  I  never  yet  heard  the  first  man  say  that  any  one  of  the 
doctrines  upon  ■which  our  party  was  organized  has  lost,  in  the  slight- 
est degree  its  importance  and  value  in  practical  politics."  "The 
very  madness  of  party  strife  has  cemented  our  Union,"  says  Mr. 
Choate.  '■'■Idem  sentire  de  7-epublica, —  a  community  of  opinions 
makes  the  masses  of  the  people,  however  widely  scattered,  next-door 
neighbors  and  friends ;  and  thus  the  volcanic  fires  have  blazed,  but 
have  prevented  the  earthquake.  Our  railroads,  our  telegraphic  Avires 
themselves,  conduct  along  the  strong  galvanic  stream  of  consentaneous 
opinions  and  views.  Time  and  space  have  been  annihilated.  Every 
man's  national  politics  make  him  at  home  everywhere  ;  and  thus  the 
sharpest,  the  noisiest,  and  the  most  dangerous  moments  of  political 
discussion,  have  been  the  safest  for  the  country." 

At  the  Cape  Cod  Association,  the  following  sentiment  Avas  advanced 
by  Charles  Sumner :  "  The  Demon  of  Political  Strife  :  If  it  cannot  be 
exorcised  from  public  affairs,  let  us,  at  least,  prevent  the  evil  spirit  from 
taking  a  place  at  the  family  hearth,  from  entering  the  private  circle,  or 
from  troubling  the  charities  of  hfe." 

When  the  national  Fugitive  Slave  Law  —  the  principle  of  which, 
in  the  minds  of  many  eminent  jurists,  was  recognized  by  our  fathers 
in  the  federal  constitution  —  was  practically  tested  by  the  return  of 
the  slave  Hamlet,  from  New  York,  to  his  master  at  the  south,  it  pro- 
duced an  excitement  that,  like  an  earthquake,  shook  the  nation  from 
the  centre  to  its  remotest  parts ;  and  Charles  Sumner  delivered  an 
impassioned  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall,  which  was  received  Avith  thunders 
of  applause,  Nov.  6,  1850,  at  a  Free  soil  meeting. 

The  great  objects  of  the  Free  Soil  party  are  exhibited  in  this 
speech ;  and  we  know  not  any  more  correct  exponent  of  their  princi- 
ples than  Mr.  Sumner.  "  It  is  a  mistake  to  say,"  remarks  he,  "  that 
we  seek  to  interfere,  through  Congress,  with  slavery  in  the  States,  or 
in  any  way  to  direct  the  legislation  of  Congress  upon  subjects  within 
its  jurisdiction.  Our  j^olitical  aims,  as  well  as  our  political  duties,  are 
coextensive  with  our  political  responsibilities.  And,  since  we  at  the 
north  are  responsible  for  slavery  wherever  it  exists,  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Congress,  it  is  unpardonable  in  us  not  to  exert  every  power 


632  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

we  possess  to  enlist  Congress  against  it.  Looking  at  details,  we 
demand,  first  and  foremost,  the  instant  repeal  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Bill.  We  demand  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
We  demand  the  exercise  by  Congress,  in  all  territories,  of  its  time- 
honored  power  to  prohibit  slavery.  We  demand  of  Congress  to  refuse 
to  receive  into  the  Union  any  new  slave  State.  We  demand  the  abo- 
lition of  the  domestic  slave-trade,  so  far  as  it  can  be  constitutionally 
reached,  but  particularly  on  the  high  seas,  under  the  national  flag. 
And,  generally,  we  demand  from  the  federal  government  the  exercise 
of  all  its  constitutional  power  to  relieve  itself  from  responsibility  for 
slavery.  And  yet  one  thing  further  must  be  done.  The  slave  power 
must  be  overturned,  so  that  the  federal  government  may  be  put 
openly,  actively  and  perpetually,  on  the  side  of  freedom. 

"It  happens  to  me  to  sustain  an  important  relation  to  this  bill. 
Early  in  professional  life,  I  was  designated,  by  the  late  Mr.  Justice 
Story,  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States ; 
and,  though  I  have  not  very  often  exercised  the  functions  of  this  post, 
yet  my  name  is  still  upon  the  lists.  As  such,  I  am  one  of  those  before 
whom,  under  the  recent  act  of  Congress,  the  panting  fugitive  may  be 
brought  for  the  decision  of  the  question  whether  he  is  a  freeman  or  a 
slave.  But,  while  it  becomes  me  to  speak  with  caution,  I  shall  not 
hesitate  to  speak  with  plainness.  I  cannot  forget  that  I  am  a  man^ 
although  I  am  a  commissioner."  "  For  myself,  let  me  say  that  I  can 
imagine  no  oflSce,  no  salary,  no  consideration,  Avhich  I  would  not  gladly 
forego,  rather  than  become,  in  any  way,  an  agent  for  enslaving  my 
brother  man.  Where  for  me  would  be  comfort  and  solace,  after  such 
a  work  ?  In  dreams  and  in  Avaking  hours,  in  solitude  and  in  the  street, 
in  the  meditations  of  the  closet,  and  in  the  affairs  of  men, —  wherever 
I  turned,  there  my  victim  would  stare  me  in  the  face ;  from  the  distant 
rice-fields  and  sugar-plantations  of  the  south,  his  cries  beneath  the 
vindictive  lash,  his  moans  at  the  thought  of  liberty, —  once  his,  now, 
alas !  ravished  from  him, —  would  pursue  me,  telling  the  tale  of  his 
fearful  doom,  and  sounding  in  my  ears,  '  Thou  art  the  man  ! ' 

"There  is  a  legend  of  Venice,  consecrated  by  the  pencil  of  one  of 
her  greatest  artists,  that  the  apostle  St.  Mark  suddenly  descended 
into  the  public  square,  and  broke  the  manacles  of  the  slave,  even  before 
the  judge  who  had  decreed  his  doom.  Should  Massachusetts  be  ever 
desecrated  by  such  a  judgment,  may  the  good  apostle,  with  valiant 
arm,  once  more  descend  to  break  the  manacles  of  the  slave! "'     In 


CHARLES  SUMNER.  633 

regard  to  the  approach  of  the  slave-hunter  to  our  borders,  Mr.  Sumner 
sajs  :  ' '  Into  Massachusetts  he  must  not  come.  I  counsel  no  violence. 
I  would  not  touch  his  person.  Not  with  whips  and  thongs  would  I 
se^'irge  him  from  the  land.  The  contempt,  the  indignation,  the  abhor- 
rence of  the  community,  shall  be  our  weapons  of  offence.  Wherever 
he  moves,  he  shall  find  no  house  to  receive  him,  no  table  spread  to 
nourish  him,  no  welcome  to  cheer  him.  The  dismal  lot  of  the  Roman 
exile  shall  be  his.  He  shall  be  a  wanderer,  without  roof,  fire,  or 
water.     Men  shall  point  at  him  in  the  streets,  and  on  the  highways, — 

'  Sleep  shall  neither  night  nor  day 
Hang  upon  his  pent-house  lid  ; 
He  shall  live  a  man  forbid  ! 
Weary  seven  nights,  nine  times  nine, 
Shall  he  dwindle,  peak  and  pine  ! '  "   • 

In  this  speech  of  Mr.  Sumner,  a  parallel  is  drawn  between  the 
Stamp  Act  and  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act,  in  which  he  showed  how  "the 
unconquerable  rage  of  the  people  "  had  compelled  the  stamp  ofiicers  to 
resign  their  ofiSces,  in  1765,  and  contended  that  the  slave  act  and  the 
stamp  act  were  alike  unconstitutional.  An  energetic  writer  in  the 
Transcript,  over  the  signature  of  "  Sigma,"  and  recognized  as  "The 
Sexton  of  the  Old  School,"  whose  spirit  of  philanthropy  in  the  tem- 
perance reform  has  given  him  immortal  fame  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic,  contends  there  is  no  similarity  between  them.  "  Our  fath- 
ers," says  Sigma,  "were  not  represented, —  we  are;  they  had  no 
power,  by  their  suffrages,  to  change  their  law-makers, —  we  have ;  they, 
and  many  great  men,  members  of  the  British  Parliament,  utterly 
denied  the  right  of  taxation, —  we  recognize  our  constitutional  obliga- 
tions;"—  and,  in  a  tone  of  sarcasm,  when  alluding  to  the  remark  of 
Mr.  Sumner,  "I  counsel  no  violence,"  Sigma  retorts,  "He  vivified- 
the  fury  of  the  masses,  by  reminding  them  of  the  unconquerable  rage 
of  the  people  in  1765, —  but  he  counselled  no  violence  !  He  held  up 
the  present  and  the  former  occasion  as  equally  demanding  an  exhibition 
of  their  unconquerable  rage, —  but  he  counselled  no  violence  !  He 
asked  them  if  we  should  be  more  tolerant  now  than  were  those  whose 
unconquerable  rage  drove  magistrates  from  their  homes,  sacked  their 
houses,  compelled  their  wives  and  daughters  to  fly,  in  terror,  for  their 
lives,  guzzled  their  liquors,  and  stole  their  gold, —  but  he  counselled 
no  violence  !  To  let  them  know  they  were  not  alone  in  their  treason- 
able purposes,  he  significantly  assured  them  there  were  not  wanting 


634  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   OKATORS. 

those  who  ^^•cre  ready  to  resist  the  laws  of  their  country,  and  protect 
the  fugitive  by  force, —  but  he  counselled  no  violence  !  " 

Mr.  Sumner,  in  his  speech  on  the  floor  of  the  United  States  Senate, 
Jan.  27,  1852,  in  favor  of  a  bill  granting  the  right  of  way  and  making 
a  grant  of  land  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  in  the  construction  of  certain  rail- 
roads in  that  State,  thus  enlarges  on  the  benefit  which  will  result  "from 
the  opening  of  a  new  communication,  by  which  the  territory  beyond  the 
Mississippi  will  be  brought  into  connection  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
and  by  which  the  distant  posts  of  Council  BluflFs  will  become  a  suburb 
of  "Washington.  It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  influence  of 
roads  as  means  of  civilization.  This,  at  least,  may  be  said :  where 
roads  are  not,  civilization  cannot  be :  and  civilization  advances  as  roads 
are  extended.  By  these,  religion  and  knowledge  are  diffused ;  inter- 
course of  all  kinds  is  promoted;  the  producer,  the  manufacturer  and 
the  consumer,  are  all  brought  nearer  together ;  commerce  is  quickened ; 
markets  are  opened  ;  property,  wherever  touched  by  these  lines,  is 
changed,  as  by  a  magic  rod,  into  new  values ;  and  the  great  current  of 
travel,  like  that  stream  of  classic  fable,  or  one  of  the  rivers  of  our  own 
California,  hurries  in  a  channel  of  golden  sand.  The  roads,  together 
with  the  laws,  of  ancient  Rome,  are  now  better  remembered  than  her 
victories.  The  Flaminian  and  Appian  ways,  once  trod  by  returning 
proconsuls  and  tributary  kings,  still  remain  as  beneficent  representa- 
tives of  her  departed  grandeur.  Under  God,  the  road  and  the  school- 
master are  the  two  chief  agents  of  human  improvement.  The  educa- 
tion begun  by  the  schoolmaster  is  expanded,  liberalized  and  completed, 
by  intercourse  with  the  world ;  and  this  intercourse  finds  new  opportu- 
nities and  inducements  in  every  road  that  is  built. 

"Our  country  has  already  done  much  in  this  regard.  Through  a 
remarkable  line  of  steam  communications,  chiefly  by  railroad,  its  whole 
population  is  now,  or  will  be  soon,  brought  close  to  the  borders  of 
Iowa.  The  cities  of  the  southern  seaboard  —  Charleston,  Savannah, 
and  Mobile  —  are  already  stretching  their  lines  in  this  direction,  soon 
to  be  completed  conductors ;  while  the  traveller  from  all  the  principal 
points  of  the  northern  seaboard, —  from  Portland,  Boston,  Providence, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Washington, —  now  passes 
without  impediment  to  this  remote  region,  traversing  a  territory  of 
unexampled  resources, —  at  once  a  magazine  and  a  granary, —  the 
largest  coal-field,  and  at  the  same  time  the  largest  corn-field,  of  the 
known  globe, —  winding  his  way  among  churches  and  school-houses, 


PLINY  MERRICK.  635 

among  forests  and  gardens,  by  villages,  towns  and  cities,  along  the  sea, 
along  rivers  and  lakes,  vrith  a  speed  which  may  recall  the  gallop  of  the 
ghostly  horseman  in  the  ballad : 

'  Fled  past  on  right  and  left  how  fast 
Each  forest,  grove,  and  bower  ! 
On  right  and  left  fled  past  how  fast 
Each  city,  town,  and  tower  ! 

'  Ti'amp  !  tramp  !  along  the  land  they  speed. 
Splash  !  splash  !  along  the  sea.' 

On  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  he  is  now  arrested.  The  proposed 
road  in  Iowa  will  bear  the  adventurer  yet  further,  to  the  banks  of  the 
Missouri ;  and  this  distant  giant  stream,  mightiest  of  the  earth,  leaping 
from  its  sources  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  will  be  clasped  with  the 
Atlantic  in  the  same  iron  bracelet.  In  all  this,  I  see  not  only  further 
opportunities  for  commerce,  but  a  new  extension  to  civilization,  and 
increased  streno;th  to  our  national  Union. 

"A  heathen  poet,  while  picturing  the  golden  age  without  long  lines 
of  road,  has  ignorantly  indicated  this  circumstance  as  creditable  to  that 
imaginary  period,  in  contrast  with  his  own.  'How  well,'  exclaimed 
the  youthful  Tibullus,  'they  lived  while  Saturn  ruled, — before  tlu 
earth  was  opened  by  long  ways : ' 

*  Quam  bene  Saturno  vivebant  rege  ;  priusquam 
Tellus  in  longas  est  patef acta  vias.' 

But  the  true  golden  age  is  before  us, —  not  behind  us ;  and  one  of 
its  tokens  will  be  the  completion  of  those  lo7ig-  icays,  by  which  vil- 
lages, towns,  counties,  states,  provinces,  nations,  are  all  to  be  asso- 
ciated and  knit  together  in  a  fellowship  that  can  never  be  broken." 


PLINY  MERRICK. 

JULY  9,  1845.    EULOGY  ON  PRESIDENT  JACKSON. 

The  irresistible  impression  of  every  patriotic  heart,  on  reading 
the  eloquent  eulogy  of  Judge  Merrick,  delivered  in  Faneuil  Hall,  on 
our  modern  Roman,  must  be  that,  if  Jackson  was  iron-willed  and 
daring,  his  decisive  energy  was  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  country, 


636  THE  HUNDKED  BOSTON   ORATORS. 

and  ho  has  thus  more  firmly  cemented  our  vast  republican  edifice. 
"  Undoubtedly  by  far  the  most  important  and  alarming  pohtical  ques- 
tions ^yhich  have  ever  arisen  under  the  constitution  since  its  adoption," 
says  Judge  Merrick,  "  were  those  created  by  the  measures  pursued  by 
South  Carolina  during  the  administration  of  President  Jackson,  in  resist- 
ance of  the  laTVS  of  the  United  States  for  the  collection  of  its  revenue. 
"Not  claiming  to  exercise  that  great  fundamental  popular  right 
■which  precedes  and  underlies  all  constitutions  and  forms  of  government, 

—  that  incontestible,  inalienable  and  indefeasible,  right  of  the  people, 
to  reform,  alter  or  totally  change  the  government,  when  their  protec- 
tion, safety,  prosperity  and  happiness,  require  it, —  South  Carolina 
insisted  that,  under  the  constitution,  and  in  strict  conformity  to  the 
terms  upon  which  she  had  entered  the  Union,  and  to  her  obligation  to 
the  rest  of  the  United  States,  it  was  competent  for  her  people  to 
denounce  a  law  of  Congress  as  unconstitutional,  null  and  void,  and  to 
prohibit  all  execution  of  its  provisions  within  the  limits  of  her  terri- 
tory. And,  in  pursuance  of  this  extravagant  assumption,  a  popular 
convention,  assembled  in  conformity  to  an  act  of  her  Legislature, 
assumed  the  tremendous  responsibility  of  abolishing  the  obnoxious  law, 
and  of  placing  the  State  in  an  attitude  of  open,  direct  and  undisguised, 
hostility  to  the  general  government.  Never  could  there  be,  in  the  his- 
tory of  an  ardent,  generous  and  free  people,  a  crisis  of  more  thrilling 
interest  or  portentous  disaster  than  this ;  but  never  could  there  have 
been  found  a  magistrate  better  fitted  for  so  terrible  an  emergency  than 
Andrew  Jackson.  In  the  gravity  of  his  wisdom,  he  paused  in  the  reflec- 
tion that  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  existing  and  of  unborn 
generations,  under  a  constitution  establishing  the  freest  government  on 
earth,  bound  together  in  the  bonds  of  a  political  union  cemented  with 
the  blood  of  a  noble,  self-sacrificing  ancestry,  depended  upon  his  deci- 
sion, his  prudence,  his  counsel,  and  his  strength.  He  examined  all  the 
questions  involved  in  the  great  controversy  with  the  most  thorough  and 
searching  scrutiny,  in  every  aspect  in  which  they  could  be  considered, 

—  in  every  light  in  which  they  could  be  presented ;  and,  throwing 
himself  into  the  arms  of  the  people,  and  relying  upon  their  stability  in 
virtue,  and  loyalty  in  patriotism,  he  issued,  in  the  form  of  a  proclama- 
tion, one  of  the  most  remarkable  papers  ever  addressed  by  a  govern- 
ment to  its  citizens.  Demolishing  the  sophistry  of  opposing  arguments, 
and  unfolding,  with  the  utmost  clearness,  his  views  of  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  constitutional  union,  he  appealed,  with  all  the  earnestness  that 


PLINY  MERRICK.  637 

danger  could  inspire,  and  all  the  affection  that  could  warm  the  heart  of 
a  father,  to  the  generous  and  manly  people  of  his  native  State,  to  aban- 
don the  mad  project  of  disunion,  and  reunite  with  their  fellow-citizens 
in  lawful  and  constitutional  measures  for  the  redress  of  all  real  or 
apprehended  grievances.  But,  finally,  he  announced  his  unalterable 
determination,  upon  their  refusal  to  comply  with  their  constitutional 
obligations,  to  enforce  the  execution  of  the  laws  they  had  assumed  to 
annul,  at  the  hazard  of  every  consequence.  His  simple  but  authorita- 
tive mandate —  'the  Union,  it  Tnust  be  preserved' — came  like  sun- 
shine through  the  cloud, — like  the  benignant  light  of  the  guiding  star, 
through  the  mists  of  ocean,  to  the  anxious  mariner  tossed  on  its  bil- 
lows. The  effect  was  electrical,  grand,  and  decisive.  The  ranks  of 
opposition  swayed  away  from  their  organization,  and  every  defender  of 
the  constitution  rushed  to  the  rampart,  to  stand  by  its  noble  and  fear- 
less representative.  The  voices  of  congratulation,  of  defence,  of  com- 
promise, mingled  together,  and  the  thanksgivings  for  an  Union  pre- 
served went  up  once  more  from  the  hearts  of  an  united  people." 

Phny  Merrick  was  born  at  Brookfield,  Aug.  2,  1794 ;  was  a  son  of 
Hon.  Pliny  Merrick,  and  married  ]Mary  R.,  daughter  of  Isaiah  Thomas, 
1821.  He  studied  law  with  Gov.  Levi  Lincoln,  during  which  period 
he  delivered  the  4th  of  July  oration,  at  Worcester,  in  1817,  when  he 
displayed  a  fertile  imagination  and  patriotic  ardor.  In  that  year  he 
opened  an  oflBce  at  Worcester,  after  admission  to  the  bar,  where  he  prac- 
tised until  May,  1818,  when  he  removed  to  Charlton,  and  in  three 
months  was  located  at  Swanzey,  Bristol  county,  until  August,  1820. 
From  this  town  he  removed  to  Taunton,  and  became  partner  with 
Hon.  Marcus  Morton,  during  one  year,  to  1824,  when  he  returned  to 
Worcester,  July  6th  of  that  year,  and  was  appointed  the  county 
attorney  by  Gov.  Brooks.  In  1829  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Anti-masonic  Convention  of  Massachusetts,  and  pubhshed  a  letter  on 
Speculative  Masonry  at  that  period.  In  1832  Gov.  Lincoln  appointed 
Mr.  Merrick  the  attorney  for  the  middle  district,  on  the  organization  of 
the  crimir;al  courts  distinct  from  the  civil  tribunals.  In  1827  he  was  a 
representative  for  Worcester,  and  was  several  years  a  selectman  of  the 
town.  In  1827  he  delivered  the  agricultural  address  for  Worcester 
Fair.  He  was  an  editor  of  the  National  ^gis,  in  Worcester,  as  suc- 
cessor to  Edward  D.  Bangs.  In  1843  Gov.  Morton  appointed  Mr. 
Merrick  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas ;  and,  after  the  decease 
of  Judge  Thacher,  in  1844,  he  became  one  of  the  ex-officio  judges  of 
54 


638  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

the  Municipal  Court.  He  -was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  of  1850. 
Judge  Merrick  is  a  man  of  very  active  business  habits,  and  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Worcester  and  Nashua  Railroad  corporation.  He  is  pro- 
foundly learned  in  the  laAV,  and  amply  equal  to  civil,  political,  or 
business  stations.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1811,  on 
which  occasion  he  engaged  in  a  conference  on  the  relative  connection, 
in  a  free  government,  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  political  associations, 
and  the  frequency  of  elections.  Mr.  Merrick  was  originally  an  advo- 
cate of  the  cause  of  Freemasonry ;  and  published,  in  1823,  a  Masonic 
address,  delivered  at  Northborough,  which  is  much  at  variance  with  his 
letter  on  the  subject  when  he  espoused  Anti-masonry.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  and  will  long  be  remembered 
among  us  as  the  leading  counsel  in  the  defence  of  Professor  John  W. 
Webster,  for  the  murder  of  Dr.  George  Parkman.  In  1851  he  again 
accepted  the  office  of  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  under 
Gov.  Briggs.  In  1853  he  succeeded  Caleb  Gushing  to  the  bench  of 
the  Massachusetts  Supreme  Court. 


ROBERT  CHARLES  WINTHROP. 

■     OCT.  15,  18i5.    MERCANTILE  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION. 

'■  If  one  were  called  on  to  say  what,  upon  the  whole,  was  the  most 
distinctive  and  characterizing  feature  of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  I 
think  he  might  reply,"  says  Mr.  Winthrop,  "  that  it  was  the  rapid  and 
steady  progress  of  the  influence  of  commerce  upon  the  social  and  polit- 
ical condition  of  man.  The  policy  of  the  civihzed  world  is  now  every- 
where and  eminently  a  commercial  policy.  No  longer  do  the  nations 
of  the  earth  measure  their  relative  consequence  by  the  number  and 
discipline  of  their  armies  upon  the  land,  or  their  armadas  upon  the  sea. 
The  tables  of  their  imports  and  exports,  the  tonnage  of  their  commer- 
cial marines,  the  value  and  variety  of  their  home  trade,  the  sum  total 
of  their  mercantile  exchanges,  —  these  furnish  the  standards  by  which 
national  power  and  national  importance  are  now  marked  and  measured. 
Even  extent  of  territorial  dominion  is  valued  little,  save  as  it  gives  scope 
and  verge  for  mercantile  transactions ;  and  the  great  use  of  colonies 
is  what  Lord  Sheffield  declared  it  to  be,  half  a  century  ago,  '  the 
monopoly  of  their  consumption,  and  the  carriage  of  their  produce.' 


ROBERT   CHARLES  WINTHROP.  639 

"Look  to  the  domestic  administration,  or  the  foreign  negotiation,  of 
our  own,  or  any  other  civilized  country.  Listen  to  the  debates  of  the 
two  houses  of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  What  are  the  subjects  of  their 
gravest  and  most  frequent  discussions  ?  The  succession  of  families  ? 
The  marriage  of  princes  ?  The  conquest  of  provinces  ?  The  balance 
of  power  ?  —  No ;  the  balance  of  trade,  the  sliding  scale,  corn,  cotton, 
sugar,  timber, —  these  furnish  now  the  home-spun  threads  upon  which 
the  statesmen  of  modern  days  are  obliged  to  string  the  pearls  of  their 
parliamentary  rhetoric.  Nay,  the  prime  minister  himself  is  heard 
discoursing  upon  the  duties  to  be  levied  upon  the  seed  of  a  certain 
savory  vegetable, — the  use  of  which  not  even  Parisian  authority  has 
rendered  quite  genteel  upon  a  fair  day, — as  gravely  as  if  it  were  as 
true  in  regard  to  the  complaints  against  the  tariff  of  Great  Britain,  as 
some  of  us  think  it  is  true  in  reference  to  the  murmurs  against  our 
own  American  tariff,  that  '  all  the  tears  which  should  water  this  sorrow 
live  in  an  onion  ! ' 

"  Cross  over  to  the  continent.  What  is  the  great  fact  of  the  day  in 
that  quarter  ?  Lo,  a  convention  of  delegates  from  ten  of  the  inde- 
pendent States  of  Germany,  forgetting  their  own  political  rivalries  and 
social  feuds, —  flinging  to  the  winds  all  the  fears  and  jealousies  which 
have  so  long  sown  dragon's  teeth  along  the  borders  of  neighboring 
states  of  disproportioned  strength  and  different  forms  of  government, 
—  the  lamb  lying  down  with  the  lion, —  the  little  city  of  Frankfort 
with  the  proud  kingdom  of  Prussia, —  and  all  entering  into  a  solemn 
league  to  regulate  commerce  and  secure  markets  !  What  occupy  the 
thoughts  of  the  diplomatists, — the  Guizots,  and  Aberdeens,  and  Met- 
ternichs  7  Reciprocal  treaties  of  commerce  and  navigation. —  treaties 
to  advance  an  honest  trade,  or  sometimes  (I  thank  Heaven  !)  to  abolish 
an  infamous  and  accursed  traffic, —  these  are  the  engrossing  topics  of 
their  protocols  and  ultimatums.  Even  wars,  when  they  have  occurred, 
or  when  they  have  been  rumored,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  past,  how 
almost  uniformly  has  the  real  motive,  whether  of  the  menace  or  of  the 
hostile  act,  proved  to  be, —  whatever  may  have  been  the  pretence, — 
not,  as  aforetime,  to  destroy,  but  to  secure,  the  sources  of  commercial 
wealth.  Algiers,  Affghanistan,  China.  Texas,  Oregon,  all  point  more 
or  less  directly  to  one  and  the  same  pervading  policy  throughout  the 
world, —  of  opening  new  markets,  securing  new  ports,  and  extending 
commerce  and  navigation  over  new  lands  and  new  seas. 

*^  ^  ^  .u,  a^.  ^t* 

-Tf'  Tf  TP  -rf  'TV'  •«• 


640  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

"  Well  misrht  the  mail-clad  monarchs  of  the  earth  refuse  their  coun- 
tenance  to  Columbus,  and  reward  his  matchless  exploit  with  beggary 
and  chains.  He  projected,  he  accompHshed,  that  which,  in  its  ultimate 
and  inevitable  consequences,  was  to  wrest  from  their  hands  the  imple- 
ments of  their  ferocious  sport, —  to  break  their  bow  and  knap  their 
spear  in  sunder,  and  all  but  to  extinguish  the  source  of  their  proudest 
and  most  absolute  prerogative. 

'  No  kingly  conqueror,  since  time  began 
The  long  career  of  ages,  hath  to  man 
A  scope  so  ample  given  for  Trade's  bold  range, 
Or  caused  on  earth's  wide  stage  such  rapid,  mighty  change.' 

From  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  the  mercantile  spirit  has  been 
rapidly  gaining  upon  its  old  antagonist ;  and  the  establishment  upon 
these  shores  of  our  own  republic,  whose  Union  was  the  immediate 
result  of  commercial  necessities,  whose  independence  found  its  original 
impulse  in  commercial  oppressions,  and  of  whose  constitution  the  reg- 
ulation of  commerce  was  the  first  leading  idea,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
epoch  at  which  the  martial  spirit  finally  lost  a  supremacy,  which,  it  is 
believed  and  trusted,  it  can  never  reacquire. 

'•  Yes,  Mr.  President,  it  is  commerce  which  is  fast  exorcising  the  fell 
spirit  of  war  from  nations  which  it  has  so  long  been  tearing  and  rend- 
ing. The  merchant  may,  indeed,  almost  be  seen,  at  this  moment,  sum- 
moning the  rulers  of  the  earth  to  his  counting-desk,  and  putting  them 
under  bonds  to  keep  the  peace  !  Upon  what  do  we  ourselves  rely,  to 
counteract  the  influence  of  the  close  approximation  of  yonder  flaming 
planet  to  our  sphere '?  Let  me  rather  say  (for  it  is  not  in  our  stars,  but 
in  ourselves,  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  causes  which  have  brought  the 
apprehensions  of  war  once  more  home  to  our  hearts),  upon  what  do  we 
rely,  to  save  us  from  the  bloody  arbitrement  of  questions  of  mere*  ter- 
ritory and  boundary,  into  which  our  own  arbitrary  and  ambitious  views 
would  plunge  us '?  To  Avhat  do  we  look  to  prevent  a  protracted  strife 
with  Mexico,  if  not  to  arrest  even  the  outbreak  of  hostihties,  but  to 
the  unwillingness  of  the  great  commercial  powers  that  the  trade  of  the 
West  Indies  and  of  the  Gulf  should  be  interrupted  7  Why  is  it  so 
confidently  pronounced  that  Great  Britain  will  never  go  to  war  with 
the  United  States  for  Oregon  ?  Why,  but  that  trade  has  created  such 
a  Siamese  ligament  between  the  two  countries,  that  every  blow  upon  us 
would  be  but  as  a  blow  of  the  right  arm  upon  the  left  ]     Why,  but  that, 


ROBERT    CHARLES   WINTHROP.  641 

in  the  smoke-pipe  of  every  steamer  •which  brings  her  merchandise  to 
our  ports,  we  see  a  calumet  of  peace,  which  her  war-chiefs  dare  not 
extinguish  ?  Commerce  has,  indeed,  almost  reahzcd  ideas  which  the 
poet,  in  his  wildest  fancies,  assumed  as  the  very  standard  of  impossi- 
bility. We  may  not  '  charm  ache  with  air,  or  agony  with  words ; ' 
but  may  we  not  '  fetter  strong  madness  with  a  cotton  thread ' '?  Yes, 
that  little  fibre,  which  was  not  known  as  a  product  of  the  North  Amer- 
ican soil  when  our  old  colonial  union  with  Great  Britain  was  dissolved, 
has  already  been  spun,  by  the  ocean-moved  power-loom  of  international 
commerce,  into  a  thread  which  may  fetter  forever  the  strong  madness 
of  war ! 

"Yet  let  us  not,  let  us  not,  experiment  upon  its  tension  too  far. 
Neither  the  influences  of  commerce,  nor  any  other  influences,  have  yet 
brought  about  the  day  (if,  indeed,  such  a  day  is  ever  to  be  enjoyed 
before  the  second  coming  of  the  Prince  of  Peace),  when  we  may  regard 
all  danger  of  war  at  an  end,  and  when  we  may  fearlessly  sport  with 
the  firebrands  which  have  heretofore  kindled  it,  or  throw  down  the  fire- 
arms by  which  we  have  been  accustomed  to  defend  ourselves  against  it. 
Preparation  —  I  will  not  say  for-  war,  but  against  war  —  is  still  the 
dictate  of  common  prutlence.  And,  while  I  would  always  contend  first 
for  that  preparation  of  an  honest,  equitable,  inoffensive  and  unaggres- 
sive, policy  towards  all  other  nations,  which  would  secure  us,  in  every 
event,  the  triple  armor  of  a  just  cause,  I  am  not  ready  to  abandon 
those  other  preparations  for  which  our  constitution  and  laws  have  made 
provision.  Nor  do  I  justify  such  preparations  only  on  any  narrow  views 
of  State  necessity  and  worldly  policy.  I  know  no  policy,  as  a  states- 
man, which  I  may  not  pursue  as  a  Christian.  I  can  advocate  no  sys- 
tem before  men,  which  I  may  not  justify  to  my  own  conscience,  or 
which  I  shrink  from  holding  up,  in  humble  trust,  before  my  God." 

Robert  Charles  Winthrop  was  born  in  Boston,  May  12,  1809,  and 
was  a  son  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Lindall  Winthrop,  who  married  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Sir  John  Temple,  and  a  grand-daughter  of  Gov.  James 
Bowdoin.  He  was  a  descendant  of  John  Winthrop,  the  first  governor 
elected  by  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  in  1630-1.  The  gov- 
ernor's town-lot,  known  as  "  The  Green,"  included  the  land  now  owned 
by  the  Old  South  Church,  on  Washington-street,  and  his  residence  was 
nearly  opposite  School-street.  It  was  afterwards  occupied  by  Prince,  the 
annalist;  and  was  a  two-story  wooden  edifice,  which  was  destroyed  for 
fuel,  by  the  British  troops,  in  1775.  His  father  was  six  years  lieuten- 
54* 


642  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

ant-governor  of  Massacliusetts,   and  president  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society. 

Younf^  Winthrop  entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1818  ;  and 
■when  later  in  life,  he  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a  public  school 
festival  in  Fancuil  Hall,  he  made  the  following  pertinent  allusion: 
"  There  is  no  festival,  in  our  political  or  civil  calendar,  -which  I  would 
so  gladly  attend  as  the  festival  of  the  schools.  Many  years  have 
elapsed  since  I  enjoyed  such  a  privilege.  Indeed,  my  strongest  asso- 
ciations with  the  occasion  run  back  to  the  somewhat  distant  day  when 
I  was  myself  a  medal-boy,  and  when  I  received  from  the  city  authori- 
ties a  set  of  books,  which  are  still  the  proudest-  ornaments  of  my 
hbrary."  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  ;  and  on  that  occasion  he 
delivered  an  oration  on  "Public  Station,"  which  foreshadowed  his 
future  career ;  and,  at  a  college  exhibition,  he  pronounced  an  oration 
on  the  influence  of  external  circumstances  on  the  mind.  He  entered 
on  the  study  of  the  law  under  the  guidance  of  Daniel  Webster,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  Suffolk  bar  in  1831.  He  married  Eliza  C. 
Blanchard,  March  12,  1832;  and  married  a  second  wife, —  Laura, 
daughter  of  John  Derby,  Esq.,  of  Salem,  and  widow  of  Arnold  F. 
Welles,  Esq., —  Nov.  6,  1849.  He  had  two  sons  and  one  daughter, 
by  his  first  wife.  He  was  early  engaged  in  military  stations.  He  was 
captain  of  the  Boston  Light  Infantry  ;  lieutenant  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honorable  Artillery  Company ;  an  aid-de-camp  to  Governors  Davis, 
Armstrong,  and  Everett.  In  the  year  1834  he  was  elected  a  repre- 
sentative to  the  State  Legislature,  until  1841,  and  was  Speaker  of  the 
House  from  1838,  until  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  Suffolk,  in 
1841,  as  successor  to  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence.  He  resigned  in  1842, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Nathan  Appleton,  who  relinquished 
the  station  at  the  close  of  that  session,  when  the  seat  was  resumed  by 
his  personal  friend.  Mr.  Winthrop.  He  was  Speaker  of  the  House  in 
Congress  during  the  years  1848  and  '49.  In  the  Congress  of  1850, 
Mr.  Winthrop  was  again  a  candidate  for  the  speaker's  chair,  but  was 
defeated,  on  a  plurality  vote,  by  two  votes,  after  a  contest  of  more  than 
sixty  ballotings.  In  July,  1850,  when  Mr.  Webster  became  Secretary 
of  State  under  President  Fillmore,  Mr.  Winthrop  was  appointed,  by 
the  executive  of  Massachusetts,  to  succeed  him  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  We  believe  that  Mr.  Winthrop  is  the  only  native  Bostonian 
who  has  been  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Congress. 

We  love  the  name  of  Winthrop, —  it  has  ever  been  the  honor  of 


ROBERT    CHARLES   WINTUROP.  643 

New  England ;  and  our  late  senator  in  Congress  has  added  to  its  lustre, 
in  the  opinion  of  his  friends,  by  an  unblenching  resistance  to  reputed 
party  intrigue.  It  appears  that,  on  the  opening  of  the  thirtieth  session 
of  Congress,  in  December,  1847,  Mr.  Palfrey,  of  Massachusetts,  had 
endeavored  to  procure  pledges  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  in  regard  to  the  con- 
stitution of  those  committees  which  have  especial  direction  of  subjects 
connected  with  war  and  slavery.  Mr.  Winthrop  rejected  these  over- 
tures, and  we  here  present  the  correspondence  on  that  matter.  It  is  a 
valuable  fragment  of  political  history : 

"56  Coleman^ s,  Washington^  Dec^  5,  1847. 

"  Dear  Sir  :  —  It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  aid,  by  my  vote, 
in  placing '  you  in  the  chair  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  But  I 
have  no  personal  hopes  or  fears  to  dictate  my  course  in  the  matter ; 
and  the  great  consideration  for  me  must  be  that  of  the  policy  which  the 
speaker  will  impress  on  the  action  of  the  house. 

"  Not  to  trouble  you  with  suggestions  as  to  subordinate  points,  there 
are  some  leading  questions  on  which  it  may  be  presumed  that  you 
have  a  settled  purpose.  May  I  respectfully  inquire  whether,  if  elected 
speaker,  it  is  your  intention, — 

"  So  to  constitute  the  Committees  of  Foreign  Relations,  and  of  Ways 
and  Means,  as  to  arrest  the  existing  war  7 

"  So  to  constitute  the  Committee  on  the  Territories  as  to  obstruct 
the  legal  establishment  of  slavery  within  any  territory? 

"So  to  constitute  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  as  to  favor  the 
repeal  of  the  law  of  Feb.  12,  1793,  which  denies  trial  by  jury  to  per- 
sons charged  with  being  slaves  ;  to  give  a  fair  and  favorable  consider- 
ation to  the  question  of  the  repeal  of  those  acts  of  Congress  which  now 
sustain  slavery  in  this  district ;  and  to  further  such  measures  as  may 
be  in  the  power  of  Congress,  to  remedy  the  grievances  of  which  Mas- 
sachusetts complains  at  the  hands  of  South  Carolina,  in  respect  to  ill 
treatment  of  her  citizens  ? 

"  I  should  feel  much  obliged  to  you  for  a  reply  at  your  early  con- 
venience ;  and  I  should  be  happy  to  be  permitted  to  communicate  it, 
or  its  substance,  to  some  gentlemen  who  entertain  similar  views  to 
mine,  on  this  class  of  questions. 

"I  am,  dear  sir, 

"  With  great  personal  esteem, 

"  Your  friend  and  servant, 

"John  G.  Palfrey." 


64-4  THE    HUXDKED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

On  the  reception  of  this  note,  Mr.  Winthrop  promptly  addressed 
the  following  dignified  reply : 

"  Washing-ton,  Coleman^ s  Hotel,  Dec.  5,  1847. 

"  Dear  Sir:  —  Your  letter  of  to-day  has  this  moment  been  handed 
to  me.  I  am  greatly  obliged  by  the  disposition  you  expi'ess  '  to  aid 
in  i^lacing  me  in  the  chair  of  the  House  of  Representatives.'  But  I 
must  be  perfectly  candid  in  saying  to  you  that,  if  I  am  to  occupy  that 
chair,  I  must  go  into  it  -without  pledges  of  any  sort. 

"  I  have  not  sought  the  place.  I  have  solicited  no  man's  vote.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  Whig  members  of  the  house,  last  evening  (at  which, 
however,  I  believe  that  you  were  not  present),  I  was  formally  nomi- 
nated as  the  whig  candidate  for  speaker,  and  I  have  accepted  the  nom- 
ination. 

"  But  I  have  uniformly  said,  to  all  who  have  inquired  of  me,  that 
my  policy  in  organizing  the  house  must  be  sought  for  in  my  general 
conduct  and  character  as  a  public  man. 

"  I  have  been  for  seven  years  a  aaember  of  Congress  from  our  com- 
mon State  of  Massachusetts.  My  votes  are  on  record.  My  speeches 
are  in  print.  If  they  have  not  been  such  as  to  inspire  confidence  in 
my  course,  nothing  that  I  could  get  up  for  the  occasion,  in  the  shape 
of  pledges  or  declaration  of  purpose,  ought  to  do  so. 

"  Still  less  could  I  feel  it  consistent  with  my  own  honor,  after  having 
received  and  accepted  a  general  nomination,  and  just  on  the  eve  of  the 
election,  to  frame  answers  to  specific  questions,  like  those  which  you 
have  proposed,  to  be  shown  to  a  few  gentlemen,  as  you  suggest,  and 
to  be  withheld  from  the  great  body  of  the  Whigs. 

"  Deeply,  therefore,  as  I  should  regret  to  lose  the  distinction  which 
the  Whigs  in  Congress  have  offered  to  me,  and,  through  me,  to  New 
England,  for  want  of  the  aid  of  a  Massachusetts  vote,  I  must  yet 
respectfully  decline  any  more  direct  reply  to  the  interrogatories  which 
your  letter  contains. 

"I  remain,  with  every  sentiment  of  personal  esteem, 
"  Your  friend  and  servant, 

"Robert  C.  Winthrop. 

"Hon.  John  G.  Palfrey,  &c.  &c." 

It  has  been  stated  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  that,  after  receiving  this 
note  from  his  brother  colleague  in  Congress,  Mr.  Palfrey  steadily. 


ROBERT    CHARLES   WINTIIROP.  645 

upon  three  several  ballotings,  opposed  his  election  to  the  speakership  of 
the  house :  but  Mr.  Winthrop  was  elected,  however,  by  a  majority  of 
one  vote. 

Mr.  Winthrop  made  a  tour  of  England,  France,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe.  Shortly  after  his  departure  for  England,  Edward  Everett, 
then  ambassador  to  the  court  of  St.  James,  in  writing  to  a  friend  in 
Massachusetts,  said  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  "A  better  specimen  of  America 
never  crossed  the  water."  He  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  and  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences. 

"  Mr.  Winthrop  has  been,  from  his  earliest  youth,  an  object  of  the 
public  regard,  as  a  person  of  high  qualifications  for  the  public  service," 
says  George  Ticknor  Curtis.  "In  his  talents,  his  cultivation,  his  cor- 
rectness of  principle,  his  uniform  adherence  to  a  true  public  policy, 
and  his  capacity  to  judge  rightly  and  speak  eloquently  upon  public 
affairs,  he  has  been  all  his  life  a  representative  of  the  people  among 
•whom  he  was  born, —  of  their  institutions,  and  of  the  spirit  of  their 
whole  condition.  To  these  characteristics  there  has  been  added,  in  his 
case,  the  associations  which  gather  about  a  name  interwoven  forever 
with  our  history  and  our  glory.  Nor  has  he  ever  disappointed  one  of 
the  expectations  that  have  fondly  centred  us  on  him,  until,  in  this 
middle  period  of  his  life,  in  an  hour  of  that  misapprehension  or  mis- 
representation to  which  all  public  men  are  exposed,  he  has  had  charges 
laid  at  his  door  which  aim  at  his  integrity  of  purpose  and  consistency 
of  character."  This  regards  his  vote  for  the  war  with  Mexico;  on 
which  point,  Mr.  Winthrop,  in  a  speech  June  26,  1846,  remarked, 
"  I  believed,  when  that  bill  providing  for  the  war  was  before  us,  and  I 
beheve  still,  that  the  policy  of  the  administration  had  already  involved 
us  in  a  state  of  things  which  could  not  be  made  better,  Avhich  could 
not  be  either  remedied  or  relieved,  by  withholding  supplies  or  disguising 
its  real  character.  And  I  will  say  further,  that,  while  I  condemn  both 
the  policy  of  annexation,  as  a  whole,  and  the  movement  of  our  army 
from  Corpus  Christi,  as  a  most  unnecessary  and  unwarrantable  part,  I 
Avas  not  one  of  those  who  considered  Mexico  as  entirely  without  fault." 

Mr.  Winthrop,  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  was  manly,  decided,  and 
effective.  No  man  there  ever  spoke  more  to  the  purpose.  This  pas- 
sage, from  the  speech  on  sectional  controversies,  shows  the  man : 
"  When  I  was  first  a  candidate  for  Congress,  now  some  ten  winters 
gone,  I  told  the  abolitionists  of  my  district,  in  reply  to  their  interrog- 


646  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

atories,  that,  while  I  agreed  with  them  in  most  of  their  abstract  prin- 
ciples, and  was  ready  to  carry  them  out,  in  any  just,  practicable  and 
constitutional  manner,  yet,  if  I  were  elected  to  this  house,  I  should 
not  regard  it  as  any  peculiar  part  of  my  duty  to  agitate  the  subject 
of  slavery.  I  have  adhered  to  that  declaration.  I  have  been  no  agi- 
tator. I  have  sympathized  with  no  fanatics.  I  have  defended  the 
rights  and  interests  and  piinciples  of  the  north,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  wherever  and  whenever  I  have  found  them  assailed ;  but  I 
have  enlisted  in  no  crusade  upon  the  institutions  of  the  south.  I  have 
eschewed  and  abhorred  ultraism  at  both  ends  of  the  Union.  'A 
plague  o'  both  your  houses,'  has  been  my  constant  ejaculation;  and  it 
is  altogether  natural,  therefore,  that  both  their  houses  should  cry  a 
plague  on  me.  I  would  not  have  it  otherwise.  I  dote  on  their  dis- 
like. I  covet  their  opposition.  I  desire  no  other  testimony,  to  the 
general  propriety  of  my  course,  than  their  reproaches.  I  thank  my 
God,  that  he  has  endowed  me,  if  with  no  other  gifts,  with  a  spirit  of 
moderation,  which  incapacitates  mc  for  giving  satisfaction  to  ultraists 
anywhere,  and  on  any  subject.  If  they  were  to  speak  well  of  me,  I 
should  be  compelled  to  exclaim,  like  one  of  old,  '  What  bad  thing  have 
I  done,  that  such  men  praise  me?  '  " 

In  alluding  to  the  uncontrollable  spirit  of  annexation  and  conquest 
that  pervades  our  country,  Mr.  Winthrop  remarked,  in  Congress,  that 
we  arc  reaping  the  natural  and  just  results  of  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
and  of  the  war  which  inevitably  followed  that  annexation.  "  "VVe  have 
almost  realized  the  fate  of  the  greedy  and  ravenous  bird,  in  the  old 
fiible.  ^sop  tells  us  of  an  eagle,  which,  in  one  of  its  towering  flights, 
seeing  a  bit  of  tempting  flesh  upon  an  altar,  pounced  upon  it,  and  bore 
it  away  in  triumph  to  its  nest.  But,  by  chance,  he  adds,  a  coal  of  fire 
from  the  altar  was  sticking  to  it  at  the  time,  which  set  fire  to  the  nest, 
and  consumed  it  in  a  trice.  And  our  American  eagle,  sir,  has  been  seen 
stooping  from  its  pride  of  place,  and  hovering  over  the  altars  of  a  weak 
neighboring  power.  It  has  at  last  pounced  upon  her  provinces,  and 
borne  them  away  from  her  in  triumph.  But  burning  coals  have  clung 
to  them.  Discord  and  confusion  have  come  with  them.  And  our  own 
American  homestead  is  now  threatened  with  conflagration." 

We  cannot  resist  the  pleasure  of  citing  the  spirited  allusion  to  Faneuil 
Hall,  in  the  same  speech:  "  The  American  Union  must  be  preserved. 
I  speak  for  Faneuil  Hall.  Not  for  Faneuil  Hall  occupied,  as  it  some- 
times has  been,  by  an  anti-slavery  or  a  liberty  party  convention, 


ROBERT   CHARLES   WINTHROP.  647 

denouncing  the  constitution  and  government  under  Tvhicli  we  live,  and 
breathing  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  all  who  support  them. — 
but  for  Faneuil  Hall  thronged  as  it  has  been  so  often  in  times  past, 
and  as  it  will  be  so  often  for  a  thousand  generations  in  times  to  come, 
by  as  intelligent,,  honest  and  patriotic  a  people,  as  ever  the  sun  shone 
upon ;  —  I  speak  for  Faneuil  Hall,  and  for  the  great  masses  of  true- 
hearted  American  freemen,  without  distinction  of  party,  who  delight 
to  dwell  beneath  its  shadow,  and  to  gather  beneath  its  roof ;  —  I  speak 
for  Faneuil  Hall,  when  I  say  the  Union  of  these  States  must  not  be 
dissolved  !  " 

It  was  well  said  of  Winthrop's  speech  in  Congress,  May,  1850,  on 
the  admission  of  California  into  the  Union,  that  it  is  an  olive-branch 
held  up  in  the  strife,  and  not  a  torch  of  Alecto.  In  reply  to  the  objec- 
tion that  California  has  prohibited  slavery  in  her  constitution,  Mr. 
Winthrop  remarked :  "While  some  of  us  will  go  still  further,  and, 
without  intending  any  offence  to  others,  will  thank  God  openly  that 
this  infant  Hercules  of  the  west  has  strangled  the  serpents  in  the 
cradle, —  that  this  youthful  giant  of  the  Pacific  presents  himself  to  us 
self-dedicated  to  freedom,  and  stands  a  self-pledged  and  self-posted 
sentinel,  side  by  side  with  Oregon,  against  the  introduction  of 
slavery  by  sea  or  land,  into  any  part  of  that  trans- Alpine  territory  !  " 
And,  in  the  peroration,  he  said,  "I  have  the  strongest  belief  that  the 
visions  and  phantoms  of  disunion  which  now  appall  us  will  soon  be 
remembered  only  like  the  clouds  of  some  April  morning,  or  like  '  the 
dissolving  views '  of  some  evening  spectacle.  I  have  the  fullest  con- 
viction that  this  glorious  republic  is  destined  to  outlast  all, —  all  at 
either  end  of  the  Union, —  who  may  be  plotting  against  its  peace,  or 
predicting  its  downfall." 

Mr.  Winthrop  made  a  felicitous  allusion  to  the  railroad  enterprise 
of  Massachusetts,  at  the  Boston  railroad  jubilee  festival,  on  the  Com- 
mon, Sept.  19,  1851.  "  Here  is  a  miniature  map,"  said  he,  holding 
it, to  view,  "exhibiting  our  little  commonwealth  as  it  really  is,  covered 
all  over  with  railroad  lines.  They  tell  us  here  of  a  hundred  and. twenty 
passenger  trains,  containing  no  less  than  twelve  thousand  persons, 
shooting  into  our  city  on  a  single  ordinary  average  summer's  day,  with 
a  regularity,  punctuality  and  precision,  which  makes  it  almost  as  safe 
to  set  our  watches  by  a  railroad  whistle,  as  by  the  Old  South  clock !  " 

"Mr.  Winthrop  has  this  great  advantage  as  a  speaker,"  remarks 
one.    "  His  mind  is  eminently  methodical,  and  his  recollective  faculties 


648  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

are  strong  and  active,  and  in  constant  play  at  the  same  time  that  he  is 
in  the  full  sway  of  extempore  composition.  These  fliculties  are  inval- 
uable to  a  public  speaker.  They  are  the  flying  columns,  the  mounted 
forces,  of  his  mental  battalions.  The  heavy  artillery  of  the  intellect 
may  open  breaches,  and  even  break  the  line  of  the  enemy ;  but  the 
light  troops  are  essential  to  make  clean  work  with  the  partially  discom- 
fited foe.  The  methodical  character  of  Mr.  Winthrop's  mind  enables 
him  to  avoid  all  confusion  or  transposition  in  the  treatment  of  his  topics 
of  debate.  He  neither  runs  before  nor  lags  behind  the  proper  currents 
of  his  speech.  He  not  only  says  just  what  he  desires  to  say,  but  he 
saj^s  it  just  where  and  when  he  intends  to  say  it.  Moreover,  he  says 
it  in  the  manner  designed.  His  thoughts  are  run  in  a  mould,  and  his 
expressions  daguerreotype  them  to  the  hearer.  They  are  used  like 
the  pieces  of  a  dissected  map ;  and,  when  his  work  is  done,  you  see  that 
every  piece  is  put  in  its  proper  place,  and  that  the  map  is  harmoniously 
and  accurately  complete.  It  is  thus  that  these  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics of  ]Mr.  Winthrop's  mind,  added  to  strong  powers  of  intellect, 
great  coolness  and  self-possession,  unusual  gifts  of  language,  a  chaste 
elocution,  sufiicient  force  and  animation,  an  accomplished  and  dignified 
manner,  render  him  a  pleasing,  an  effective  and  a  reliable  debater." 


FLETCHER   WEBSTER. 

.JULY   4,  184G.     FOR  TUE   CITY   AUTHORITIES. 

One  is  involuntarily  prompted,  on  looking  at  the  subject  of  this  arti- 
cle, to  revert  to  the  noble  father,  toward  whom  so  profound  is  the  public 
veneration,  that,  when  entering  a  church  in  New  York,  on  the  evening 
previous  to  the  delivery  of  an  eloquent  speech  on  the  celebration  of  the 
birth  of  Washington,  in  1852,  the  whole  congregation  rose  simultane- 
ously on  their  feet,  and  remained  standing  for  a  few  minutes ;  and,  when 
the  service  was  ended,  Mr.  Webster,  after  having  spoken  to  the  preacher, 
made  his  departure,  amid  the  gaze,  and  earnest,  though  suppressed 
greetings  of  the  people.  Who  can  repress  admiration  of  the  statesman 
that  declares,  in  a  speech  at  the  banquet  of  the  city  authorities  of  New 
York,  on  this  occasion,  "I  have  endeavored,  through  life,  to  cherish 
one  idea, —  that  there  was  but  one  America  on  earth,  but  one  free 
American  government  on  earth,  and  that  there  never  was  another ;  and 


FLETCHEIl  WEBSTER.  649 

if  we  should  ever  disregard  the  blessings  of  which  we  are  in  the  enjoy- 
ment, we  shall  never,  as  long  as  the  sun  shines  in  the  heavens,  estab- 
lish another  of  equal  goodness.  There  belongs  to  the  people  of  this 
country  a  common  treasure, —  a  fount  from  which  every  man  may 
drink, —  namely,  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  nation."  Honor  to  the 
statesman  of  whom  Moses  Stuart  emphasized,  that  swords  would  leap, 
if  it  were  lawful  and  necessary,  from  hundreds  of  thousands  of  scab- 
bards, to  defend  him  from  an  unjust  political  assault.  In  this  connec- 
tion, we  take  pleasure  in  introducing  passages  from  the  speech  of  Rufus 
Choate,  at  Faneuil  Hall,  on  the  course  of  Daniel  Webster  in  relation 
to  the  great  compromise  of  the  north  and  the  south.  We  feel  confi- 
dence in  the  opinion  that  Faneuil  Hall  has  not  resounded  with  a  nobler 
burst  of  eloquence,  for  the  last  half-century,  than  is  this  tribute  to 
Daniel  Webster : 

"  On  the  7th  of  March,  1850,  it  was  duty.  I  put  to  you,  and 
through  you  to  the  justice  and  heart  of  America, —  it  was  duty  only, 
duty  in  her  severest  form,  duty  summoning  him  to  her  highest  sacri- 
fice, —  duty,  not  the  love  of  glory, —  certainly  not  that  glory  which  is 
run  after, —  if  any  glory,  the  austere  and  arduous  glory  of  civil  suffer- 
ing, that  cheered  him  on.  And  how  has  he  been  tried,  and  how  has 
he  been  judged  1  In  that  temper  of  the  public  mind,  he  thought  he 
saw  clearly  that,  unless  the  whole  constitution  was  executed,  there  was 
no  longer  a  nation  for  America ;  and  that  opinion  is  his  crime  !  He 
deemed,  after  the  profoundest  consideration,  that  the  nation  was  in 
urgent  and  imminent  peril ;  and  that  opinion  has  been  his  crime  !  tn 
that  conviction,  he  devoted  himself,  as  the  first  duty  of  patriotism,  and 
morality,  and  Christianity,  to  save,  and  perpetuate,  and  prolong,  that 
Union ;  and  that  devotion  is  his  crime  !  In  that  conflict  of  great  duties, 
he  chose  the  largest  to  be  performed  first ;  and  that  selection  is  his 
crime  !  In  that  complication  of  evils,  he  chose  the  least,  rightly  deem- 
ing that  the  more  passing  and  temporary  and  transient  ills  would  be 
overbalanced,  a  thousand-fold,  by  the  more  exceeding  and  eternal  good ; 
and  that  choice  is  his  crime !  In  that  time  of  insubordination,  and 
restlessness,  and  revolt,  against  government  and  institution,  he  has 
given  his  great  faculties  to  inculcate  obedience  to  the  fundamental  law ; 
and  that  is  his  crime  !  He  has  deemed,  fellow-citizens,  that  the  whole 
duty  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  free  States,  in  this  great  extremity  of 
our  republic,  is  a  little  too  large  to  delegate,  to  be  all  summed  up  in 
the  single  emotion  of  compassion  to  a  single  class  in  the  State,  or  to 
55 


650  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

carry  out  a  single  principle  of  abstract,  and  revolutionary,  and  violent, 
and  bloody  justice  to  that  class ;  and  that  opinion  is  his  crime  ! 

"  He  has  held  fast  to  the  old  faith  of  Washington,  the  duty  of  patri- 
otism, the  duty  of  loving,  with  a  specific  and  unshared  love,  our  own 
country, —  of  keeping  her  honor  from  corruption, —  of  advancing  her 
wealth,  and  power,  and  consideration,  and  eminence, —  but  by  no  guilty 
reign  of  empire ;  the  duty  of  moulding  her,  as  far  as  may  be  consistent 
with  the  preservation  of  her  organic  forms,  into  a  great  visible  whole, 
moved  by  a  common  wheel,  vivified  by  a  common  life,  identified  by  a 
single  soul.  He  has  held  the  old  faith,  that  the  duty  of  patriotism  is 
moral  virtue ;  and  that  is  his  crime !  He  has  not  thought  that  a 
Christian,  and  philosophical,  and  moral  statesmanship,  consisted  entirely, 
or  even  found  its  most  adequate  illustration,  in  taking  a  single  idea,  and 
working  that  idea  to  death ;  in  taking  a  single  moral  and  political  vir- 
tue out  of  its  connection,  and  exaggerating  it  out  of  its  nature  and 
our  own  ;  in  getting  up  a  wooden  shed  out  there  upon  the  Common,  in 
the  night,  and  sending  up  another  glittering  abstraction,  like  another 
Lamartine, —  a  worse  one. —  into  the  air;  in  taking  the  Lord's  Prayer 
and  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  fraudulently  and  scandalously 
undertaking  to  deduce  from  them  the  dogma  of  instantaneous  and  uni- 
versal emancipation ;  of  prostrating  those  talents  made  for  the  universe, 
and  not  for  the  cheap  demagoguism  of  standing  up  and  haranguing  to 
a  shallow  and  approving  audience,  on  the  claims  of  nature  and  the 
rights  of  man. 

"  '  Look  on  that  picture,  and  on  this.'  He  has  thought  that  states- 
manship consisted,  or  was  b'est  exemplified,  in  our  time,  in  ascending 
to  a  large  and  grand  conception  ;  that  the  noblest,  most  difficult,  most 
acceptable,  Avork  to  the  eye  of  God,  was  the  building  of  a  nation,  and 
the  keeping  of  a  nation;  that  the  noblest,  most  difficult,  and  most 
pleasing  to  God,  was  the  secular  work  of  building  this  nation,  and 
keeping  this  nation  ;  and  that,  in  order  to  make  that  great  achievement, 
there  was  demanded,  in  some  large  measure,  sobriety,  and  a  reach  of 
mind,  and  discipline,  and  practical  reason,  that  could  judge  what  things 
the  commonwealth  can  bear,  and  what  it  cannot  bear ;  the  power  of 
reconciling,  and  blending,  and  tempering,  the  antagonism  of  the  thing, 
so  that  there  may  be  drawn  out  from  it,  at  last,  the  ultimate  harmony 
and  perfect  peace  and  unity  of  our  political  system  itself;  and  this  has 
been  his  crime  !  He  has  believed,  fellow-citizens, —  and  I  have  the 
honor  to  concur  with  him,  my  master,  my  friend,  my  more  than  guide, 


FLETCHER   WEBSTER.  651 

and  philosopher,  and  friend, —  he  believes  that,  this  day,  a  true  philan- 
thropy, enlightened  from  above,  finds  in  the  American  world  no  nobler 
work  for  its  hand  to  do, —  ay,  finds  no  more  splendid  visions  for  its 
dreams  to  contemplate, —  than  simply  and  solely  to  advance  the  best 
interests  of  humanity  through  generations  countless,  by  that  grand 
instrumentality  of  peace,  the  American  Union ;  to  advancing  the 
interests  of  every  State,  and  every  section,  and  every  class,  the  master 
and  the  slave  alike,  by  subjecting,  through  days  of  household  calm, 
this  great  continent,  all  alive  and  astir  with  the  emulousness  of  free 
republics, —  by  subjecting  it,  if  it  shall  be  the  pleasure  of  Providence, 
forever  to  the  sweet  and  gentle  influences  of  culture  and  Christianity, 
and  the  slow  and  sure  reformer.  Time ;  and  he  has  given  those  great 
talents,  and  that  influence  unparalleled,  to  preserve  forever  this  great 
security  of  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men ;  and  this,  also,  is 
his  crime  ! 

"Yes,  fellow-citizens,  it  is  his  crime,  in  the  judgment  of  some  of  us 
—  in  whose  judgment  shall  I  say  ?  Is  it  not  in  the  judgment  of  a  rev- 
olutionary and  shallow  ethics  of  agitation  ?  Is  it  not  in  the  judgment 
of  a  morality  half-taught,  that  looks  out  of  a  loop-hole  upon  the  world, 
unexercised,  uninstruc ted  from  above  or  below;  profoundly  ignorant  of 
the  nature  of  that  great  complexity  of  state  ;  profoundly  ignorant  of 
it  as  an  agent  of  human  good ;  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  dangers 
that  beset  it,  the  means  of  preserving  it,  and  the  maxims  and  arts 
imperial  of  its  glory?  It  is  a  crime  in  the  judgment  of  such  morality 
as  that ;  but,  in  the  vocabulary  and  ethics  of  an  instructed  people,  so 
adequately  and  admirably  represented  bpfore  me  to-night, —  in  the 
sober  second  thought  of  such  a  community  as  this, —  it  is  no  crime,  but 
virtue  heroical ;  ay,  such  virtue  as  on  earth  is  entitled  to  the  grateful 
feelings  and  rewarded  honors  of  men ;  and,  when  this  mortal  charge 
is  over,  entitled,  also,  may  I  not  say,  with  the  great  poet  of  Christian- 
ity, to 

'  A  crown  of  gold 
Among  the  enthroned  gods,  on  sainted  seats.' 

"And  now,  fellow-citizens,  I  should  be  very  glad  to  know,  with  such 
a  patriotism  as  that,  so  tried  and  so  tested,  what  American  State,  or 
section,  or  interest,  or  drop  of  American  blood,  has  anything  to  fear 
from  that.  If  there  is  an  interest  in  this  broad  land,  from  one  ocean 
to  another,  large  enough  for  the  constitution  to  know  it, —  if  it  is  not  so 


652  THE  HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

minute  and  so  distant  that  the  flag  does  not  'wave  over,  it, —  so  minute 
and  so  distant  that  the  eagle's  flight  cannot  attain  to  it, —  is  it  not  safe, 
and  more  than  safe,  in  that  comprehensive  nationahtj  in  which  our 
vrhole  American  system  is  embraced,  appreciated,  and  guarded  ? 

"Fellow-citizens,  before  I  take  my  leave,  I  ask  to  say  one  word, 
and  one  only,  on  another  topic  altogether.  It  has  seemed  to  me, —  and 
I  am  the  more  inclined  to  ask  your  indulgence,  for  a  moment,  while  I 
direct  your  attention  to  a  passage  in  the  admirable  letter  of  our  friend, 
Mr.  Everett,  whose  absence  we  so  much  deplore,  and  whose  heart  we 
ai'e  sure  is  with  us  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  this  great  struggle, — 
it  has  seemed  to  me,  that  there  is  something  in  the  quality  and  adjust- 
ment of  ]\Ir.  "Webster's  prudential  and  intellectual  character  and  tem- 
perament, which  fit  him,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  for  conducting  the 
foreign  relations  of  this  country  with  Europe,  in  the  actual  aspects  of 
the  European  world.  What  that  aspect  and  state  exactly  is, —  how 
wholly  unsettled, —  what  shadows,  clouds  and  darkness,  appear  to  rest 
Ujoon  it, —  you  entirely  appreciate.  It  has  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  pre- 
rogatives of  crowns,  and  the  rights  of  men,  and  the  hoarded  up  resent- 
ments and  revenges  of  a  thousand  years,  were  about  to  unsheath  the 
sword  for  a  conflict,  in  which  the  blood  shall  flow,  as  in  the  Apocalyptic 
vision,  to  the  bridles  of  the  horses  ;  and  in  which  a  whole  age  of  men 
shall  pass  away, —  in  which  the  great  bell  of  time  shall  sound  out 
another  hour, —  in  which  society  itself  shall  be  tried  by  fire  and  steel, 
—  whether  it  is  of  nature,  and  of  nature's  God,  or  not !  " 

Fletcher  Webster  a  son  of  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  was  born  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  July  23,  1813.  He  entered  the  Boston  Latin 
School  in  1824,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1833,  on  which 
occasion  he  engaged  in  a  conference  on  Common  Sense,  Genius  and 
Learning, —  their  characteristics,  value  and  success.  He  studied  law 
with  his  father,  and  became  a  counsellor.  He  mai-ried  Caroline  Story, 
a  daughter  of  Stephen  White,  Esq.,  of  Salem.  In  1843  Mr.  Webster 
was  the  secretary  of  legation,  in  the  embassy  of  Hon.  Caleb  Cush- 
irtg  to  China ;  and,  on  his  return,  delivered  lectures  on  the  condition 
of  that  empire.  In  184T  he  was  a  Boston  representative  to  the  State 
Legislature.  In  1850  he  was  appointed  surveyor  for  the  port  of 
Boston. 

"The  American  character,"  says  Mr.  Webster,  "is  not  an  imita- 
tion, but  a  creation ;  no  copy,  but  an  original.  It  is  formed  by  circum- 
stances and  position  such  as  have  never  before  existed.     It  grows  up 


THOMAS   GREAVES   CART.  653 

under  institutiong  ■which  our  fathers  framed  and  established  of  them- 
selves,—  new,  extraordinary,  wonderful,  and  like  no  others.  We  are 
here  occupying  the  greater  part  of  a  vast  continent,  stretching  from 
sea  to  sea,  containing  within  ourselves  most  things  that  human  Avants, 
or  arts,  or  taste,  can  desire ;  sufficient  to  ourselves  in  all  physical 
things,  and  very  independent  of  all  other  people.  We  are  making  a 
great  experiment  of  self-government,  by  twenty  millions  of  people, 
scattered  over  so  vast  a  jregion  that  they  count  their  distances  by  thou- 
sands of  miles.  We  are  growing  —  expanding  —  forming.  No  one 
can  tell  what  we  may  become.  We  are  no  more  to  be  compared  to 
European  models,  than  one  of  our  great  mountain-pines  is  to  be  cut 
and  trimmed  like  the  boxwood  of  a  flower-garden."  Mr.  Webster  thus 
enlarges  on  some  of  the  uses  of  war :  ' '  Where  had  been  the  sublimest 
poetry,  but  for  war  7  Where  had  been  the  Eoyal  Psalmist,  had  not 
the  Philistines  come  up  against  Israel?  Where  Homer  and  Virgil, 
had  Troy  never  fallen  before  successful  arms?  Milton  himself  had 
been  silent,  had  he  not  sung  of  war  in  heaven, 

'  When  all  the  plain, 
Covered  with  thick-embattled  squadrons,  bright 
Chariots,  and  flaming  arms,  and  fiery  steed. 
Reflecting  blaze  on  blaze,  first  met  his  view.' 

"  It  is  true  that  war  has  tendencies  to  demorahzation.  It  often  pro- 
duces violence,  and  recklessness,  and  disregard  of  justice.  But,  while 
the  vices  produced  by  war  are  not  to  be  denied,  is  it  quite  clear,  men's 
passions  remaining  as  they  are,  that  the  vices  of  long-continued,  undis- 
turbed and  luxurious  peace,  are  not  equally  great  ?  Were  the  court  and 
the  times  of  Alexander,  or  Peter  the  Great,  or  Napoleon,  more  vicious 
than  those  of  Sardanapalus,  or  Katherine,  or  Charles  the  Tenth,  or  of 
other  princes  who  reigned  chiefly  in  peace?  " 


THOMAS   GREAVES   GARY. 

JULY  4,  1847.     FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

This  performance  was  delivered  at  the  period  when  the  American 
jed  ii 
55* 


armies  were  engaged  in  a  war  with  Mexico.     "  The  rhetoric  of  Burke 


654  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

^Yhcn  he  spoke  of  jealous  attachment  to  freedom,"  says  Mr.  Gary, 
■where  there  are  slaves,  was  fortified  by  reference  to  history.  So  it 
was,  he  said,  in  the  ancient  commonwealths.  It  would  be  wise  in 
us  to  consider  what  was  the  fate  of  those  commonwealths.  They  all 
passed  into  the  shade  of  despotism,  and  disappeared  in  barbarous  dark- 
ness. Such  may  yet  be  our  own  fate.  We  have  despotism  to  guard 
against.  If  we  are  in  danger,  when  the  soldier  holds  himself  too  high, 
to  be  made  the  blind  instrument  of  rapacity  and  injustice,  still  more 
should  we  be  in  danger  from  the  janizary, —  the  armed  automaton, — 
insensible  to  every  motive  but  the  impulse  of  power  that  directs  it, — 
of  power  that  may  hereafter  move  it  to  turn  the  instrument  of  destruc- 
tion which  it  holds  upon  ourselves.  If  there  be  danger  in  withholding 
thanks  to  an  army  for  doing  bravely,  admirably,  what  never  should 
have  been  done  at  all,  there  is  yet  greater  danger  in  joining  in  shouts 
of  triumph  for  it,  merely  because  we  are  prompted  by  fear  of  misrepre- 
sentation from  those  who  wear  about  their  necks  the  badge  of  their  ovna. 
perfidy  to  the  cause  of  manly  independence,  and  who  would  deride  us, 
within  the  year,  for  pusillanimity  in  heeding  this  call,  if  a  change  of 
measures  among  their  leaders  should  render  it  expedient  to  take  oppo- 
site ground. 

"Human  nature  rejects  the  thought  that  freemen  shall  hesitate  to 
inquire  whether  their  cause  be  just;  and  probably  piost  of  the  people 
of  this  country  will  be  found  to  disregard  it,  if  the  prowess  of  our  sol- 
diers, while  it  excites  our  surprise  and  admiration,  is  to  be  so  directed 
as  to  make  our  Union  a  scourge  rather  than  a  blessing  to  mankind. 

"The  discipline  of  our  regular  troops,  as  has  always  been  the  case 
in  our  navy,  reminds  us  of  what  was  said  of  Eoman  soldiers  :  '  Their 
exercises  in  peace  were  battles  without  bloodshed.  Their  battles  in 
war  were  only  bloody  sports.'  But,  with  all  this  power  to  sustain 
right,  if  our  rulers  are  to  make  us  the  oppressor  of  the  weak,  must  we 
join  in  thankful  gratulation  for  it  7  If  so,  then  adieu  to  liberty ! 
There  is  no  slavery  more  oppressive  than  that  which  binds  the  thought 
and  the  tongue  of  him  who  supposes  himself  to  be  free. 

"Let  any  one  read  again  the  descriptions  by  eye-witnesses  of  the 
disorders  and  cruelties  that  took  place  at  IMonterey  and  elsewhere, 
even  after  the  battles  were  fought, —  the  robbery,  murder,  and  brutal 
violence  to  women,  in  open  day,  in  spite  of  efforts  by  officers  of  the 
regular  troops  to  prevent  it, —  under  the  vicious  system  of  volunteers 
electing  their  own  officers,  who  have,  therefore,  popularity  as  well  as 


THOMAS  GREAVES  GARY.  G55 

discipline  to  think  of.  Let  him  reflect  on  the  distracted  state  of  that 
wretched  country,  or  think  of  the  brave  Mexicans  fighting  for  their 
native  soil  at  Buena  Vista,  half  famished,  but,  as  was  said  by  our  own 
officers,  '  fighting  with  the  energy  of  despair; '  let  us  suppose  some  race, 
of  more  energy  and  greater  skill  in  war  than  ourselves,  to  have  invaded 
us,  and  such  scenes  to  have  been  enacted  at  Albany  or  Worcester  ;  or 
let  us  suppose  the  city  of  Charleston  or  Savannah  to  have  been 
attacked,  and  the  women  and  children  to  have  been  subjected  to  the 
laws  of  war,  as  at  Vera  Cruz, —  and  we  may  then  form  an  idea  of  the 
consequences  of  this  war,  and  of  the  imperious  necessity  that  must  be 
shown  to  justify  its  commencement,  or  any  measure  resembling  ap- 
probation of  it,  even  by  thanks  to  an  officer  whom  we  admire  for  his 
manner  of  conducting  it,  that  should  countenance  its  continuance  for 
a  week.  That  our  armies  have  lately  added  vastly  to  our  reputation 
as  a  warlike  people,  prepared  for  contest  with  any  nation  that  exists,  is 
unquestionable.  But  we  were  in  no  pressing  w^ant  of  such  reputation ; 
and,  if  we  had  been,  we  have  no  right  to  seek  it  at  such  cost  to  human- 
ity. As  Franklin  has  suggested,  if  a  spirit  not  yet  informed  of  the 
extent  of  the  universe,  on  seeing  this  earth  as  it  shines  mildly  from 
afar,  should  approach  it  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  some  new  view  of 
heaven,  and  light  upon  a  scene  of  warfare,  he  might  suppose  that  he 
had  arrived  in  hell." 

Thomas  Greaves  Cary  was  born  at  Chelsea,  Sept.  7,  1791 ;  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  College  in  1811 ;  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  with 
Hon.  Judge  Thacher;  commenced  practice  in  1814;  and  in  1821 
entered  on  mercantile  pursuits,  in  New  York,  and  subsequently  was  a 
partner  in  the  house  of  Thomas  H.  Perkins  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  the 
senior  of  whom  projected  the  Quincy  Railroad,  completed  in  1827, 
which  was  the  first  enterprise  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States.  It 
Avas  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  granite  from  the  quarry 
in  that  town  to  Neponset  River.  The  stone  for  the  Bunker  Hill  Mon- 
ument, conveyed  from  this  quarry,  was  furnished  by  the  Granite 
Railway  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Perkins  was  the  president.  We 
find,  on  the  Boston  records,  this  curious  fact  in  the  history  of  temper- 
ance, relating  to  the  father  of  Mr.  Perkins, —  that  James  Perkins, 
retailer,  was  licensed  by  the  selectmen,  August  13,  1767,  to  sell  wine 
only,  at  his  house  in  King-street.  Mr.  Cary  married  Mary,  a  daughter 
of  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Perkins ;  was  a  director  of  the  Hamilton  Bank ; 
commander  of  the  Independent  Cadets,  in  1847 ;  and  senator  for  Suf- 
folk county,  1852. 


656  THE    HUNDKED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

Col.  Gary  is  a  gentleman  of  fine  literary  habits,  and  of  truly  estima- 
ble character.  He  is  president  of  the  Boston  Athenoeum,  the  library 
of  -which  was  founded  on  that  of  the  Anthology  Literary  Club,  in 
1807.  It  will  advance  the  moral  glory  of  Boston,  should  our  men  of 
wealth  continue  to  establish  separate  endowments  for  the  literary,  sci- 
entific, historical,  medical,  legal,  and  theological  benefit  of  the  public. 
May  a  Bromfield  come  forward  for  all  the  departments  !  We  hope  the 
period  is  not  remote,  when  the  facilities  of  access  to  this  library  will 
rise  to  the  standard  of  the  great  hbraries  of  Europe. 

My.  Cary  is  the  author  of  several  productions,  beside  the  eloquent 
oration  at  the  head  of  this  article ;  among  which  we  find.  A  Letter  to  a 
Lady  in  France,  on  National  and  State  Repudiation,  1844 ;  a  Letter 
on  Profits  on  Manufactures  at  Lowell,  1845 ;  and  an  Address  on  the 
Fine  Arts,  delivered  before  the  INIercantile  Library  Association,  in  1845, 
in  which  he  enlarges  on  the  practicability  of  cultivating  a  taste  for  the 
fine  arts  in  our  tumultuous  democracy,  and  relates  of  a  person  whose 
business,  one  would  suppose,  lay  among  the  most  unpoetical  and  least 
jBSthctic  pursuits  that  may  be  imagined.  If  any  form  of  life  is  unfa- 
vorable to  the  cultivation  of  a  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  most  people  would 
unhesitatingly  say  it  is  the  life  of  a  grocer.  And  yet  this  individual, 
—  Mr.  Luman  Reed, —  although  dying  in  the  prime  of  life,  left  a  col- 
lection of  paintings,  engravings,  shells,  and  other  objects  of  beauty  and 
interest,  altogether  so  valuable,  that  it  was  proposed  to  make  them  the 
commencement  of  a  public  gallery  in  New  York  ;  and  he  left  an  estab- 
lishment in  business  conducted  on  principles  so  secure,  that  it  has  been 
a  school  of  industrious  success  to  younger  men,  who  owe  their  pros- 
perity mainly  to  him.  The  transparent  beauty  of  Col.  Cary's  per- 
formance, and  the  force  of  his  sentiments,  so  nicely  harmonize,  that  his 
pen  should  flow  freely  to  the  public  mind. 


JOEL   GILES. 

JULY  4,  1848.     FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"  Constitutions  are  the  political  brain  of  the  people,"  says  our 
orator.  "  Each  of  our  thirty  States  has  one.  and  our  glorious  Union 
has  another,  by  which  unceasing  action  is  maintained  upon  all  rightful 
subjects  of  government. 


JOEL    GILES.  657 

" Men  are  governed  by  three  principles, —  reason,  love  and  force; 
and  without  these  there  is  no  government  worthy  of  the  name,  human 
or  divine.  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the  organ,  of  the 
sovereign  reason  of  the  people.  This  is  the  field  for  giant  minds  and 
patriot  hearts ;  and  its  hero  —  for  it  has  a  hero,  unrivalled  and  alone 
in  his  chosen  domain  —  is  the  people's  Webster.  And  do  you  ask  for 
the  heroes  of  the  heart,  with  power  to  acquire  wealth,  learning  and 
influence,  and  a  will  to  use  them  all  for  the  people's  honor  and  the 
people's  good?  Go  to  your  scientific  schools,  your  institutes,  and 
your  libraries,  and  read  the  honored  names  of  their  founders.  Go 
to  the  missionary  rolls,  and  admire  the  number  and  the  devotion  of 
your  Christian  martyrs.  Force,  too,  that  dire  necessity  of  fallen  man, 
and  of  nations,  has  its  heroes, —  a  small  and  charmed  band,  whose 
martial  fame,  like  the  forked  lightning,  dazzles  the  eyes  of  the  people. 
May  they  ever  be  few  in  number,  great  in  action,  and  worthy  to  tread 
in  the  footprints  of  AVashington  ! 

"Preserve,  then,  your  constitutions,  your  corporations,  your  societies, 
your  towns,  your  cities,  your  free  schools,  and  your  churches.  They  are 
organisms  for  the  exercise,  discipline  and  efficient  action,  of  practical  lib- 
erty. And,  especially,  preserve  your  militia.  It  is  the  legal  organiza- 
tion of  force,  the  right  hand  of  all  government,  the  ultimate  protector  of 
all  the  fruits  of  liberty,  and  a  terror  only  to  evil  doers.  The  people  are, 
by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  armed  ;  and,  by  every  prin- 
ciple of  liberty,  they  are  supreme.  Force  always  resides  in  the  masses. 
Armed,  but  unorganized,  it  is  a  sleeping  lion,  ready  to  spring  upon 
you  at  any  moment  of  famine  or  of  passion.  Then,  train  it, —  train  it, 
—  and  it  shall  lie  down  with  the  lambs  in  the  green  pastures  of  peace 
and  tranquillity.  Even  parties  are  useful  organizations  of  practical 
liberty,  which  might  otherwise  fall  into  anarchy  in  the  exercise  of  its 
elective  functions.  And,  in  a  country  so  free  as  this,  no  administra- 
tion can  stand  without  the  support  of  a  dominant  party,  embracing,  for 
the  time  being,  a  majority  of  the  people.  Be  not  frightened,  then,  at 
parties ;  but  prove  them  all,  by  the  test  of  practical  liberty,  and  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good.  We  cannot,  if  we  would,  avoid  the  responsi- 
bihty  of  affecting  the  welfare  of  millions  of  our  fellow-men.  The  com- 
mands of  Heaven  are  upon  us  !  " 

Joel  Giles  was  born  at  Townsend,  May  6,  1804 ;  Avas  fitted  for  col- 
lege by  Rev.  David  Palmer ;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1829, 
■when  he  engaged  in  a  disputation  with  Chandler  Robbins,  on  the  ques- 


658  THE    nUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

tiou,  -whether  incquahties  of  genius  in  different  countries  be  owing  to 
moral  causes.  He  Avas  a  student  of  Dane  Law  School ;  a  tutor  in 
Harvard  College,  from  1831  to  1834  ;  and  a  student,  also,  of  Benja- 
min Rand,  in  Boston.  lie  is  a  counsellor  of  Suffolk  bar ;  arid  was  a 
representative  from  Cambridge  and  Boston,  in  1840  and  in  1847.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  1848.  Mr.  Giles  is  a  man  of 
penetrative  mind,  and  knows  how  to  fathom  a  disputed  question  of  pol- 
itics with  as  much  ease  as  a  profound  point  of  law. 

Major  Quincy  said  of  Mr.  Giles'  oration,  at  the  public  dinner  in 
Faneuil  Hall,  "  He  has  struck  the  harp  of  the  universe  with  the  hand 
of  a  master." 

Next  to  the  clergy,  the  legal  profession  —  which  numbers  four  hun- 
dred in  Boston  —  exercises  a  stronger  public  moral  control  than  any 
other  of  the  professions ;  and  their  personal  friendship  towards  each 
other  is  proverbial,  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Shakspeare,  who  says  of 
lawyers,  that  they 

"  Do  as  adversaries  in  law  strive  miglitily, 
But  eat  and  drink  as  friends." 

The  patriotic  civilians  of  Suffolk  bar,  in  their  political  influence,  often 
control  the  State.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Giles  prepared  the  spirited 
resolves  of  the  Whig  State  Convention,  adopted  at  Worcester,  Oct.  3, 
1849,  and  they  exhibit  the  principles  of  Washington:  "The  Union, 
—  the  glorious  Union, —  the  object  of  our  fervent  love  !  Its  preser- 
vation transcends  in  importance  any  and  all  other  political  questions ; 
and,  as  we  have  received  it  from  the  fathers,  so  will  we  perpetuate  it 
to  the  children,  entire  as  the  sun."  Inscribe  this  sentiment  on  our 
banners,  and  cherish  it  in  our  hearts,  and  the  Union  is  never  dis- 
severed. 


WILLIAIit  WHITWELL   GREENOUGH. 

JULY  4,  1849,    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"The  supporters  of  arbitrary  power  in  Europe  have  recently  urged 
a  new  plea,"  says  Mr.  Greenough.  "  It  is  said  that  the  wars  of  1848 
and  1849  are  merely  wars  of  language  and  of  race.  This  position 
excludes  all  higher  questions  of  principle,  and  is  intended  to  prevent 


WILLIAM   AVHITWELL   GKEENOUGH.  659 

sympathy  and  interference  on  the  part  of  free  countries.  This  is  the 
plea  of  Russia.  This  would  conceal  the  fact,  that  the  settlement  of 
each  national  question  now  at  issue  is  an  affair  of  much  consequence  to 
the  whole  civilized  world.  The  causes  of  the  great  conflict  now  in 
progress  lie  fiir  beneath  language  or  race.  It  is  not  a  struggle  to 
decide  which  of  two  parties  in  each  state  shall  he  uppermost.  Such 
may  have  been  its  appearance  at  the  beginning ;  but  the  real  motive 
powers  are  now  visible.  The  free  people  of  England  and  of  France 
may  well  watch,  with  interest  and  anxiety,  for  the  results  of  each  bat- 
tle-field. The  struggle  is  between  the  people  and  arbitrary  power.  A 
few  years  will'decide  whether  the  western  barriers  of  despotism  shall 
be  the  Rhine  or  the  North  Sea ;  or  whether  the  arm  of  freedom  shall 
drive  back  the  myrmidons  of  tyranny  to  the  frozen  regions  of  the 
north. 

"In  all  this  war  of  principles,  we,  too,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
have  a  direct  interest.  If  the  experiment  of  free  institutions  had  been 
unsuccessful  here,  it  would  have  deferred,  for  a  long  period,  the  striv- 
ings after  liberty  which  have  already  found  practical  results  in  other 
quarters  of  the  world.  The  example  and  the  influence  of  the  United 
States  have  quietly  produced  great  effects,  of  which  the  causes  were 
not  clearly  perceptible.  For  the  failure  of  other  revolutions,  declaredly 
based  upon  our  own  model,  we  are  in  no  degree  responsible.  The 
painter  of  a  glorious  picture,  whose  merits  are  admitted  by  the  world, 
is  never  held  accountable  for  the  bad  draAvino-s  or  wretched  colorings  of 
any  imitator,  however  ambitious.  No  one  claims  that  our  institutions 
are  perfect.  It  is  sufficient,  for  all  useful  purposes,  that,  under  their 
protecting  powers,  every  blessing  can  be  enjoyed  that  is  needful  for  the 
happiness  of  man  in  this  lower  world.  As  every  successful  essay  is  a 
direct  incitement  to  human  nature  to  go  and  do  likewise,  the  position 
of  this  country  is  especially  traceable  in  the  revolutions  of  Europe. 
Every  new  constitution  borrows,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  from  our 
own,  according  to  the  tastes  of  legislators.  The  great  ideas  which,  in 
a  good  sense,  constitute  this  the  conquering  republic,  transfuse  them- 
selves into  every  popular  movement.  That  no  government  may  exist 
without  the  consent  of  the  governed,  has  proved  a  fearful  principle, 
when  brought  into  collision  with  another  principle,  consecrated  by  the 
tacit  consent  of  a  thousand  years,  the  divine  right  of  kings,  the  doc- 
trine of  absolute  sovereignty.  Who  can  doubt  which  of  the  two  will 
ultimately  come  forth  superior  from  the  conflict  7     The  strife  is  no 


660  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

longer  equal.  It  is  a  struggle  between  a  human  fallacy  and  a  super- 
human truth."  This  production  is  very  suitably  entitled  The  Con- 
quering Republic. 

William  Whitwcll  Greenough,  son  of  Wilham  Greenough,  a  merchant 
of  Boston,  was  born  in  Boston,  June  25,  1818;  entered  the  Latin 
School  in  1828,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1837.  He  mar- 
ried Catharine  Scollay,  a  daughter  of  Charles  P.  Curtis,  and  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  He  was  a  member  of  the  city  Council  from 
1847  to  1850,  during  which  period  he  was  a  member  of  the  water  com- 
mittee, and  its  chairman  in  the  last  year.  He  was  treasurer  of  the 
American  Oriental  Society,  and  a  member  of  the  New  England  His- 
toricarand  Genealogical  Society.  Mr.  Greenough  has  ever  cherished 
a  love  of  literary  and  scientific  pursuits.  In  the  intervals  of  leisure, 
he  has  prepared  valuable  contributions  to  various  periodicals,  among 
which  was  one  on  the  Anglo-Saxons,  in  the  New  York  Review ;  another 
on  the  Moeso.  Gothic,  in  the  Biblical  Repository ;  and,  more  especially, 
several  articles  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  an 
institution  to  w^hich  he  is  peculiarly  devoted.  Mr.  Greenough  has 
resources  of  mind  abundantly  competent  to  the  preparation  of  a  liter- 
ary production,  of  great  benefit  to  the  public,  on  the  Races  of  Man,  and 
we  hope  he  will  be  closely  devoted  to  the  work  until  it  is  completed. 


LEVI  WOODBURY. 

JULY   25,    1849.     EULOGY  OX   PRESIDENT  POLK. 

"Indiscriminate  eulogy  is  without  value  or  point,"  says  Judge 
Woodbury ;  "  and  hence,  at  the  risk  of  being  thought  by  some  not  suf- 
ficiently enthusiastic,  it  has  been  and  will  be  my  endeavor  '  naught  to 
extenuate,'  and  to  hold  the  mirror  up  faithfully  to  the  truth  and  nature 
of  the  leading  features  in  his  admirable  character  and  remarkable 
administration.  I  do  not  consider  it  a  part  of  his  fame  that  he 
planned  many  of  these  great  events.  He  did  not  enter  on  his  high 
station  with  a  magazine  in  his  mind,  full  of  magnificent  and  imposing 
measures  to  be  attempted. 

' '  Though  a  young  man,  comparatively,  and  from  the  enterprising 
west,  his  character  was  rather  wary  than  rash  ;  rather  to  follow  than  to 


LEVI   WOODBURY.  661 

devise ;  rather  to  meet,  resolutely,  difficulties  and  dangers  when  thrust 
on  him,  than  to  project  them,  or  to  indulge  in  novel  designs,  or  to 
court  deeds  of  danger  and  blood.  Not  like  the  hero  Avho  sleeps  near 
him  at  the  Hermitage,  born  to  carry  conquests  among  hostile  savages, 
or  meet  on  our  shores  an  invading  foe,  and  drive  back  profaners  of  our 
soil ;  but,  rather,  a  civilian,  formed  to  husband  carefully  and  defend 
well  what  others  have  bravely  won.  Thus,  while  president,  he  found 
himself  in  a  most  eventful  age ;  but  it  seemed  made  so  by  others,  more 
than  himself.  He  added,  to  be  sure,  something  to  the  great  deeds 
and  stirring  incidents  of  the  era ;  but  this  was  rather  forced  on  him 
than  sought.  His  ambition  was  more  for  the  calm  than  the  tempest ; 
and  his  reputation  will  rest  chiefly  on  the  successful  manner  in  which 
he  managed  the  vessel  of  state  in  the  various  perils  Avhich  he  was 
compelled  to  face. 

"  Thus,  for  a  moment,  as  to  Oregon.  The  course  of  events  had  pro- 
duced a  crisis  almost  unavoidable.  Her  limits  and  exclusive  occupation 
were,  therefore,  under  his  administration,  settled.  Though  long  before 
agitated, —  even  a  quarter  of  a  century, —  yet  a  regular  government 
by  the  United  States  was,  under  him,  first  flung  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  their  laws  and  institutions  first  carried  formally  and 
fully  to  the  waves  of  the  Pacific.  Grant  that  all  was  not  obtained  by 
his  arrangement  which  the  sanguine  hoped ;  grant,  as  was  the  convic- 
tion of  many,  that  our  rights  to  54°  40'  were  clear ;  grant  that  it  was, 
on  several  accounts,  desirable  to  stretch  our  limits  to  their  utmost 
verge, —  yet,  can  it  be  said  that  the  peace  of  the  country  with  a  great 
kindred  power,  and  the  exclusive  possession  and  settlement  and  growth 
of  twelve  or  thirteen  degrees  of  latitude,  and  under  the  reign  of  estab- 
lished laws  rather  than  the  rifle  or  the  tomahawk,  was  not  a  high 
national  object,  desirable  to  be  accomplished  speedily,  though  at  the 
expense  of  some  territory  7  All  must  admit  that,  on  a  subject  most 
sensitive,  further  painful  collisions  were  thus  obviated,  doubts  and  dif- 
ficulties of  many  years'  standing  closed,  and  the  prospect  of  future  war 
between  races  almost  fraternal  thi-own  ofl",  and,  it  is  hoped,  for  ages. 
Next,  behold  the  annexation  of  Texas,  finished  under  his  auspices ! 
Though,  it  is  conceded,  far  from  having  originated  Avith  him,  yet  this 
measure  was,  during  his  administration,  carried  into  complete  effect  — 
consolidated.  She  was  not  then  merely  preparing  to  come  into  the 
Union. —  anxious  and  negotiating, —  but  was  actually  brought  in,  and 
her  representatives  mingled  with  ours  on  the  field  of  glory,  and  her 
lone  star  united  in  our  political  galaxy  forever. 
56 


662  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

'•The  importance  of  this  measure,  thus  perfected  under  Mr.  Polk's 
administration,  can  only  be  appreciated  by  the  vindication  it  has  afforded 
to  the  right  of  self-government,  and  the  large  addition  it  has  made 
to  our  territory,  no  less  than  to  our  securities  in  future  difficulties,  and 
the  hostile  -weapons,  both  in  peace  and  -n'ar,  it  has  wrenched  from  our 
opponents,  and  the  vast  markets  for  our  manufactures  it  has  opened, 
and  the  new  employments  presented  for  our  navigation.  Superadded 
to  all  this  has  been  the  acquisition  of  California  and  New  Mexico, 
larger  in  territory  than  half  our  old  thirteen  States  combined.  This 
has  been  more  exclusively  a  measure  of  his  administration.  There 
have  been  added  by  it  to  our  public  domain,  and  to  the  Union,  lands 
broad  enough  to  support  a  nation,  rich  enough  in  gold  for  half  a  Avorld. 
harbors  capacious  enough  for  Avhole  navies,  and  almost  indispensable  for 
safety  and  supplies  to  the  greatest  whaling  marine  of  the  globe.  The 
chief  regret,  mingled  with  this,  may  be  the  inability,  as  yet,  to  agree 
on  any  but  a  military  government  over  this  great  acquisition ;  and  which 
makes  a  sti'ong  demand  on  our  liberality  and  exertions,  as  it  already 
has  done  on  our  sympathies,  to  establish  the  law  of  the  Union  over 
what  has  been  purchased  by  means  of  the  money  and  blood  of  this  con- 
secrated league  of  fraternal  States.  Such  remote  regions  are  likely 
soon  to  become  alienated,  if  not  duly  protected  and  bound  to  us  by 
benefits  and  improvements  such  as  are  necessary  to  their  growth  in 
commerce  and  close  attachment  to  the  Union,  even  though  requiring 
an  isthmus  railroad,  or  one  spanning  half  the  continent  in  higher  lati- 
tudes, and  which  are  so  much  stronger  ties  than  any  of  mere  paper  or 
parchment." 

Levi  Woodbury,  son  of  Hon.  Peter  Woodbury,  was  born  at  Frances- 
town,  N.  H.,  Nov.  2,  1789  ;  was  educated  in  New  Ipswich  Academy ; 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College,  in  1809  ;  studied  law  with  Hon. 
Samuel  Dana,  of  Boston,  and  at  the  Law  School,  in  Litchfield,  Conn., 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1812.  "It  is  gratifying  to  see  men 
occasionally  call  to  mind  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  scenes  of 
early  life,"  said  Judge  Woodbury,  at  the  festival  of  the  sons  of  New 
Hampshire;  "and  it  is  creditable  to  them  to  turn  aside,  for  at  least  a 
few  hours,  from  the  anxieties  and  bustle  of  business,  the  mere  mammon 
of  the  world,  and  think  over  and  talk  over  the  farm-house  and  fields 
of  childhood,  their  beloved  Argos,  the  village  school  and  village  church, 
the  plough  and  scythe,  of  growing  youth  or  manhood,  and  the  mother 
sister  and  brother,  who  cheered  you  at  dewy  eve,  on  your  return  from 


LEVI   WOODBURY.  663 

daily  toil.  This  is  purifying.  Well,  too,  may  some  of  you  remember 
the  gun  and  fishing-rod,  which,  while  furnishing  healthy  amusement, 
prepared  some  of  you,  by  the  mimic  war  of  the  chase,  to  help  to  con- 
quer so  nobly  at  Palo  Alto,  and  under  the  walls  of  Mexico."  Mr. 
Woodbury  was  elected  secretary  of  the  New  Hampshire  Senate,  in 
1816.  H^  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  in  New  Hamp- 
shire when  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age ;  and  acquitted  himself 
with  great  dignity,  wisdom,  and  fearless  intrepidity.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Hon.  Asa  Clapp,  of  Portland.  Me.,  June,  1819, 
when  he  settled  at  Portsmouth.  In  1823  Mr.  Woodbury  was  elected 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  and,  at  the  expiration  of  the  term,  resumed 
the  profession  of  law.  In  1825  he  was  elected  a  representative  to  the 
State  Legislature,  and  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House.  During  this 
session  a  vacancy  had  occurred  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  when 
Mr.  Woodbury  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  that  station ;  where, 
by  his  official  reports  and  his  speeches,  he  displayed  great  talent.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  commerce,  during  four  sessions ;  and, 
on  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he  declined  being  a  candidate  to  Con- 
gress. In  the  next  month  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  his  native 
State  ;  and,  on  the  reorganization  of  the  cabinet,  in  the  succeeding 
month,  he  was  invited  by  President  Jackson  to  the  office  of  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  when  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  After  the  rejec- 
tion of  JMr.  Taney  to  the  department  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr. 
Woodbury  was  transferred  to  that  sphere,  and  he  was  confirmed  in 
1834.  He  was  intensely  devoted  to  the  political  measures  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  as  he  was  moreover  to  the  policy  of  his  successor,  Martin  Van 
Buren,  under  whose  auspices  he  served  to  the  close  of  his  administra- 
tion, when  he  was  again  elected  by  his  native  State  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  period  of  six  years,  from  March  4,  1841. 
He  resigned  in  1845,  on  being  appointed  by  President  Polk  as  suc- 
cessor to  the  late  Justice  Story,  as  an  Associate  Justice  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court.  He  died  Sept.  3,  1851.  The  opinion  may  be 
safely  expressed,  that  no  member  of  the  cabinets  of  Jackson  and  Van 
Buren  had  a  stronger  influence  in  seconding  the  bold  measures  of  these 
originators  of  great  experiments  than  the  shrewd  Levi  Woodbury. 
Judge  Woodbury  was  a  profound  civilian,  and  presided  over  the 
judiciary  with  general  wisdom  and  great  dignity.  He  delivered  a 
discourse  at  the  capitol  in  Washington,  before  the  American  Historical 
Society,  in  1837,  of  which  he  was  a  member.     In  remarking  on  the 


664  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

necessity  of  a  fair  and  correct  history  of  our  own  government,  he 
observed  that  it  should  he  a  prominent  duty  of  this  society  to  strip 
from  the  statue  of  truth  all  meretricious  and  false  disguises.  Let  it 
not  be  said  of  us,  -when  inquirers  for  facts,  as  Aristophanes  describes 
the  Athenians : 

"  No  matter  what  the  offence. 

Be 't  great  or  small, 

The  cry  is  tyranny  —  conspiracy." 

But  ■when  -we  enter  the  sacred  temple  of  history,  let  us  put  off  the  par- 
tisan of  the  day,  whether  in  religion  or  politics,  as  well  as  discard  our 
flxvorite  theories  of  philosophy  and  political  economy,  and  seek  faith- 
fully to  do  justice  to  the  most  calumniated.  We  should  hold  the  mirror 
up  to  facts  and  nature  alone,  and  invoke  every  just  and  honorable  feel- 
ing, to  aid  us  in  judgment  on  the  long  array  of  the  past. 

Judge  Woodbury  possessed  great  intrepidity  of  character.  When 
the  counsel  in  the  case  of  Sims,  the  fugitive  slave,  had  inveighed 
against  his  decision,  that  a  Avrit  of  habeas  corpus  should  not  be  allowed, 
as  being  contrary  to  the  laAvs  of  Massachusetts,  Judge  Woodbury 
promptly  replied,  "Massachusetts  is  yet  a  part  of  the  Union,  thank 
God  !  He  wished  the  gentleman  to  understand  that  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  were  the  laws  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts ;  and  that, 
notwithstanding  the  action  or  passions  of  fanatics,  he  hoped  it  would  be 
lono;  before  —  whatever  Massachusetts  was  —  she  ceased  to  be  a  State 
in  the  Union.  It  was  his  duty  to  see  the  laws  faithfully  executed ; 
and  he  Avould  see  them  executed,  or  perish  in  the  attempt." 


EDWIN   PERCY   WHIPPLE. 

JULY   4,  1850.    FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"It  was  not  the  prevalence  of  abstract  opinions,"  remarks  Mr. 
Whipple,  ' '  but  the  inspiration  of  positive  institutions,  which  gave  our 
forefathers  the  heart  to  brave,  and  the  ability  successfully  to  defy,  the 
colossal  power  of  England  ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  its  obnox- 
ious colonial  policy  England  had  parted  with  her  wisdom,  and  in  part- 
ing with  her  wisdom,  had  weakened  her  power ;  falling,  as  Burke  says, 
under  the  operation  of  that  immutable  law  '  which  decrees  vexation 


EDWIN    PERCY  WHIPPLE.  665 

to  violence,  and  poverty  to  rapine.'  The  England  arrayed  against  us 
was  not  the  England  which,  a  few  years  before,  its  energies  wielded 
by  the  lofty  and  impassioned  genius  of  the  elder  Pitt,  had  smitten  the 
power  and  humbled  the  pride  of  two  great  European  monarchies,  and 
spread  its  fleets  and  armies,  animated  by  one  vehement  soul,  over  three 
quarters  of  the  globe.  The  administrations  of  the  English  govern- 
ment, from  1760  to  the  close  of  our  Revolutionary  War,  were  more  or 
less  directed  by  the  intriguing  incapacity  of  the  king.  George  the 
Third  is  said  to  have  possessed  many  private  virtues, —  and  very  pri- 
vate for  a  long  time  he  kept  them  from  his  subjects, —  but,  as  a  mon- 
arch, he  was  without  magnanimity  in  his  sentiments,  or  enlargement 
in  his  ideas ;  prejudiced,  uncultivated,  bigoted,  and  perverse ;  and  his 
boasted  morality  and  piety,  when  exercised  in  the  sphere  of  govern- 
ment, partook  of  the  narrowness  of  his  mind  and  the  obstinacy  of  his 
will;  his  conscience  being  used  to  transmute  his  hatreds  into  duties, 
and  his  religious  sentiment  to  sanctify  his  vindictive  passions ;  and  as 
it  was  his  ambition  to  rule  an  empire  by  the  petty  politics  of  a  court, 
he  preferred  to  have  his  folly  flattered  by  parasites  than  his  ignorance 
enlightened  by  statesmen.  Such  a  disposition  in  the  king  of  a  free 
country  was  incompatible  with  efiiciency  in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  as  it 
split  parties  into  factions,  and  made  established  principles  yield  to  mean 
personal  expedients.  Bute,  the  king's  first  minister,  after  a  short 
administration,  unexampled  for  corruption  and  feebleness,  gave  way 
before  a  storm  of  popular  contempt  and  hatred.  To  him  succeeded 
George  Grenville,  the  originator  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  the  blundering 
promoter  of  American  independence.  Grenville  was  a  hard,  sullen, 
dogmatic,  penurious  man  of  affairs,  with  a  complete  mastery  of  the 
details  of  parliamentary  business,  and  threading  with  ease  all  the 
labyrinths  of  English  law ;  but  limited  in  his  conceptions,  fixed  in  his 
opinions,  without  any  of  that  sagacity  which  reads  results  in  their 
principles,  and  chiefly  distinguished  for  a  kind  of  sour  honesty,  not 
infrequently  found  in  men  of  harsh  tempers  and  technical  intellects. 
It  was  soon  discovered  that,  though  imperious  enough  to  be  a  tyrant, 
he  was  not  servile  enough  to  be  a  tool ;  that  the  same  domineering 
temper  which  enabled  him  to  push  arbitrary  measures  in  Parliament 
made  him  put  insolent  questions  in  the  palace ;  and  the  king,  in  despair 
of  a  servant  who  could  not  tax  America  and  persecute  Wilkes  with- 
out at  the  same  time  insulting  his  master,  dismissed  him  for  the  Mar- 
quis of  Rockingham,  the  leader  of  the  great  whig  connection,  and  a 
56* 


GGQ  THE   nUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

sturdy  friend  of  the  Americans,  both  before  the  Revolution  and  during 
its  progress.  Under  him  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed ;  but  his  admin- 
istration soon  proved  too  liberal  to  satisfy  the  fawning  politicians  who 
governed  the  understanding  of  the  king,  and  the  experiment  was  tried 
of  a  composite  ministry,  put  together  by  Chatham,  consisting  of  mem- 
bers selected  from  different  factions,  but  without  any  principle  of  cohe- 
sion to  unite  them ;  and  the  anarchy,  inherent  in  the  arrangement, 
became  portentously  apparent  when  Chatham,  driven  by  the  gout  into 
a  state  of  nervous  imbecility,  left  it  to  work  out  its  mission  of  misrule, 
and  its  eccentric  control  was  seized  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
—  the  gay,  false,  dissipated,  veering,  presumptuous  and  unscrupulous 
Charles  Townsend.  This  man  was  so  brilliant  and  fascinating  as  an 
orator,  that  Walpole  said  of  one  of  his  speeches  that  it  was  like  hear- 
ing Garrick  act  extempore  scenes  from  Congreve ;  but  he  was  without 
any  guiding  moral  or  political  principles ;  and,  boundlessly  admired 
by  the  House  of  Commons  and  boundlessly  craving  its  admiration,  he 
seemed  to  act  ever  from  the  impulses  of  vanity,  and  speak  ever  from 
the  inspiration  of  champagne.  Grenville,  smarting  under  his  recent 
defeat,  but  still  doggedly  bent  on  having  a  revenue  raised  in  America, 
missed  no  opportunity  of  goading  this  versatile  political  roue  with  his 
sullen  and  bitter  sarcasms.  '  You  are  cowards,'  said  he,  on  one  occa- 
sion, turning  to  the  treasury  bench ;  '  you  are  afraid  of  the  Ameri- 
cans,—  yOu  dare  not  tax  America.'  Townsend,  stung  by  this  taunt, 
started  passionately  up  from  his  seat,  exclaiming,  '  Fear  !  cowards  ! 
dare  not  tax  America  !  I  do  dare  tax  America ! '  and  this  boyish 
bravado  ushered  in  the  celebrated  bill,  which  was  to  cost  England 
thirteen  colonies,  add  a  hundred  millions  of  pounds  to  her  debt,  and 
aflSx  an  ineffaceable  stain  on  her  public  character.  Townsend,  by  the 
grace  of  a  putrid  fever,  was  saved  from  Avitnessing  the  consequences 
of  his  vain-glorious  presumption ;  and  the  direction  of  his  policy 
eventually  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lord  North,  a  good-natured,  second- 
rate,  jobbing  statesman,  equally  destitute  of  lofty  virtues  and  splendid 
vices,  under  whose  administration  the  American  war  was  commenced 
and  consummated.  Of  all  the  ministers  of  George  the  Third,  North 
was  the  most  esteemed  by  his  sovereign  ;  for  he  had  the  tact  to  follow 
plans  which  originated  in  the  king's  unreasoning  brain  and  wilful  dis- 
position, and  yet  to  veil  their  weak  injustice  in  a  drapery  of  arguments 
furnished  from  his  own  more  enlarged  mind  and  easier  temper.  Chat- 
ham and  Camden  thundered  against  him  in  the  Lords ;   Burke  and 


EDWIN   PERCY  WHIPPLE.  667 

Fox,  Cassandras  of  ominous  and  eloquent  prophecy,  raved  and  shouted 
statesmanship  to  him  in  the  Commons,  and  screamed  out  the  maxims 
of  wisdom  in  ecstasies  of  invective ;  but  he,  good-naturedly  tolerant  to 
political  adversaries,  blandly  indifferent  to  popular  execration,  and 
sleeping  quietly  through  whole  hours  of  phihppics  hot  with  threats  of 
impeachment,  pursued  his  course  of  court-ordained  folly  with  the 
serene  composure  of  an  Ulysses  or  Somers.  The  war,  as  conducted 
by  his  ministry,  was  badly  managed ;  but  he  had  one  wise  thought, 
which  happily  failed  to  become  a  fact.  The  command  in  America,  on 
the  breaking  out  of  serious  disturbances,  was  offered  to  Lord  Clive ; 
but,  fortunately  for  us,  Clive,  at  about  that  time,  concluded  to  commit 
suicide,  and  our  rustic  soldiery  were  thus  saved  from  meeting  in  the 
field  a  general  who  in  vigor  of  will  and  fertility  of  resource  was 
unequalled  by  any  European  commander  who  had  appeared  since  the 
death  of  Marlborough. 

*JA.  ^L.  JL.  jr,  ^  jf, 

•TV  TV-  ^  ^  -TV  -TV 

"  The  madcap  Charles  Townsend,  the  motion  of  whose  pyrotechnic 
mind  was  like  the  whiz  of  a  hundred  rockets,  is  a  man  of  genius ;  but 
George  Washington,  raised  up  above  the  level  of  even  eminent  states- 
men, and  with  a  nature  moving  with  the  still  and  orderly  celerity  of  a 
planet  round  its  sun, —  he  dwindles,  in  comparison,  into  a  kind  of 
angelic  dunce  !  What  is  genius  1  Is  it  worth  anything  ?  Is  splen- 
did folly  the  measure  of  its  inspii-ation  7  Is  wisdom  its  base  and  sum- 
mit, which  it  recedes  from,  or  tends  towards  7  And  by  what  definition 
do  you  award  the  name  to  the  creator  of  an  epic,  and  deny  it  to  the 
creator  of  a  country  1  On  what  principle  is  it  to  be  lavished  on  him 
who  sculptures  in  perishing  marble  the  image  of  possible  excellence, 
and  withheld  from  him  who  built  up  in  himself  a  transcendent  charac- 
ter, indestructible  as  the  obligations  of  duty,  and  beautiful  as  her 
rewards'?" 

Edwin  Percy  Whipple  was  born  at  Gloucester,  March  8,  1819, 
and  was  the  youngest  son  of  Matthew  Whipple,  a  gentleman  of 
strong  sense  and  fine  social  powers,  who  died  when  the  subject  of 
this  article  was  in  infancy, —  in  whose  ancestry  we  trace  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  His  mother  was  Lydia  Gar- 
diner, of  Gardiner,  Maine, —  a  family  eminent  for  mental  power. 
His  grandfather  was  an  officer  of  the  American  Revolution,  who 
sacrificed   his  fortune   in   the  glorious    cause.      The   ready,   flash- 


668  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

ing,  pointed  wit,  afterwards  so  agreeably  developed  in  the  productions 
of  Edwin,  partially  owes  its  origin  to  the  influence  of  the  maternal  side 
of  the  family ;  and  was  divested  of  the  envenomed  sarcasm  so  peculiar 
to  the  Gardiner  family,  by  the  chastening,  mild  blandness  of  his  pater- 
nal kindred.  The  scion  of  a  stock  from  which  sprang  John  Gardiner, 
of  Boston,  the  eminent  barrister,  having  a  highly  cultivated  mind,  must 
inevitably  be  inspired  with  similar  rays  of  intellect.  Our  readers  may 
find  an  account  of  him,  as  the  orator  for  July  4,  1785.  His  mother 
was  devotedly  attached  to  her  children,  and  her  plastic  influence  largely 
contributed  to  the  shaping  their  character.  The  family  removed  to 
Salem  when  Edwin  was  but  four  years  of  age,  where  he  was  educated 
at  the  public  schools,  more  especially  at  the  Enghsh  High  School,  under 
Master  William  H.  Brooks,  where  he  was  distinguished  as  one  of  the 
ripest  scholars,  and  pursued  his  studies  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of 
age,  during  which  period  he  acquired  a  fondness  for  history  and  polite 
literature,  by  a  free  access  to  the  Salem  Athenaeum.  On  leaving 
school,  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  Bank  of  General  Interest,  in  that  city. 
He  commenced  his  first  literary  contributions  for  a  newspaper  in 
Salem,  when  he  was  but  fourteen  yeaz'S  of  age,  which  he  pursued  for 
some  years.  On  leaving  Salem,  he  was  employed  by  Dana,  Fenno 
&  Henshaw,  brokers,  on  State-street.  Boston ;  and,  shortly  after  the 
erection  of  the  Merchant's  Exchange,  in  that  street,  he  was  appointed 
to  the  superintendence  of  the  news-room,  and  previous  to  that  period 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Association,  and  was 
soon  a  leader  in  debate  and  composition.  It  was  in  this  model  institu- 
tion that  young  Whipple  contracted  a  personal  friendship  for  Fields, 
an  honored  native  poet  of  the  Granite  State,  who  made  the  following 
happy  allusion  to  its  members,  and  his  hterary  companion,  in  an  anni- 
versary poem  for  the  Association,  previous  to  entering  the  fields  of 
matrimony : 

"  What  though  grave  fathers  still  my  friends  I  meet. 
Whose  nursery  floors  are  'worn  with  little  feet  ; 
What  though,  companion  of  my  former  years, 
Thy  face  at  market  eveiy  morn  appears. 
While  I,  still  ignorant  as  the  greenest  baize, 
What  goods  domestic  go  the  greatest  ways, 
Grope  blindly  homeward  to  my  noontide  meal. 
Unknowing  what  my  damask  may  reveal  ;  — 
Heart  leaps  to  heart,  and  warmer  grasps  the  hand. 
When  autumn's  bugle  reiinites  our  band  !  " 


EDWIN   PERCY   WHIPPLE.  669 

Incidental  to  the  Mercantile  Library,  there  was  a  club  known  as 
'"The  Attic  Nights,"  which  had  its  meetings  every  Saturday  night,  in 
an  attic  room  in  an  antique  looking  edifice,  built  of  unhewn  granite, 
and  known  as  "Tudor's  Building,"  occupied  by  one  of  them.  The 
number  of  its  members  was  at  no  time  to  exceed  six.  Each  member 
had  a  club  name,  and  was  obliged  to  take  his  turn  at  the  chair,  and  no 
"presidential  term"  lasted  longer  than  a  single  night,  ^e  "Attic 
Nights"  were  conducted  mostly  after  the  manner  of  the  Noctes 
Ambrosianaj,  or  Ambrosial  Nights,  of  old  Christopher  North,  as  pub- 
lished in  Blackwood's  Magazine.  The  conversations  at  the  club  were 
devoted  to  literary  subjects ;  and  it  was  the  understanding  that  no  mem- 
ber should  attend,  uninformed  of  the  present  state  of  literature,  or 
unprepared  to  sustain  opinions  on  literary  subjects.  Each  member 
was  to  take  his  turn  as  the  scribe  of  the  meeting,  as  Avas  Professor 
Wilson  of  the  club  in  Edinburgh,  in  order  to  read  a  report  of  the  con- 
versation at  the  next  meeting.  Here  Whipple  was  in  his  element.  It 
was  profitable  to  hear  his  opinions  and  illustrations  of  Goethe  and  Schil- 
ler, Johnson  and  Parr,  Gifford  and  Jeffrey,  Wordsworth  and  Byron, 
and  other  poets,  essayists,  and  historians.  The  works  of  all  the  dram- 
atists, from  Kit  ]\Iarlowe  and  rare  Ben  Jonson  down  to  the  days  of 
Sheridan,  were  perfectly  familiar  to  him.  It  was  in  this  club  that  he 
became  inspired  with  the  thirst  for  essay- wi'iting,  and  his  naturally  intu- 
itive wit,  good  humor  and  kindness  of  heart,  rendered  him  a  delightful 
companion ;  but  he  is  extremely  modest,  and  rather  cautious  in  the 
presence  of  professed  scholars.  He  was  first  more  especially  intro- 
duced to  public  notice  by  the  delivery  of  a  poem  before  the  Mercantile, 
Sept.  29,  1840,  which  was  full  of  playful  humor,  cutting  up  and  using 
up,  amid  satirical  hits,  with  the  skill  of  a  master  haad,  the  numerous 
fanciful  theories  and  abstractions  that  are  emptying  the  pockets  and 
turning  the  brains  of  the  multitude, — delighting  his  auditors,  and  draw- 
ing forth  continued  peals  of  rapturous  applause. 

Early  in  1843  Mr.  Whipple  was  introduced  to  a  more  substantial 
attention,  by  an  article  of  his  production,  inserted  in  the  Boston  Mis- 
cellany, in  which  he  accurately  analyzed  the  powers  of  Macaulay,  the 
essayist  and  historian,  who  was  so  much  gratified  by  its  nature  that  he 
addressed  to  Mr.  Whipple  a  letter  expressive  of  high  regard.  In  Octo- 
ber of  the  same  year,  he  excited  great  public  interest  by  his  lecture,  in 
presence  of  the  same  institution,  on  the  Lives  of  Authors,  when  a  jour- 
nahst  said  of  it,  that  it  was  the  production  of  a  merchant's  clerk,  pos- 


670  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON    ORATORS. 

sessing  only  a  public  school  instruction,  but  with  a  mind  capable  of 
great  things,  when  brought  to  bear  upon  the  world  of  letters.  For 
several  years  since,  he  has  been  a  contributor  to  the  North  American 
Keview,  Christian  Examiner,  and  other  periodicals,  most  of  which 
appear  in  his  volumes  of  Lectures  and  Essays.  He  has  delivered  lec- 
tures of  striking  merit  for  the  hterary  societies  of  Brown.  Dartmouth, 
and  Amherst.  When  his  admirable  volume  of  lectures  was  published, 
so  ardent  was  the  attachment  of  the  Mercantile  Association  to  this  most 
talented  member  of  their  body,  that  nearly  the  whole  edition  was  spon- 
taneously purchased  by  themselves,  without  any  preconcerted  action. 
To  relate  an  agreeable  instance  :  On  the  day  of  its  publication,  nine 
of  the  members,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  not  stating  their  object 
to  each  other,  procured  at  Ticknor's  several  sets  each.  The  public 
being  thus  supplanted,  a  new  edition  was  forthwith  issued.  It  is  ster- 
eotyped, and  classed  among  standard  American  authors.  He  has  sin- 
gular ability  in  tracing  out  and  expressing  those  hidden  connections  of 
things,  and  those  slight,  ethereal  and  fugitive  notions,  which  float  as 
mere  glimpses  or  visions  in  most  men's  minds.  His  keen,  dehcate, 
agile,  genial,  jubilant  mind,  plays  around  and  through  his  subject, 
threading  its  way  along  every  vein  of  gold,  like  electricity.  It  is  a 
peculiar  merit  of  his  lectures,  that  they  are  nearly  all  upon  subjects 
which,  though  of  great  importance,  are  so  evanescent  in  their  nature 
that  they  are  generally  advanced  by  writers  in  the  most  indifferent  man- 
ner. The  remark  of  Whipple  regarding  Richard  H.  Dana  the  elder,  in 
a  review  of  his  works  in  the  Examiner,  may,  with  peculiar  emphasis,  be 
applied  to  himself,  that  they  carry  with  them  the  evidence  of  being  the 
products  of  his  own  thinking  and  living,  and  are  full  of  those  magical 
signs  which  indiflhte  patient  meditation,  and  a  nature  rooted  in  the 
realities  of  things.  We  advise  Mr.  Whipple  ever  to  write  in  a  smooth 
transparency  of  style,  divested  of  the  affected  quaintness  of  either  Car- 
lyle  or  Emerson,  imitating  no  author. 

' '  If  any  visiter  go  to  Boston,  and  will  take  the  trouble  to  go  into  the 
•Exchange  News-room,"  says  Giles,  the  famous  essayist,  "let  him  look 
into  a  small  office,  on  the  left  hand,  as  he  enters,  and  he  will  observe 
a  head  scarcely  appearing  above  the  door,  bent  down  in  study  or  com- 
position. That  head  belongs  to  Edwin  Percy  Whipple, —  a  head  that 
has  not  many  equals  in  the  city  where  it  thinks,  or  many  superiors 
in  the  nation.  Even  physically  it  is  of  imposing  magnitude, —  of  a 
massive  force  and  breadth  of  brow,  which  might  rest  on  the  shoulders 


EDWIN   PERCY   WHIPPLE.  671 

of  a  Leibnitz,  or  a  Luther.  Large  and  of  deep  expansion  is  the  capa- 
pacious  dome  over  a  capacious  heart ;  and  filled  as  it  is  with  speculations 
of  noble  thought,  with  visions  and  colorings  of  beauty,  it  is  enriched 
and  warmed  with  most  manly  and  generous  aflfections.  A  rare  man  is 
Mr.  Whipple,  in  a  rare  position.  There  he  sits  in  that  office,  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  hard,  worldly  passions  that  journalism  can  put 
into  type,  or  that  traffic  can  put  into  man,  musing  on  high  themes,  and 
deciding  great  questions,  in  the  regions  of  pure  thought,  or  in  the 
realms  of  many-hued  imagination ;  calling  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep 
of  intellect  or  fancy ;  settling  what  place  they  are  to  hold  in  the  uni- 
verse, and  how  they  will  stand  related  to  duration,  to  immortality,  or 
to  oblivion.  But,  withal,  there  is  no  dreaminess  in  our  muser,  and  no 
affectation  of  absence  or  abstraction.  Ever  alive  to  friendship,  to  cour- 
tesy, to  duty,  he  can  lay  aside  his  ideas  as  he  does  his  pen,  to  welcome 
a  brother,  to  discuss  politics,  or  to  talk  about  the  weather.  Consider- 
ing that  his  brain  may  have  been  kindled  up  with  the  splendid  concep- 
tions of  Shelley,  with  a  light  almost  as  splendid  as  Shelley's  own ;  or 
that  his  heart  may  have  been  panting  with  feelings  aroused  by  the 
intense  pages  of  Byron,  we  cannot  easily  conceive  of  more  thorough 
self-command,  more  complete  mastery  of  manner  and  of  mind.  Look- 
ing at  Mr.  Whipple  thus,  in  the  midst  of  ijewspapers  and  merchants, 
and  understanding  in  what  things  his  faculties  are  generally  engaged, 
we  have  no  idea  of  a  more  remarkable  union  of  the  ideal  and  the 
actual." 

While  the  cognomen  of  Young  England  has  been  conceded  to  a  mere 
clique  of  literati  in  the  great  metropolis,  yet.  in  a  broader  and  more 
generous  view,  we  readily  recognize  the  embodiment  of  Young  Boston 
in  the  more  than  a  thousand  warm  hearts  of  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association, —  an  institution  which,  with  its  weekly  literary  exercises, 
its  lectures,  its  extensive  library,  and  its  cabinet  of  curiosities,  lays  a 
firm  hold  on  commercial  and  intellectual  progress,  and  is  the  glory  of 
our  city.  Young  Boston  is  a  nursery  of  genius  and  rare  common 
sense,  rivalled  only  by  our  schools  of  learning ;  and  we  hope  to  see  the 
day  when  our  princely  citizens  will  endow  it  with  an  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  the  income  of  which  would  greatly  advance  its  noble  objects. 
We  admire  its  programme,  with  its  executive,  directors,  trustees,  com- 
mittee on  lectures  and  librarians,  backed  up  by  committees  on  expendi- 
tures, the  library,  purchase  of  books,  newspapers  and  pamphlets,  on 
coins  and  curiosities,  literary  exercises,  such  as  declamation,  debate, 
and  composition. 


672  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

We  ■will  further  digress,  to  introduce  an  effective  allusion  of  Daniel 
Noyes  Haskell,  whose  untiring  efforts  for  this  institution  have  mainly 
established  its  permanent  basis.  In  his  address  for  the  association,  at 
the  dedication  of  their  new  rooms,  -Xan.  3,  1848,  Mr.  Haskell  remarks 
of  the  weekly  literary  exercises  :  "  I  am  compelled  to  admit  that  we 
could  better  afford  to  stop  our  public  lectures,  to  sink  our  fund, —  yes, 
even  to  vacate  these  new  and  beautiful  rooms,  and  to  ask  the  Legisla- 
ture to  take  back  their  parchment  charter,  Avith  its  honored  autographs, 
—  than  to  give  up  these  frequent  gatherings,  where  mind  meets  mind, 
truth  and  error  grapple,  where  character  is  developed,  and  talents  find 
the  standard  of  their  influence." 

Success  to  Young  Boston,  which,  having  fashioned  and  given  consist- 
ence to  the  mind  of  our  young  American  Macaulay,  were  honored 
enough,  without  regard  to  the  resistless  influence  most  manifestly 
developing  talent  and  mental  vigor,  by  its  order  of  operation  !  Success 
to  Young  Boston  !  May  you  ever  be  ambitious  for  eminent  elevation  to 
the  post  of  honor  in  any  useful  pursuit  of  life,  as  have  your  Whipple 
and  Fields,  who,  though  never  having  roved  in  the  groves  of  Harvard, 
are  honorary  members  of  its  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society ;  and  may  those 
of  you  who  aspire  to  the  post  of  honor  in  commercial  life  be  coun- 
selled by  the  admired  Fields,  who  says,  in  answer  to  the  inquiry, 

"  Does  our  pathway  e'er  conduct  to  fame  ? 
The  merchant's  honor  is  his  spotless  name  ; 
Not  circumscribed,  just  narrowed  to  the  rank 
That  passes  current  only  at  the  bank,  — 
But,  stamped  with  soul,  howe'er  the  winds  may  blow, 
Large  as  the  sunlight,  and  unstained  as  snow; 
Do  good  by  stealth,  be  just,  have  faith  in  man ; 
The  rest  to  heaven,  God  always  in  the  van  ;  — 
Though  silent  deeds  may  find  no  tongue  to  bless 
Through  the  loud  trumpet  of  the  public  press. 
Time-honored  city  !  be  it  ours  to  stand 
For  thy  broad  jDortals,  armed  with  traffic's  wand  ; 
To  keep  undimmed  and  dear  thy  deathless  name, 
That  beams  unclouded  on  the  rolls  of  fame  ; 
And  foster  honor  till  the  world  shall  say. 
Trade  hath  no  worthier  home  than  yon  bright  bay." 

With  the  ready  hand  of  an  analyst,  Mr.  Whipple,  in  his  effective 
oration  at  the  head  of  this  article,  boldly  exhibits  the  striking  contrast 
in  the  characters  of  George  the  Third  and  George  Washington.  The 
three  royal  Georges  of  Old  England,  by  an  intolerant  oppression  of  their 


EDWIN    PERCY    WHIPPLE.  6T3 

New  England  descendants,  unconsciously  originated  the  Revolution, 
which,  through  the  wisdom  and  sagacity  of  our  Washington,  estaljlished 
an  independent  republic,  and  inspired  with  the  spirit  of  civil  liberty 
every  nation  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 


CHARLES  THEODORE   RUSSELL. 

JULY  4,  1851.    FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

Charles  Theodore  Russell  was  born  at  Princeton,  Mass.,  Nov. 
20, 1815  ;  fitted  for  college  in  part  at  an  academy,  and  in  part  with  the 
clergyman  of  his  native  town.  He  entered  Harvard  College  in  the 
autumn  of  1833,  and  graduated  in  1837,  on  which  occasion  he  gave 
the  salutatory  oration  in  Latin ;  and,  in  1840,  he  delivered  the  val- 
edictory address,  when  he  took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  Mr. 
Russell  studied  law  for  a  period  in  Boston,  and  at  the  Cambridge  Law 
School,  and  Avas  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Suffolk  in  September,  1839; 
and,  in  the  succeeding  month,  commenced  the  pi'actice  of  law  in  Bos- 
ton. He  married,  on  June  1,  1840,  Miss  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Ballister,  of  Dorchester.  In  1843  Mr.  Russell  was  elected  to 
the  House  of  Representatives,  of  which  he  was  two  years  a  member, 
when  he  declined  a  reelection.  In  1849  he  was  again  elected  to  the 
House,  and  in  the  year  succeeding  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate, 
of  which  he  is  now  a  member.  Mr.  Russell  is  the  author  of  the  His- 
tory of  Princeton,  from  its  first  settlement ;  a  valuable  production, 
which  was  published  in  the  year  1838. 

Mr.  Russell,  in  the  peroration  to  the  patriotic  performance  at  thb 
head  of  this  article,  remarks:  "We  hear  much,  in  these  days,  of  'a 
higher  law.'  I  recognize  its  existence,  and  reverently  bow  before 
its  manifestations.  I  present  our  Union  as  a  striking  monument  of 
its  moulding  and  guiding  Omnipotence.  I  have  desired  to  enhance 
the  value  of  the  magnificent  structure,  by  exhibiting  it  in  the  hand 
of  the  Divine  Builder.  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  this  '  higher 
law,'  by  a  series  of  concurring  events,  reaching  back  through  cen- 
turies, has  elaborated  and  evolved  this  successful  experiment  of 
human  liberty.  Thus  originated.  I  claim  for  it  the  holiest  sanctions 
of  this  law.  I  demand  for  it  the  support  of  its  solemn  obligations. 
The  union  of  these  States  has  been  accomplished  by  the  contribu- 
57 


674  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

tions  of  nations  and  centuries,  foi'  no  transient  or  insignificant  pur- 
pose. In  its  sublime  and  ultimate  end,  it  has  a  mission  to  humanity. 
In  the  language  of  Washington,  '  the  preservation  of  the  sacred  fire 
of  liberty,  and  the  destiny  of  the  republican  model  of  government, 
are  justly  considered  as  deeply,  perhaps  as  finally,  staked  on  the 
experiment  intrusted  to  the  hands  of  the  American  people.'  Thus, 
as  Madison  has  truly  said,  are  Ave  '  responsible  for  the  greatest  trust 
ever  confided  to  a  political  society.'  Ours  is  not  the  duty  of  foi-ming, 
but  preserving.  The  fathers  were  faithful  to  every  exigency  by  which 
God  created  it.  AYe  are  responsible  for  a  like  faithfulness  to  every 
exigency  by  Avhich  he  Avould  preserve  and  perpetuate  it.  To  such 
fidelity  the  past  urges,  the  future  calls,  and  the  highest  law  commands 
us.  Evils  and  defects  within  our  Union  we  may  well  and  earnestly 
seek  to  remove,  by  the  development  and  operation  of  the  principles 
upon  which  it  rests.  But,  whosoever  lays  his  hand  upon  the  fabric 
itself,  or  seeks,  by  whatever  means,  or  under  whatever  pretence,  or 
from  whatever  source,  to  undermine  its  foundations,  is  treacherous  to 
humanity,  false  to  hberty,  and,  more  than  all,  culpable  to  God. 

"This  is  the  inference  of  duty.  To  its  performance  hope,  by  its 
smile,  encourages  us.  All  efforts  for  the  dissolution  of  our  Union  will 
be  as  disastrously  unsuccessful  as  they  are  singularly  criminal.  Never, 
in  its  existence,  has  it  been  more  earnestly  and  truly  performing  its 
appropriate  work  than  now.  A  people  in  the  aggregate  happy  and 
blessed  as  the  sun  shines  upon  repose  in  its  protection.  Every  rolling 
tide  brings  to  its  shores  multitudes  seeking  its  shelter.  Each  receding 
wave  carries  back  to  the  people  they  have  left  its  liberalizing  influ- 
ence. Eising  midway  of  the  continent,  and  reaching  to  either  ocean, 
it  throws  over  both  its  radiant  and  cheering  light.  Intently  the  strug- 
gling nations  contemplate  its  no  longer  doubtful  experiment.  ]\Ioral 
and  religious  truth  are  penetrating  every  part  of  its  vast  domain,  and 
planting,  in  the  very  footsteps  of  the  first  settlers,  the  church,  the 
school,  and  the  college.  Its  Christian  missionaries  have  girdled  the 
globe  with  their  stations ;  and,  in  all  of  them,  heroic  men  and  women, 
under  its  protection,  Avitli  the  religion  of  Jesus,  are  silently  difiusing 
the  principles  of  American  liberty.  Already  a  nation  in  the  far  oflF 
islands  of  the  Pacific  has  been  redeemed  by  them  from  barbarism, 
.assumed  its  place  among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  and  the  very  last  mails 
tell  us  is  at  this  moment  seeking  admission  to  our  republic. 

"  Thus  meeting  its  grand  purposes,  it  will  not  fall.     ]Mau  alone  has 


CHARLES    TIIEODOUE    RUSSELL.  675 

not  reared  it,  tlic  tabernacle  of  freedom  ;  and  man  alone  cannot  pros- 
trate it,  or  gently  beam  by  beam  take  it  down.  Heaven  directed  in  its 
formation  and  growth;  -while  true  to  its  origin,  it  will  be  heaven- 
protected  in  its  progress  and  maturity.  The  stars  of  God  will  shine 
down  kindly  upon  it,  and  angels,  on  the  beats  of  their  silvery  wings, 
■will  linger  and  hover  above  it.  To-day  it  is  as  firmly  seated  as  ever 
in  the  affections  of  its  citizens.  Guarded  by  its  hardly  seen  power, 
reposing  in  its  prosperity,  not  stopping  to  contemplate  the  character  of 
its  origin,  or  to  realize  its  transcendent  purpose,  men,  for  a  moment, 
may  cast  its  value,  speculate  on  its  duration,  and  even  threaten  its  dis- 
'solution.  In  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  conflicts  of  opinion  will 
exist,  sectional  interests  will  become  excited,  and  sometimes  hostile. 
The  views  of  ardent  men  will  be  maintained  with  the  ardor  in  which 
they  are  held.  A  clear  and  fair  field  of  combat  will  be  left  to  error 
and  truth.  The  largest  freedom  of  discussion  will  be  scrupulously 
preserved.  In  the  consequent  excitement,  there  may  sometimes  seem 
to  be  danger  to  the  Union  itself  But,  in  the  hour  of  peril,  experience 
shows,  and  ever  will  show,  that  a  whole  people  will  rally  to  its  support, 
and  sink  its  foes  beneath  a  weight  of  odium  a  life-time  cannot  alleviate. 
The  rain  may  descend,  the  floods  come,  and  the  Avinds  blow  and  beat 
upon  it, —  it  will  not  fall,  for  it  is  founded  upon  a  rock.  It  rests  upon 
guarantees  stronger  even  than  laws  and  compromises.  For  it  our 
interests  combine  in  overwhelming  potency ;  around  it  cluster  the  most 
glorious  associations  of  our  history ;  in  it  the  hopes  of  humanity  are 
involved ;  to  it  our  hearts  cling  with  undying  love ;  for  it  religion,  lib- 
erty and  conscience,  plead  ;  and,  beyond  all,  upon  it,  in  its  riper  years 
as  in  its  infancy,  the  protection  of  God  rests,  a  sheltering  cloud  for  its 
fiercer  day,  a  pillar  of  fire  in  its  darker  night.'' 


*'  One  great  clime, 
AVhose  vigorous  offspring  by  dividing  ocean 
Are  kept  apart,  and  nursed  in  the  devotion 
Of  Freedom,  whicli  tlieir  fotliers  fought  for,  and 
Bequeathed,  a  heritage  of  heart  and  hand, 
And  proud  distinction  fi'om  each  other  land, 
Whose  sons  must  bow  them,  at  a  monarch's  motion. 
As  if  his  senseless  sceptre  Averc  a  wand 
Full  of  the  magic  of  exploded  science,  — 
Still  one  great  clime,  in  full  and  free  defiance. 
Yet  rears  her  crest,  unconquered  and  sublime, 
Above  the  far  Atlantic."  Byuon. 


076  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

THOMAS  STARR  KING. 

JULY   5,  1852.     FOR  THE   CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

'•The  last  two  centuries/'  said  our  orator,  "  are  the  most  remark- 
able of  the  ^Y0rld's  history,  for  the  amount  of  social  justice  that 
has  been  established  for  millions  of  men;  and  the  fullest  expe- 
rience of  it  has  been  on  this  continent,  secured  by  the  institutions  ' 
•which  have  made  our  country  an  original  experiment  and  a  spectacle 
in  the  annals  of  time. 

"To  a  scientific  mind,  a  Humboldt  or  an  Owen,  no  tidings  would » 
be  freighted  with  such  absorbing  interest  as  the  information  that  a 
new  and  high  type  of  organization  had  arisen  on  this  planet ;  that  the 
creative  powers  around  us  had  given  birth  to  some  beautiful  plant, 
some  majestic  tree,  some  strange  and  symmetrical  animal,  with  higher 
functions,  and  more  intricate  constitution,  than  any  vegetable  or  phys- 
ical organization  known  to  the  lists  of  science.  With  what  reverence 
would  their  minds  bend  before  such  a  glorious  miracle,  and  how  eager, 
how  curious  and  minute,  would  their  researches  be  into  the  wisdom 
embodied  in  the  last  and  highest  creation  of  the  Intellect  that  rules 
the  world  ! 

"  "We  all  know  what  excitement  was  caused,  a  few  years  since,  by 
the  discovery  of  a  new  planet  beyond  the  path  of  Uranus.  But  what 
would  the  amazement  of  an  astronomer  be,  if  he  could  detect  in  the 
sky  a  planet  in  the  swift  process  of  formation !  or  what,  if  he  could 
look  through  the  glass  into  some  sacred  district  of  space,  and  see  a 
vast  continent  of  chaos  organize  itself  rapidly  into  a  system ;  if  every 
process  by  which  planets  and  satellites  are  formed  out  of  primeval 
matter  could  be  made  visible,  and  the  forces  which,  upon  our  globe, 
have  so  slowly  deposited  the  landmarks  of  geological  ages,  should  con- 
dense their  work  into  a  few  years,  so  that  he  could  study  it  at  leisure, 
night  by  night,  noting  each  week  some  step  of  advance  which  on  our 
globe  exhausted  a  hundred  centuries,  and  seeing  all  end  in  the  pro- 
duction of  a  beauty  which  no  orb  of  our  own  system  wears !  How 
much  more  clearly  would  the  study  of  such  a  creative  process  of  nature 
reveal  what  the  physical  forces  are,  than  any  abstract  description  could 
convey ;  and  how  much  deeper  and  more  solemn  the  impression  of 
such  a  spectacle,  than  dry  statements,  chemical  hypotheses,  and  math- 
ematical formulas  ! 


THOMAS   STAER   KING.  677 

"And  our  histov}'  is  most  interesting  and  suggestive  when  viewed 
as  a  fresh  creation  from  deeps  of  human  nature  that  had  long  been 
sluggish,  and  whose  vitality  seemed  to  be  effete.  The  appearance  of 
our  mighty  millions  of  white  democracy,  stretching  from  ocean  to 
ocean,  and  from  the  Russian  latitudes  to  the  tropical  gulf,  without  a 
monarch,  with  no  hereditary  rulers,  no  lords,  no  titles,  no  vested  rights, 
no  despotic  church,  but  blessed  with  an  order  such  as  the  world  has 
never  seen,  and  a  prosperity  that  has  outrun  every  enthusiastic  dream. 
and  yet  not  exhausting  more  than  half  a  century  in  the  revelation  of 
its  most  starthng  results, —  what  is  it  to  the  political  student  but  a 
process  parallel  to  the  picture  we  imagined  of  an  evolving  system  of 
worlds  in  space  before  the  eye  of  an  astronomer, —  a  magnificent  and 
astonishing  effort  of  organization,  unexampled  in  human  experience 
for  the  breadth  of  the  scale,  the  rapidity  of  the  development,  and  the 
character  of  the  products,  and  revealing,  as  nothing  else  could  do,  the 
constructive  powers  that  slumber  in  the  popular  brain  and  heart !  " 

The  eloquent  passage,  from  the  unpublished  oration,  at  the  head  of 
this  article,  was  kindly  contributed  to  this  work  at-  the  special  request 
of  the  editor.  We  should  sincerely  regret  tlmt  the  orator  had  declined 
the  request  of  the  city  authorities  for  its  publication,  were  it  not  for 
the  consideration  that  it  may  be  the  means  of  more  extended  useful- 
ness by  being  delivered  before  other  large  audiences  in  many  places. 
We  admire  his  simplicity  of  manner,  as  in  the  instance  of  proceeding 
up  the  mall  of  our  beautiful  Common  to  Park-street  meeting-house,  a 
while  previous  to  the  period  of  the  audience  gathering  there,  with  the 
arm  of  his  wife  on  one  side,  and  his  clerical  gown  in  a  neat  wrapper 
under  his  other  arm,  thus  avoiding  the  parade  of  a  long  march  in  the 
public  procession.  Mr.  King  is  remarkably  self-possessed,  and  we 
found  him  as  much  at  home  on  this  exciting  occasion  as  he  is  in  the 
lecture-room.  Indeed,  we  view  him  as  a  rare  personification  of  pure 
eloquence,  both  as  regards  personal  address  and  power  of  thought. 
This  performance  was  on  "  The  Organization  of  Liberty  on  the  West- 
ern Continent,"  and  was  a  fine  illustration,  as  remarked  by  one  of  our 
public  journals,  of  the  illumination  Avhich  may  be  cast  over  a  whole 
field  of  reflection  and  investigation,  by  vigorously  conceiving  the  cen- 
tral principle,  which  includes  its  details,  reduces  the  various  topics  of 
the  general  subject  into  order  and  relation,  and  darts  light  and  heat 
into  the  duskiest  corners  of  its  cold  abstractions.  While  listening  to 
an  oration  in  which  a  large  and  liberal  philosophy  gave  substance  and 
57* 


678  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

form  to  a  genuine  love  of  freedom,  we  could  not  resist  the  patriotic 
quibble,  that,  for  the  first  time  in  seventy  years,  a  Fourth  of  July 
audience  of  American  democrats  might  join  the  most  loyal  of  tories  in 
his  toast  of  "  Church  and  King." 

The  accustomed  public  dinner  of  the  city  authorities  was  partaken 
at  Faneuil  Hall ;  but  the  coming  admonition  of  the  poet  to  our  orators, 
and  those  who  are  seated  at  the  festive-board,  was  not  required  on  this 
occasion,  for  the  oration  of  Mr.  King  was  of  pertinent  bi-evity,  and 
temperance  presided  at  the  feast : 

"  Solid  men  of  Boston,  banish  strong  potations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orations." 

We  will  here  digress  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  another  instance 
of  a  more  pointed  allusion  to  this  memorable  passage.  It  appears  that 
in  a  debate  in  Parliament  on  the  Volunteer  Bill,  some  squibbing 
occurred  between  Sheridan  and  Burke.  The  latter  gentleman 
observed  that  long  speeches  without  good  materials  were  dangerous, 
quoting  the  above  popular  doggerel  of  the  American  war  : 

"  Solid  men  of  Boston,  banish  strong  potations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orations." 

When  Sheridan,  imagining  that  the  first  line  of  the  couplet,  if  not  the 
second,  apphed  rather  too  effectively  to  himself,  keenly  retorted  by 
stating  that  he  remembered  some  other  lines  from  the  same  approved 
author : 

"  Now  it  hapt  to  the  country  he  went  for  a  blessing. 
And  from  his  state  daddy  to  get  a  new  lesson  ; 
He  went  to  Daddy  Jenky  by  trimmer  Hal  attended,  — 
In  such  company,  good  lack,  how  his  morals  must  be  mended  !  " 

We  believe  the  pulpit  is  the  most  fitting  sphere  in  which  Mr.  King 
is  adapted  to  move,  as  his  heart  appears  absorbed  in  its  noble  duties. 
We  hope  that  his  whole  soul  will  ever  be  devoted  to  the  ministry, 
firmly  resolving  never  to  exchange  the  pulpit  for  the  highest  honor 
that  any  civil  or  political  power  may  propose  to  confer. 

Thomas  Starr  King  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  December 
17,  1824.  His  father  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  F.  King,  who  married 
ISIiss  Susan  Starr,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New  York  city. 
His  early  boyhood  was  passed  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  his  later 


THOMAS   STARR   KING.  679 

youth  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  where  his  father  had  the  pas- 
toral care  of  a  church.  Young  Mr.  King  was  prepared  for  college, 
but  the  decease  of  his  father  prevented  his  entrance,  and  he  continued 
his  education  in  the  intervals  of  leisure  obtained  from  his  duties  as  a 
public  school  teacher,  and  a  civil  clerkship  in  the  Navy  Yard  at 
Charlestown.  His  mind  was  closely  devoted  to  a  preparation  for  the 
ministerial  office ;  and  on  September,  1846,  when  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  he  was  ordained  the  pastor  of  his  father's  parish  in  Charles- 
town,  as  the  immediate  successor  of  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Chapin.  Mr.  King, 
on  the  17th  December,  1848,  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  M.  Wiggin, 
of  East  Boston ;  and  in  that  month,  after  the  resignation  of  Rev. 
David  Fosdick,  pastor  of  the  Hollis-street  Church,  in  Boston,  he  was 
installed  to  its  pastoral  care,  which  station  he  now  occupies.  May  this 
young  prince  of  divines  become  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  in  the 
theological  horizon ! 

Our  young  orator  delivered  a  very  patriotic  sermon  on  Patriotism, 
for  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  June  2,  1851,  as 
have  all  his  predecessors  in  Hollis-street  Church,  excepting  two,  breath- 
ing love  of  country  in  fervent  tones  worthy  of  a  statesman,  from  which 
we  will  cite  a  passage  :  "  Here  we  are,  successors  of  noble  men,  heirs 
of  a  providential  past.  Everything  in  our  history  incites  to  patriot- 
ism. The  winds  would  fan  it  into  activity.  Every  page  of  our  annals 
preaches  it.  The  man  who  cannot  thank  God  he  was  born  an  American 
is  undeserving  the  blessing  of  such  birth.  That  consciousness,  enliv- 
ening the  sensibilities,  should  equalize  fortunes.  The  poor  man  should 
not  feel  poor  when  he  thinks  that  his  humble  roof  and  circumstances 
are  sheltered  by  a  canopy  of  ideas  and  sentiments  such  as  never  before 
arched  over  any  palace  of  the  world.  If  the  humblest  Catholic  feels 
pride  in  being  one  member  of  a  community  that  stretches  from  Andes 
to  the  Indus,  and  which  has  Christ  for  its  founder  and  heaven  for  its 
goal,  the  lowliest  citizen  of  this  land  should  feel  it  an  immense  enlarge- 
ment of  his  being, —  an  enlargement  which  mere  wealth  could  never 
give,  —  that  he  has  partnership  in  the  mission  of  a  people  along  whom 
God  is  pouring  the  best  life  of  the  past,  enriched  with  additional 
streams  of  inspiration,  solicited  by  our  own  genius,  into  the  future. 
For  the  tendrils  of  our  blessings  stretch  far  out  into  the  centuries,  and 
twine  around  the  most  precious  elements  of  history,  to  draw  nourish- 
ment. The  human  race  is  vitally  one  ;  and,  whatsoever  is  eminent 
and  best  in  any  line  of  social  manifestation,  is  somehow  connected 


6S0  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

AN'ith  Other  and  distant  portions  of  the  common  body,  as  the  topmost 
branch  of  a  tree  bears  life  that  is  due,  in  part,  to  the  health  and  fidel- 
ity of  juices  in  the  root,  and  as  the  wave  that  foams  upon  the  shore 
discharges  an  undulation  that  began  far  out  upon  the  sea." 

We  are  earnest  in  the  wish  that  our  Boston  pulpit  may  never  become 
the  arena  for  Sabbath  political  declamation,  but  ever  be  consecrated  to 
the  unfoldings  of  sound  divinity  and  persuasives  to  holy  living; 
and,  though  cold  detractors  may  remark  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  King  is  no 
such  orator  as  Horace  Holley  was,  our  persuasion  is  clear  that  we  have 
repeatedly  heard  him  "  discourse  most  eloquent  music," — an  instance 
of  which  appears  in  his  sermon  occasioned  by  the  decease  of  Deacon 
Daniel  "Weld,  of  this  church,  on  "  The  Gains  and  Losses  of  a  Church," 
where  appears  the  subjoined  beautiful  illustration  of  the  gain  to  his- 
tory in  the  loss  of  our  noble  Washington :  "  Who  believes  that  Wash- 
ington is  not  with  us,  active  as  a  force  upon  our  people  7  It  was 
a  sad  day,  a  wintry  day,  indeed, —  dreary  to  the  spirit  as  well  as  to 
the  body, —  when  he  breathed  out  his  last  breath,  when  his  pulse 
ceased  forever,  and  all  that  his  form  which  wore  such  majesty  could 
do  for  his  land  was  to  consecrate  the  district  of  it,  where  it  should 
recline  for  unbroken  rest.     The  people  felt  that  a  patriot  had  gone, 

such  as  they  could  not  expect  would  be  given  to  them  again 

But  Washington  could  not  have  been  less  removed  from  cur  country 
than  when  he  died.  His  spirit  rose  to  greater  influence  than  it  had 
when  housed  in  a  mortal  frame.  It  passed  into  the  finer  robe  of  liter- 
ature and  history,  and  has  become  a  guest  in  every  house.  The  states- 
man and  the  patriot  go  to  him  now  for  counsel,  and,  as  he  speaks  to 
them  through  their  reverent  meditations,  no  mixture  of  earthly  pas- 
sions alloys  the  wisdom  he  imparts.  His  name  is  invoked  to  soften  the 
asperities  of  party  conflict  when  they  threaten  the  welfare  of  the 
nation ;  his  grave  sheds  an  effluence  of  patriotic  zeal  and  faith  in 
heavenly  help:  and  his  character,  by  its  simple  sublimity  and  strength, 
teaches  the  eyes  of  American  childhood  what  grandeur  there  is  in  vir- 
tue, and  what  glory  swathes  the  true  patriot's  name Thus 

nations  lose  men  to  gain  history.  They  require  a  dignified  past,  a 
noble  background  to  their  activity,  from  which  their  best  minds  address 
the  reverence  and  sympathy  of  succeeding  generations  with  a  fresh 
and  purifying  power." 

We  know  not  how  so  happily  to  draw  an  outline  of  the  intellectual 
capacities  of  Thomas  Starr  King,  as  is  exhibited  in  the  forthcoming 


THOMAS  STARR   KING.  681 

graphic  sketcli,  prepared  for  this  work  by  a  literary  friend,  much 
endeared  to  hira  by  the  strong  bonds  of  familiar  intimacy.  "Mr. 
King's  peculiarities  of  mind  and  style  are  characterized  by  fluency, 
grace,  sweetness,  and  vigor.  His  intellect  appears  to  have  no  obstruc- 
tions to  its  movement.  Confusion  of  thought,  partial  grasp  of  matter, 
obscurity  of  view,  feeble  hold  upon  language,  have  no  place  in  his 
clear,  elastic,  decisive  mind ;  and  the  result  is  a  remarkable  felicity 
of  expression,  in  which  the  thought  is  clothed  in  its  appropriate  form, 
without  any  appearance  of  effort.  With  great  facility,  sureness  and 
swiftness  of  perception,  and  powers  of  combination  capable  of  instant 
action  on  what  is  perceived,  he  seems  to  comprehend  a  subject  at  a 
glance,  to  dispose  its  various,  topics  in  their  right  relations  with  equal 
readiness,  and  to  unfold  it  in  sermon,  or  lecture,  or  oration,  with  the 
lucid  vigor  and  splendor  of  one  to  whom  apt  words  and  significant 
images  are  '  nimble  servitors.'  The  metaphysical  and  imaginative 
tendencies  of  his  mind  meet  and  cohere  and  work  together  in  his  ordi- 
nary mental  action,  and  he  therefore  touches  no  subject  which  he  does 
not  both  analyze  and  adorn.  To  talents  thus  active,  penetrating  and 
brilliant,  he  adds  solid  acquirements  in  theology,  philosophy,  history 
and  general  literature,  and  a  largeness  of  view  and  sobriety  of  judg- 
ment unlikely  to  be  caught  in  any  of  the  cants  or  entangled  in  any 
of  the  crotchets  of  the  day.  As  a  public  speaker  he  happily  combines 
elegance  with  energy,  and  is  exceedingly  popular." 

Mr.  King  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  several  periodicals  on 
various  subjects,  in  which  he  displays  such  learning  and  talent,  such 
penetration  and  quickness  of  perception,  as  would  reflect  honor  on 
one  who  had  received  a  finished  classical  education,  though  we  dis- 
sent from  some  of  his  opinions.  Among  his  articles  we  have  spec- 
ially noticed  his  remarks  on  the  Connection  between  Natural  and 
Revealed  Religion,  Philosophy  and  Theology,  Views  of  Recent  Poetry, 
Plato's  Views  of  Immortality,  Prospects  and  Progress  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,  Universality  of  Christianity,  the  Idea  of  God  and 
Christianity,  a  Review  of  Bushnell's  Discourses,  and  an  excellent 
article  on  the  Character  of  Edwin  Percy  Whipple  as  a  Writer.  The 
highly  felicitous  allusion  to  Mr.  Whipple  in  this  criticism  by  Mr.  King 
is  peculiarly  characteristic  of  the  capacities  of  the  subject  of  this  arti- 
cle, "  that  the  reviews  he  has  published  bear  witness  that  his  taste  is 
healthy  and  cathohc, —  that  he  is  above  suspicions  of  conventional  and 
clanish  prejudice,  and  that  his  weights  and  measures  are  trustworthy. 


682     .  THE    HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS, 

His  mind  is  a  good  spiritual  tliernXometer,  and  is  so  nicely  affected  by 
the  genius  of  the  book  he  reads,  that  his  appreciation  of  it  is  a  pretty 
accurate  indication  of  its  real  temperature  or  "grade."  A  perfectly 
life-like  crayon  head  of  Mr.  King,  taken  by  the  junior  IMartin  of 
London,  is  in  the  family. 

"After  the  mercantile  heart  had  devised  and  secured  those  iron 
tracks  and  flying  trains,"  says  Mr.  King,  in  preaching  on  the  Railroad 
Jubilee  of  September,  1851,  "God  took  them  for  his  purposes. 
Without  paying  any  tax  for  the  privilege,  he  uses  them  to  quicken 
the  activity  of  men ;  to  send  energy  and  vitality  where  before  were 
silence  and  barrenness ;  to  multiply  cities  and  villages,  studded  with 
churches,  dotted  with  schools,  and  filled  with  happy  homes  and  bud- 
ding souls ;  to  increase  wealth  which  shall  partially  be  devoted  to  his 
service  and  kingdom,  and  all  along  their  banks  to  make  the  wilderness 
blossom  as  the  rose.  '  Without  any  vote  of  permission  from  legislatures 
and  officials, —  even  while  the  cars  are  loaded  with  profitable  freight 
and  paying  passengers,  and  the  groaning  engines  are  earning  the  nec- 
essary interest, —  Providence  sends,  without  charge,  its  cargoes  of 
good  sentiment  and  brotherly  feeling ;  disburses  the  culture  of  the 
city  to  the  simplicity  of  the  hamlet,  and  brings  back  the  strength  and 
tirtue  of  the  village  and  mountain  to  the  wasting  faculties  of  the 
metropolis ;  and  fastens  to  every  steam-shuttle,  that  flies  back  and 
forth  and  hither  and  thither,  an  invisible  thread  of  fraternal  influence, 
which,  entwining  sea-shore  and  hill-country,  mart  and  grain-field, 
forge  and  factory,  wharf  and  mine,  slowly  prepares  society  to  realize, 
one  day,  the  Saviour's  prayer,  '  that  they  all  may  be  one.'  The 
beneficent  genius  of  the  age  keeps  his  special  and  invisible  express, 
laden  with  packages  of  providential  blessings,  upon  every  train  that 
runs  through  our  communities ;  and  it  seems,  as  the  cars  fly  along  the 
avenues  which  selfish  traffic  has  created,  that  the  villages,  which  are 
everywhere  threaded  like  beads  along  the  iron  wires,  are,  to  use  the 
language  of  another,  '  counted  ofl"  by  the  spirit  of  our  age  as  so  many 
pater-nosters  upon  its  rosary,  in  its  swift  worship  of  gratitude  for  the 
dawn  of  the  age  of  peace.'  " 


TIMOTHY  BIGELOW.  683 

TIMOTHY  BIGELOW. 

JULY  4,  1853.    FOR  THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES. 

"Our  mission  is  to  occupy  America ;  and  in  doing  this  we  shall 
eventually  control  the  world.  We  have  rivers  waiting  for  enterprise, 
solitudes  for  life,  and  prairies  for  the  labor  of  man.  The  tide  of  pop- 
ulation, rolling  westward,  will  soon  sweep  over  the  desert  places  of 
the  land,  clothing  them  with  fertility  and  beauty.  The  hardy 
pioneer  to-day  is  clearing  the  forest  on  the  banks  of  the  Colorado, 
where  in  a  few  years  will  arise  temples  of  worship  and  seminaries  of 
science.  On  the  spot  where  a  company  of  adventurers  have  but  just 
erected  their  rude  log-huts  in  some  smiling  valley,  may  shortly  appear 
a  metropolis  whose  prosperity  will  be  secured  by  the  same  free  insti- 
tutions and  laws  that  prevail  in  our  midst.  Our  country  will  thus 
spread  like  the  banian-tree  of  eastern  climes,  striking  root  wherever 
there  is  soil  to  feed  it,  gaining  strength  from  the  new  trunks  which 
it  plants  in  the  ground,  affording  shade  to  all  who  come  beneath  its 
branches,  and  food  to  those  who  partake  of  the  fruit  which  its  waving 
boughs  afford. 

"Largely,  even  now,  is- the  influence  of  America  felt  in  Europe. 
The  toiling  serf,  as  he  counts  the  hours  of  his  bondage,  rejoices  that 
a  day-star  has  arisen  over  his  cottage,  in  token  of  a  glorious  morning 
at  hand.  The  peasant,  as  he  wanders  by  the  banks  of  the  Danube, 
the  Rhone  and  the  Volga,  or  rests  by  the  ruined  castles  that  skirt 
the  Rhine,  is  cheered  by  the  glad  tidings  which  come  to  him  over  the 
distant  waters ;  and,  whilst  he  hears  the  marvels  which  have  been 
wrought  by  the  genius  of  Liberty,  he  resolves  that  he  or  his  descend- 
ants shall  be  free.  The  monarch  begins  to  find  that  the  strongest 
throne  may  totter,  that  the  walls  of  palaces  cannot  shut  out  the  popu- 
lar demand  for  rights ;  and,  in  the  event  that  his  subjects'  wishes  are 
not  heard  nor  their  wants  heeded,  he  will  find  himself  at  the  mercy  of 
a  power  which  he  cannot  control.  Thus  already  is  America  thunder- 
ing at  the  gates  of  Europe ;  not  as  when  the  followers  of  Mahomet 
at  Constantinople,  or  on  the  plains  of  Xeres,  demanded  that  conti- 
nent for  the  propagation  of  the  Islam  faith.  Theirs  was  the  aim  to 
extend  the  rule  of  the  Crescent,  and  compel  nations  to  bow  to  the 


684  THE   HUNDRED    BOSTON    ORATORS. 

will  of  a  barbarous  despot.  Our  mission  is  to  carry  forward  the 
dominion  of  the  Cross,  and  make  potentates  and  princes  bend  to  the 
will  and  supremacy  of  the  people. 

"  Other  continents  are  likewise  to  be  benefited  by  the  example  of 
America.  Africa,  injured  Africa,  must  arise  from  her  dust  and 
deserts ;  and  the  soil  that  once  could  boast  of  Memphis  and  Carthage 
will  glory  in  new  states  and ,  cities,  which  shall  acknowledge  a  more 
liberal  sway  than  was  ever  known  to  a  Pharaoh  or  a  Hannibal.  And 
Asia,  the  birthplace  of  nations  —  which  can  point  with  one  hand  to 
the  spot  where  man  was  created,  and  the  other  to  the  place  where 
he  was  redeemed  —  Asia,  which  has  so  lono-  remained  a  stumblinsn- 
block  in  the  progress  of  the  race, —  she,  too,  must  come  forth  from 
her  fallen  state,  and  revive  under  the  genial  influence  of  our  beneficent 
institutions.  Even  now  is  our  voice  beginning  to  be  heard  among  the 
camphor-trees  of  Japan ;  and,  whatever  may  be  the  strength  of  ancient 
prejudices,  that  island  must  soon  be  brought  within  the  pale  of  a 
Christian  civilization.  In  this  way  shall  America  pay  back  to  Asia 
the  service  she  rendered  by  the  discovery  of  the  mariner's  compass, 
which  opened  up  our  continent  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world.     And 

» thus  will  the  dreams  of  Columbus  in  a  measure  be  answered,  who  had 
hoped  to  find  a  new  route  to  the  Indies,  and  with  the  wealth  obtained 
by  his  discoveries  to  commence  a  last  crusade,  which  would  rescue  the 
Holy  Land  and  the  sepulchre  of  the  Redeemer  from  the  hands  of  the 
Moslem, 

"  Look  at  the  golden  pillars  erected  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the 
Pacific,  towards  which  our  people  are  rapidly  moving  !  California 
has  become  a  sister  republic,  and  is  alive  with  a  prosperous  and  happy 
population.  Almost  simultaneously  the  treasures  of  Australia  are 
brought  to  light.  Thither  are  hastening  the  sons  of  freedom,  from 
our  own  and  distant  lands.  They  are  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
republic,  which  will  probably  be  the  first  to  establish  American  insti- 
tutions on  the  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Soon  will  other 
isles  of  the  Pacific  be  instinct  with  fresh  life ;  and,  as  our  floating 
argosies  pause  at  the  Sandwich  or  Society  group,  they  may  help  to 

_  build  new  Tyres  and  Alexandrias,  organized  with  free  and  ennobling 
laws.  America  must  advance  from  her  western  coast  to  the  shores 
of  the  Oriental  World;  and  these  islands  may  become  the  stepping- 
stones  on  her  triumphal  march.     For  she  carries  with  her  the  benign 


TIMOTHY   BIGELOW.  685 

influences  of  Liberty,  Learning,  and  Religion ;  -which,  together,  form 
a  triple  alliance  that  can  prevail  against  the  world. 

"  This  consummation,  we  know,  belongs  to  a  distant  age.  The 
amelioration  of  the  race  is  the  work  of  time ;  and  wrongs  that  have 
prevailed  through  centuries  cannot  at  once  be  redressed  or  removed. 
But  the  influences  of  an  enlightened  civilization  must  spread,  extend- 
ing their  benign  operation  over  remote  regions,  bringing  new  rewards 
to  labor,  new  hopes  to  the  oppressed.  Christianity,  as  announced  by 
the  toiling  missionary,  must  shed  into  the  heathen  mind  its  elevating 
and  ennobling  truths,  quickening  faith  by  upholding  an  hereafter  where 
all  wrongs  shall  cease  and  justice  triumph,  and  by  pointing  continu- 
ally to  the  glorious  life  of  One  who  embodied  all  the  virtues,  and 
demonstrated  their  eiEciency  by  suffering  and  death.  Learning  will 
spread  its  gay  banquet  for  the  ignorant  sons  of  earth.  It  will  bring 
forward  the  fruits  of  other  ages  and  the  choicest  products  of  our  own 
times,  furnishing  a  repast  that  shall  impart  life  and  health  unto  all. 
These  agencies  must  all  advance  long  before  the  perfect  triumph  of 
Liberty  in  the  world.  Still  it  is  well,  on  a  day  like  this,  to  ascend 
some  political  Pisgah  and  look  towards  the  promised  land,  watered 
by  fair  rivers,  and  rich  in  its  valleys  and  flowering  hills.  The  con-^ 
templation  gives  us  new  strength  and  fresh  courage ;  at  the  same  time, 
it  reminds  us  of  our  duty  by  exhibiting  the  labor  we  have  yet  to 
accomplish.  In  our  hands  is  placed  the  Oriflamme  of  the  race,  which 
the  men  of  America,  we  trust,  are  destined  to  bear  aloft  through  long 
centuries  to  come.  Let  us  look  forward  with  prophetic  hope  to  the 
glad  day  when  all  nations  shall  turn  with  grateful  interest  to  the  event 
we  now  celebrate ;  when  they  shall  be  able  thence  to  trace  unnum- 
bered benefits  and  blessings,  which  have  added  to  their  happiness  and 
welfare ;  and  when  all  shall  regard  our  era  of  Independence  as  the 
anniversary  of  man's  political  redemption, —  the  time  when  the  true 
philosophy  of  government  was  announced,  and  when  it  was  shown 
that  national  greatness  and  renown  are  to  be  found  in  attachment  to 
Liberty  and  Law.  There  are  flowers  that  grow  in  tropical  climates, 
which  require  long  years  to  bring  forward  to  perfection.  A  century 
passes  over  the  plant,  and  then  only  does  it  shoot  up  its  blossoms, 
that  reflect  the  beauty  and  supplicate  the  smiles  of  heaven.  So  was 
the  event  which  we  this  day  commemorate  the  brilliant  blossom  of 
centuries,  and  well  might  the  smiles  of  heaven  be  asked  to  rest  upon 
the  peerless  flower  of  Liberty  !" 
58 


686  THE   HUNDRED   BOSTON   ORATORS. 

The  paternal  grandfather  of  Timothy  Bigelow  "was  an  eminent 
politician  and  a  profound  civilian,  of  such  rare  social  powers,  and 
unaffected  geniality  of  soul,  that  he  hecame  one  of  the  most  popular 
public  men  of  his  day.  A  more  particular  account  of  his  character 
and  services  appears  in  another  part  of  this  volume.  The  subject  of 
this  article,  from  whose  admirably  conceived  and  chastely  ornate 
oration  the  foregoing  passage  is  presented,  was  born  at  Medford,  Mass., 
March  15,  1825.  He  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew  Bigelow, 
at  that  period  the  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  in  that 
town,  and  the  successor  of  Rev.  Dr.  Osgood.  His  mother  was  Amelia 
S.,  the  second  daughter  of  Capt.  Theodore  Stanwood,  of  Gloucester, 
Mass.  In  the  year  1833  his  father  removed  to  Taunton,  and  became 
the  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  that  town.  Here  young  Timothy 
attended  school  at  the  Bristol  Academy,  where,  being  a  ready  scholar, 
he  rapidly  rose  above  his  seniors,  and  was  early  prepared  for  college. 
•He  entered  Harvard  University  in  1841,  and  graduated  in  1845. 
His  class-theme  at  college,  on  commencement  day,  was  on  the  recent 
political  changes  in  Greece.  Shortly  after  this  period,  Mr.  Bigelow 
prepared  an  excellent  anonymous  work  for  young  people,  entitled, 
"  The  Dream  Fulfilled,  or  the  Trials  and  Triumphs  of  the  Moreland 
Family,"  which  has  passed  through  five  editions,  and  should  have  a 
place  in  every  juvenile  library.  Besides  being  a  contributor  to  peri- 
odicals of  the  day,  he  furnished  articles  for  the  "  Sacred  Tableaux"  and 
the  "Beauties  of  Sacred  Literature."  Early  in  the  year  1846,  he 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law  under  the  guidance  of  the  late  eminent 
and  truly  estimable  counsellor,  Henry  H.  Fuller,  Esq.,  and  after  the 
usual  period  of  law  study  he  was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar.  The 
first  public  performance  of  Mr.  Bigelow  was  an  address  delivered  at 
the  opening  of  Williams  Hall,  Boston,  March  8,  1853.  Were  this 
the  only  production  of  his  early  ripened  mind,  it  would  insure  him 
an  honored  memory  among  us.     We  will  cite  a  passage  : 

"When  the  stranger  shall  hereafter  ask  where  are  the  Boston  fort- 
ifications of  which  he  has  read  in  history,  bid  him  come  here.  Tell 
him  that  this  building  occupies  the  spot  where  those  bulwarks  once 
SitoOd.  Tell  him  that  where  the  trump  of  war  was  formerly  heard, 
he  can  now  listen  to  the  organ-notes  of  peace.  Tell  him  that  where 
the  sentries  once  looked  out  for  the  approach  of  peril,  the  moral  and 
mental  sentinels  of  humanity  are  on  the  constant  alert,  in  order  to 
instruct  and  warn.      Tell  him,  too,  that  this  hall  is  dedicated  to 


TIMOTHY   BIGELOW.  687 

Keligion,  Liberty,  and  Learning;  and  that  these  are  the  modern 
fortresses  of  Boston,  by  whose  protection  she  has  gained  her  present 
enviable  position,  and  whereby  she  can  bid  defiance  to  every  vicissitude 
and  danger." 

The  glowing  ardor  of  patriotic  sentiment  and  the  great  purity  of 
taste  exhibited  in  this  composition,  prompted  the  city  authorities  of 
Boston  to  invite  Mr.  Bigelow  to  deliver  the  next  oration  on  the  anni- 
versary of  our  National  Independence.  This  performance  was  univer- 
sally admired  on  the  day  of  its  delivery,  and  received  great  favor 
from  the  daily  press.  At  the  public  dinner  in  Faneuil  Hall,  the 
Hon.  Edward  Everett,  our  senator  in  Congress,  in  a  speech  on 
the  stability  and  progress  of  our  national  independence,  made  this 
flattering  allusion  to  the  orator  of  the  day;  "who,"  said  he,  "gave  us 
such  a  treat  in  his  ingenious,  manly  and  fervid  discourse,  in  which  he 
rose  very  far  above  the  commonplaces  of  the  occasion,  and  adorned  his 
great  theme  with  much  original  and  seasonable  illustration.  It  was 
especially  gratifying  to  me  to  witness  the  brilliant  promise  he  afforded 
us  of  adding  new  lustre  to  a  name  on  which  two  generations  in  this 
community  have  accumulated  their  honors."  Subsequent  to  this  great 
festival,  the  Hon.  Charles  Sumner,  our  other  senator  in  Congress 
from  Massachusetts,  in  congratulating  the  young  orator  on  the 
remarkable  success  which  attended  its  delivery,  whereof  the  papers 
of  the  day  were  jubilant,  remarked  to  him  in  the  following  terms : 

"  As  I  read  it,  I  enjoyed  its  flowing  style,  and  only  desired  less  of 
conformity  with  the  short-lived  opinions  of  the  Boston  of  to-day. 
For  every  generous  sentiment  I  thank  you,  and  especially  for  utter- 
ing words  which,  when  they  come  from  a  sincere  soul,  are  talismanic. 
'  In  the  sacred  name  of  justice,  demand  liberty  for  man  ! '  These 
contain  a  whole  oration,  and  I  trust  that  you  will  always  be  true 
to  them." 

Mr.  Bigelow,  having  thus  unexpectedly  been  introduced  to  the  pub- 
lic, has,  during  the  past  lecture  season,  delivered  an  address  in 
upwards  of  seventy-five  towns  and  cities,  before  lyceums  and  kindred 
institutions.  He  is  among  the  most  youthful  of  our  municipal 
orators,  —  the  youngest  of  whom  was  Harrison  Gray  Otis ;  —  may 
he  prove  himself  worthy  of  the  earnest  desire  of  his  friends,  and  the 
high  anticipations  of  the  public ! 


WEBSTER^S    EARLIEST    ORATION, 

AT  THE  AGE  OF  EIGHTEEN  YEARS. 

JSTot  embodied  in  any  edition  of  his  published  ivorks.  It  tvas  pronounced  at  Han- 
over, JV".  H.,  July  4,  1800,  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  junior  class  in  Dart- 
mouth University. 


"  Do  thou,  great  Liberty,  inspire  our  souls. 
And  make  our  lives  in  thy  possession  happy, 
Or  our  deaths  glorious  in  thy  just  defence  !  " 

Addison. 


Countrymen,  Brethren,  and  Fathers  : 

We  are  now  assembled  to  celebrate  an  anniversary  ever  to  be  held  in  dear  remem 
brance  by  the  sons  of  freedom.  Nothing  less  than  the  birth  of  a  nation,  — nothing 
less  than  the  emancipation  of  three  millions  of  people  from  the  degrading  chains  of 
foreign  dominion,  —  is  the  event  we  commemorate. 

Twenty-four  years  have  this  day  elapsed  since  united  Columbia  first  raised  the 
standard  of  liberty,  and  echoed  the  shouts  of  independence  ! 

Those  of  you  who  were  then  reaping  the  iron  harvest  of  the  martial  field,  whose 
bosoms  then  palpitated  for  the  honor  of  America,  will,  at  this  time,  experience  a 
renewal  of  all  that  fervent  patriotism,  of  all  those  indescribable  emotions,  which 
then  agitated  your  breasts.  As  for  us,  who  were  either  then  unborn,  or  not  far 
enough  advanced  beyond  the  threshold  of  existence  to  engage  in  the  grand  conflict  for 
liberty,  we  now  most  cordially  unite  with  you  to  greet  the  return  of  this  joyous  anni- 
versary, to  hail  the  day  that  gave  us  freedom,  and  hail  the  rising  glories  of  our 
country  I 

On  occasions  like  this,  you  have  heretofore  been  addressed  from  this  stage  on  the 
nature,  the  origin,  the  expediency,  of  civil  government.  The  field  of  pohtical  specu- 
lation has  here  been  explored  by  persons  possessing  talents  to  which  the  speaker  of 
the  day  can  have  no  pretensions.  Declining,  therefore,  a  dissertation  on  the  princi 
pies  of  civil  polity,  you  will  indulge  me  in  slightly  sketching  on  those  events 
which  have  originated,  nurtured,  and  raised  to  its  present  grandeur,  the  empu'e  of 
Columbia. 

As  no  nation  on  the  globe  can  rival  us  in  the  rapidity  of  our  growth  since  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Revolutionary  war,  so  none  perhaps  ever  endured  greater  hardships  and 
distresses  than  the  people  of  this  country  previous  to  that  period. 

■\Ve  behold  a  feeble  band  of  colonists,  engaged  in  the  arduous  undertaking  of  a 
new  settlement,  in  the  wilds  of  North  America.  Their  civil  liberty  being  mutilated, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious  sentiments  denied  them,  in  the  land  that  gave 
them  bii'th,  they  fled  their  country,  they  braved  the  dangers  of  the  then  almost 
xinnavigated  ocean,  and  sought,  on  the  other  side  the  globe,  an  asylum  from  the  ii'on 
grasp  of  tyranny,  and  the  more  intolerable  scourge  of  ecclesiastical  persecution.  But 
gloomy,  indeed,  was  their  prospect  when  arrived  on  this  side  the  Atlantic.  Scattered 
in  detachments  along  a  coast  immensely  extensive,  at  a  remove  of  more  than  three 
thousand  miles  from  their  friends  on  the  eastern  continent,  they  were  exposed  to  all 

58* 


690  Webster's  earliest  oration. 

those  evils,  and  endured  all  those  difBculties,  to  ■which  human  nature  seems  liable. 
Destitute  of  convenient  habitations,  the  inclemencies  of  the  seasons  attacked  them, 
the  midnight  beasts  of  prey  prowled  terribly  around  them,  and  the  more  portentous 
yell  of  savage  fury  incessantly  assailed  them  !  But  the  same  undiminished  confidence 
in  Almighty  God,  which  prompted  the  first  settlers  of  this  country  to  forsake  the 
unfriendly  climes  of  Europe,  still  supported  them  under  all  theu-  calamities,  and 
inspired  them  with  fortitude  almost  divine.  Having  a  glorious  issue  to  their  labors 
now  in  prospect,  they  cheerfully  endured  the  rigors  of  the  climate,  pursued  the  sav- 
age beast  to  his  remotest  haunt,  and  stood  undismayed  in  the  dismal  hour  of  Indian 
battle  ! 

Scarcely  were  the  infant  settlements  freed  from  those  dangers  which  at  first  envi- 
roned them,  ere  the  clashing  interests  of  France  and  Britain  involved  them  anew  in 
war.  The  colonists  were  now  destined  to  combat  with  well-appointed,  well-disciplined 
troops  from  Europe  ;  and  the  horrors  of  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  were  again 
renewed.  But  these  frowns  of  fortune,  distressing  as  they  were,  had  been  met  with- 
out a  sigh  and  endured  without  a  groan,  had  not  imperious  Britain  presumptuously 
arrogated  to  herself  the  glory  of  victories  achieved  by  the  bravery  of  American  militia. 
Louisburg  must  be  taken,  Canada  attacked,  and  a  frontier  of  more  than  one  thou- 
sand miles  defended,  by  untutored  yeomanry,  while  the  honor  of  evei-y  conquest 
must  be  ascribed  to  an  English  army. 

But,  while  Great  Britain  was  thus  ignominiously  stripping  her  colonies  of  their 
well-earned  laurel,  and  triumphantly  weaving  it  into  the  stupendous  wreath  of  her 
ovi^n  martial  glories,  she  was  unwittingly  teaching  them  to  value  themselves,  and 
effectually  to  resist,  in  a  future  day,  her  unjust  enci'oachments. 

The  pitiful  tale  of  taxation  now  commences  ;  the  unhappy  quarrel,  which  issued  in 
the  dismemberment  of  the  British  empire,  has  here  its  origin. 

England,  now  triumphant  over  the  united  powers  of  France  and  Spain,  is  deter- 
mined to  reduce  to  the  condition  of  slaves  her  American  subjects. 

We  might  now  display  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states,  together  with  the  general 
Congress,  petitioning,  praying,  remonstrating,  and,  like  dutiful  subjects,  humbly 
laying  their  grievances  before  the  throne.  On  the  other  hand,  we  could  exhibit  a 
British  Parliament  assiduously  devising  means  to  subjugate  America,  disdaining  oxn 
petitions,  trampling  on  our  rights,  and  menacingly  telling  us,  in  language  not  to  be 
misunderstood,  "  Ye  shall  be  slaves  !  "  We  could  mention  the  haughty,  tp-annical, 
perfidious  Gage,  at  the  head  of  a  standing  army  ;  we  could  show  our  brethren 
attacked  and  slaughtered  at  Lexington,  our  property  plundered  and  destroyed  at' 
Concord  !  Recollection  can  still  pain  us  with  the  spiral  flames  of  biu'ning  Charles- 
town,  the  agonizing  groans  of  aged  parents,  the  shrieks  of  widows,  orphans  and 
infants  !  Indehbly  impressed  on  our  memories  still  live  the  dismal  scenes  of  Bun- 
ker's awful  mount, — the  grand  theatre  of  New  England  bravery,  where  slaughter 
stalked  grimly  triumphant,  —  where  relentless  Britain  saw  her  soldiers,  the  unhappy 
instrunients  of  despotism,  fallen  in  heaps  beneath  the  nervous  arm  of  injured  freemen  ! 
There  the  great  Warren  fought ;  and  there,  alas  !  he  fell.  Valuing  life  only  as  it 
enabled  him  to  serve  his  country,  he  freely  resigned  himself  a  willing  martyr  in  the 
cause  of  liberty,  and  now  lies  encircled  in  the  arms  of  glory ! 

Peace  to  the  patriot's  shailcs  !     Let  no  rude  blast  , 

Disturb  the  willow  that  nods  o'er  his  tomb  ! 

Let  orphan  tears  bedew  his  sacred  urn, 

And  Fame's  loud  trump  proclaim  the  hero's  name 

Far  as  the  ch-cuit  of  the  spheres  extends  ! 


Webster's  eakliest  oration.  691 

But,  haughty  Albion,  thy  reign  shall  soon  be  over  !  Thou  shalt  triumph  no  longer  '. 
Thine  empire  already  reels  and  totters  ;  thy  laurels  even  now  begin  to  wither,  and 
thy  fame  decays  ;  thou  hast  at  length  roused  the  indignation  of  an  insulted  people  ; 
—  thine  oppressions  they  deem  no  longer  tolerable  ! 

The  4th  day  of  July,  1776,  is  now  arrived  ;  and  America,  manfully  springing  from 
the  torturing  fangs  of  the  British  lion,  now  rises  majestic  in  the  pride  of  her  sover- 
eignty, and  bids  her  eagle  elevate  his  wings  !  The  solemn  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence is  now  pronounced,  amidst  crowds  of  admirmg  citizens,  by  the  supreme  council 
of  our  nation,  and  received  with  the  unbounded  plaudits  of  a  grateful  people. 

That  was  the  hour  when  heroism  was  proved  —  when  the  souls  of  men  were  tried. 
It  was  then,  ye  venerable  patriots,  it  was  then  you  stretched  the  indignant  arm,  and 
unitedly  swore  to  be  free  !  Despising  such  toys  as  subjugated  empires,  you  then  knew 
no  middle  fortune  between  liberty  and  death.  Firmly  relying  on  the  patronage  of 
Heaven,  unwarped  in  the  resolution  you  had  taken,  you  then,  undaunted,  met, 
engaged,  defeated  the  gigantic  power  of  Britain,  and  rose  triumphant  over  the  ruins 
of  your  enemies.  Trenton,  Princeton,  Bennington  and  Saratoga,  were  the  successive 
theatres  of  your  victories,  and  the  utmost  bounds  of  creation  are  the  limits  to  your 
fame.  The  sacred  fire  of  freedom,  then  enkindled  in  your  breasts,  shall  be  perpetu- 
ated through  the  long  descent  of  future  ages,  and  burn,  with  undiminished  fervor,  in 
the  bosoms  of  millions  yet  unborn. 

Finally,  to  close  the  sanguinary  conflict,  to  grant  America  the  blessings  of  an  hon- 
orable peace,  and  clothe  her  heroes  with  laurels,  Cornwallis,  at  whose  feet  the  kings 
and  princes  of  Asia  have  since  thrown  their  diadems,  was  compelled  to  submit  to  the 
sword  of  our  father  AVashington.  The  great  drama  is  now  completed  ;  our  independ- 
ence is  now  acknowledged,  and  the  hopes  of  our  enemies  are  blasted  forever.  Colum- 
bia is  now  seated  in  the  forum  of  nations,  and  the  empires  of  the  world  are  lost  in  the 
bright  eifulgence  of  her  glory. 

Thus,  friends  and  citizens,  did  the  kind  hand  of  overrulmg  Providence  conduct  ua 
through  toils,  fatigues  and  dangers,  to  independence  and  peace.  If  piety  be  the 
rational  exercise  of  the  human  soul,  if  religion  be  not  a  chimera,  and  if  the  vestiges 
of  heavenly  assistance  are  clearly  traced  in  those  events  which  mark  the  annals  of  our 
nation,  it  becomes  us  on  this  day,  in  consideration  of  the  great  things  which  the  Lord 
has  done  for  us,  to  render  the  tribute  of  unfeigned  thanks  to  that  God.who  superin- 
tends tlie  universe,  and  holds  aloft  the  scale  tliat  weighs  the  destinies  of  nations. 

The  conclusion  of  the  Revolutionary  war  did  not  conclude  the  great  achievements 
of  our  countrymen.  Their  military  character  was  then,  indeed,  sufficiently  estab- 
lished ;   but  the  time  was  coming  which  should  prove  their  political  sagacity. 

No  sooner  was  peace  restored  with  England,  the  first  grand  article  of  which  was  the 
acknowledgment  of  our  independence,  than  the  old  system  of  confederation,  dictated 
at  first  by  necessity,  and  adopted  for  the  purposes  of  the  moment,  was  found  inade- 
quate to  the  government  of  an  extensive  empire.  Under  a  full  conviction  of  this,  we 
then  saw  the  people  of  these  states  engaged  in  a  transaction  which  is  undoubtedly  the 
greatest  approximation  towards  human  perfection  the  political  world  ever  yet  expe- 
rienced, and  which,  perhaps,  will  forever  stand,  on  the  history  of  mankind,  without  a 
parallel.  A  great  republic,  composed  of  diftcront  states,  whose  interest,  in  all 
respects,  could  not  be  perfectly  compatible,  then  came  deliberately  foi'ward,  dis- 
carded one  system  of  government  and  adopted  another,  without  the  loss  of  one  man's 
blood. 

There  is  not  a  single  government  now  existing  iu  Europe  wliicli  is  not  based  in 
usurpation,  and  established,  if  established  at  nil,  Ijy  the  sacrifice  of  thousands.     But, 


692  Webster's  earliest  oration. 

in  the  adoption  of  our  present  system  of  jurisprudence,  we  see  thepoivers  necessary 
for  government  voluntarily  springing  from  tlie  people,  their  only  proper  origin,  and 
directed  to  the  pubHc  good,  their  only  proper  object. 

With  peculiar  propriety  we  may  now  felicitate  ourselves  on  that  happy  form  of 
mixed  government  under  which  we  live.  The  advantages  resulting  to  the  citizens  of 
the  Union  from  the  operation  of  the  federal  constitution  are  utterly  incalculable  ; 
and  the  day  when  it  was  received  by  a  majority  of  the  states  shall  stand  on  the  cata- 
logue of  American  anniversaries  second  to  none  but  the  birth-day  of  independence. 

In  consequence  of  the  adoption  of  our  present  system  of  government,  and  the  vir- 
tuous manner  in  which  it  has  been  administered  by  a  Washington  and  an  Adams,  we 
are  this  day  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace,  while  war  devastates  Europe.  We  can  now  sit 
down  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  olive,  while  her  cities  blaze,  her  streams  run  jjurple 
with  blood,  and  her  tields  glitter  a  forest  of  baj-onets.  The  citizens  of  America  can 
this  day  throng  the  temples  of  freedom,  and  renew  their  oaths  of  fealty  to  independ- 
ence, while  Holland,  our  once  sister  republic^  is  erased  from  the  catalogue  of  nations, 
—  whilst  Venice  is  destroyed,  Italy  ravaged,  and  Switzerland,  the  once  happy,  the 
once  united,  the  once  flourishing  Switzerland,  lies  bleeding  at  every  pore. 

No  ambitious  foe  dares  now  invade  our  country.  iS'o  standing  army  now  endangers 
our  liberty.  Our  commerce,  though  subject  in  some  degree  to  the  depredations  of  the 
belligerent  powers,  is  extended  from  pole  to  pole  ;  and  our  navy,  though  just  emerg- 
ing from  non-existence,  shall  soon  vouch  for  the  safety  of  our  merchantmen,  and  bear 
the  thunder  of  freedom  around  the  ball. 

Fair  science,  too,  holds  her  gentle  empire  amongst  us,  and  almost  innumerable 
altars  are  raised  to  her  divinity,  from  Brunswick  to  Florida.  Yale,  Providence  and 
Harvard,  now  grace  our  land  ;  and  Dartmouth,  towering  majestic  above  the  groves 
which  encircle  her,  now  inscribes  her  glory  on  the  registers  of  fame.  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  those  oriental  stars  of  literature,  shall  now  be  lost,  while  the  bright  sun 
of  American  science  displays  his  broad  circumference  in  uneclipsed  radiance. 

Pleasing,  indeed,  were  it  here  to  dilate  on  the  future  grandeur  of  America  ;  but 
we  forbear,  and  pause,  for  a  moment,  to  drop  the  tear  of  affection  over  the  graves  of 
our  departed  warriors.  Their  names  should  be  mentioned  on  every  anniversary  of 
independence,  that  the  youth  of  each  successive  generation  may  learn  not  to  value 
life,  when  held  in  competition  with  their  country's  safety. 

Wooster,  Montgomery  and  Mercer,  fell  bravely  in  battle,  and  their  ashes  are  now 
entombed  on  the  fields  that  witnessed  their  valor.  Let  their  exertions  in  our  coun- 
try's cause  be  remembered  whUe  liberty  has  an  advocate  or  gratitude  has  place  in  the 
human  heart  ! 

Greene,  the  immortal  hero  of  the  Carolinas,  has  since  gone  down  to  the  grave  loaded 
with  honors,  and  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  countrj-men.  The  courageous  Putnam 
has  long  slept  with  his  fathers  ;  and  Sullivan  and  Cilley,  New  Hampshii-e's  veteran 
eons,  are  no  more  numbered  with  the  living. 

AVith  hearts  penetrated  by  unutterable  grief,  we  are  at  length  constrained  to  ask. 
Where  is  our  Washington  ?  Where  the  hero  who  led  us  to  victory  ?  —  where  the 
man  who  gave  us  freedom  ?  Where  is  he  who  headed  our  feeble  army  when  destruc- 
tion threatened  us,  who  can^e  upon  our  enemies  like  the  storms  of  winter,  and  scat- 
tered them  like  leaves  before  the  Borean  blast  ?  Where,  0  my  country,  is  thy  polit- 
ical saviour  ?     Where,  0  humanity,  thy  favorite  son  ? 

The  solemnity  of  this  assembly,  the  lamentations  of  the  American  people,  will 
answer,  "  Alas  !  he  is  now  no  more  —  the  iiji^'biy  is  fallen  !  " 

Yes,  Americans,  your  Wa^hin^tou  is  gone  !     He  is  D0^7  consigned  to  dust,  and 


Webster's  earliest  oration.  693 

"  sleeps  in  dull,  cold  marble."  The  man  who  never  felt  a  wound  but  when  it  pierced 
his  country,  who  never  groaned  but  when  fair  Freedom  bled,  is  now  forever  silent ! 
Wrapped  in  the  shroud  of  death,  the  dark  dominions  of  the  grave  long  since  received 
him,  and  he  rests  in  undisturbed  repose.  Vain  were  the  attempt  to  express  our  loss, 
—  vain  the  attempt  to  describe  the  feelings  of  our  souls.  Though  months  have  rolled 
away  since  he  left  this  terrestrial  orb  and  sought  the  shining  worlds  on  high,  yet  the 
sad  event  is  still  remembered  with  increased  sorrow.  The  hoary-headed  partaker  of 
1776  still  tells  the  mournful  story  to  the  listening  infant,  till  the  loss  of  his  country 
touches  his  heart,  and  patriotism  iires  his  breast.  The  aged  matron  still  laments  the 
loss  of  the  man  beneath  whose  banners  her  husband  has  fought,  or  her  son  has 
fallen.  At  the  name  of  Washington  the  sympathetic  tear  still  glistens  in  the  eye  of 
every  youthful  hei'o,  nor  does  the  tender  sigh  yet  cease  to  heave  in  the  fair  bosom  of 
Columbia's  daughters. 

Farewell,  0  Washington  !  a  long  farewell  ! 

Thy  country's  tears  embalm  thy  memory. 

Thy  virtues  challenge  immortality  ! 

Impressed  on  grateful  hearts,  t  ly  name  shall  live 

Till  dissolution's  deluge  drown  the  world. 

Although  we  must  feel  the  keenest  sorrow  at  tte  demise  of  our  Washington,  yet  we 
console  ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  his  virtuous  compatriot,  his  worthy  suc- 
cessor,—  the  firm,  the  wise,  the  inflexible  Adama,  —  still  survives.  Elevated  by  the 
voice  of  his  country  to  the  supreme  executive  magistracy,  he  constantly  adheres  to 
her  essential  interests ;  and,  with  steady  hand,  draws  the  disguising  veil  from  the 
intrigues  of  foreign  enemies  and  the  plots  of  domestic  foes.  Having  the  honor  of 
America  always  in  view,  never  fearing,  when  wisdom  dictates,  to  stem  the  impetuous 
torrent  of  popular  resentment,  he  stands  amidst  the  fluctuations  of  party  and  the 
explosions  of  faction,  unmoved  as  Atlas, 

"While  stomis  and  tempests  thunder  on  its  brow, 
And  oceans  break  their  billows  at  its  feet." 

Yet  all  the  vigilance  of  our  executive,  and  all  the  wisdom  of  our  Congress,  have  not 
been  sufficient  to  prevent  this  country  from  being  in  some  degree  agitated  by  the  con- 
vulsions of  Europe.  But  why  shall  every  quarrel  on  the  other  side  the  Atlantic 
interest  us  in  its  issue  ?  Why  shall  the  rise  or  depression  of  every  party  there  pro- 
duce here  a  con-esponding  vibration  ?  Was  this  continent  designed  as  a  mere  satel- 
lite to  the  other  ?  Has  not  nature  here  wrought  all  her  operations  on  her  broadest 
scale  ?  Where  are  the  Mississippis  and  the  Amazons,  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Andes,  of 
Europe,  Asia,  or  Africa  ?  The  natural  superiority  of  America  clearly  indicates  that 
it  was  designed  to  be  inhabited  by  a  nobler  race  of  men,  possessing  a  superior  form 
of  government,  superior  patriotism,  superior  talents,  and  superior  virtues.  Let, 
then,  the  nations  of  the  east  vainly  waste  their  strength  in  destroying  each  other. 
Let  them  aspire  at  conquest,  and  contend  for  dominion,  till  their  continent  Ls  deluged 
in  blood.  But  let  none,  however  elated  by  victory,  however  proud  of  triumphs,  ever 
presume  to  intrufle  on  the  neutral  station  assumed  by  our  country  ! 

Britain,  twice  humbled  for  her  aggressions,  has  at  length  been  taught  to  respect 
us  ;  but  France,  once  our  ally,  has  dared  to  insult  us.  She  has  violated  her  obliga- 
tions ;  she  has  depredated  our  commerce  ;  she  has  abused  our  government,  and  riv- 
eted the  chains  of  bondage  on  our  unhappy  fellow-citizens.  Not  convent  with 
ravaging  and  depopulating  the  fairest  countries  of  Europe,  —  not  yet  satiated  with 
the  contortions  of  expiring  republics,  the  convulsive  agonies  of  subjugated  nations, 


69-4  "Webster's  earliest  oration. 

aiitl  the  groans  of  her  own  shxughtered  citizens,  —  she  has  spouted  her  fury  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  the  stars  and  stripes  of  independence  have  almost  been  attacked  in  our 
harbors.  When  yve  have  demanded  reparation,  she  has  told  us,  "Give  us  your 
money,  and  we  will  give  you  peace. ' '  Mighty  nation  !  ISIagnanimous  republic  !  Let 
her  fill  her  coffers  from  those  towns  and  cities  which  she  has  plundered  ;  and  grant 
peace,  if  she  can,  to  the  shades  of  those  millions  whose  death  she  has  caused  ! 

But  Columbia  stoops  not  to  tyrants  ;  her  sons  will  never  crmge  to  France.  Nei- 
ther a  supercilious  five-headed  Directory,  nor  the  gasconading  pilgrim  of  Egj'pt,  will 
ever  dictate  terms  to  sovereign  America.  The  thunder  of  our  cannon  shall  insure  the 
performance  of  our  treaties,  and  fulminate  destruction  on  Frenchmen,  till  old  ocean 
is  crimsoned  with  blood  and  gorged  with  pirates  ! 

It  becomes  us,  on  whom  the  defence  of  our  country  will  ere  long  devolve,  this  day 
most  seriously  to  reflect  on  the  duties  incumbent  upon  us.  Our  ancestors  bravely 
snatched  expiring  liberty  from  the  grasp  of  Britain,  whose  touch  is  poison.  Shall  we 
now  consign  it  to  France,  whose  enibrace  is  death  ?  We  have  seen  our  fathers,  in  the 
days  of  Columbia's  trouble,  assume  the  rough  habiliments  of  war,  and  seek  the  hos- 
tile field.  Too  full  of  sorrow  to  speak,  Ave  have  seen  them  wave  a  last  farewell  to  a 
disconsolate,  a  woe-stung  family.  We  have  seen  them  return,  worn  down  with 
fatigue  and  scarred  with  wounds  ;  or  we  have  seen  them,  perhaps,  no  more.  For  us 
they  fought,  for  us  they  bled,  for  us  they  conquered  !  Shall  we,  their  descendants,  now 
basely  disgrace  our  lineage,  and  pusillanimously  disclaim  the  legacy  bequeathed  us  ? 
Shall  we  pronounce  the  sad  valediction  to  Freedom,  and  immolate  Libertj- on  the  altars 
our  fathers  have  raised  to  her  ?  No  !  The  response  of  a  nation  is,  "  No  !  "  Let  it 
be  registered  in  the  archives  of  heaven,  —  Ere  the  religion  we  profess,  and  the  priv- 
ileges Ave  enjoy,  are  sacrificed  at  the  shrines  of  despots  and  demagogues,  let  the  pillars 
of  creation  tremble !  Let  world  be  wrecked  on  world,  and  systems  rush  to  ruin  ! 
Let  the  sons  of  Europe  be  vassals  !  Let  her  hosts  of  nations  be  a  vast  congregation 
of  slaves!  But  let  us,  who  are  this  day  free,  whose  hearts  are  yet  unappalled,  and 
■whose  right  arms  are  yet  nerved  for  war,  assemble  before  the  hallowed  temple  of 
Columbian  freedom,  and  swear,  to  the  God  of  our  fathers,  to  preserve  it  secure,  or  die 
at  its  portals  ! 


We  regard  the  town  histories  constantly  rising  in  our  country  as  affording  greater 
facilities  toward  a  more  perfect  national  history  than  has  yet  appeared  ;  and  such 
a  work  as  the  History  of  the  Town  of  New  Ipswich,  N.  H.,  by  Frederic  Ividder,  a 
retired  merchant,  and  by  Augustus  A.  Gould,  a  physician  and  naturalist,  is  decidedly 
one  of  the  best  conceptions  of  what  a  toAvu  history  should  be  that  has  ever  met  our 
eye.  We  find  in  this  Avork  the  folloAving  felicitous  letter  of  Mr.  Webster  to  Chief 
Justice  Farrar,  on  his  first  appointment  to  a  civil  office,  which  transpired  when  he 
was  a  student  at  laAv  ;  in  relation  to  whom  jNIr.  Webster  has  frequently  remarked  that 
he  never  knew  a  judge  of  a  more  calm,  dispassionate,  and  impartial  character,  a  better 
listener  to  a  discussion,  or  a  man  more  anxious  to  discover  the  truth  and  to  do  justice. 
In  these  traits  of  character  he  thought  him  very  much  to  resemble  the  late  Chief 
Justice  Marshall. 

"  Salisbury,  July  12,  1804. 

"  Instances  of  favors  conferred  sometimes  occur,  iu  which  it  is  not  a  httle  difficult 
to  determine  whether  a  respectful  silence  or  an  open  acknowledgment  is  most  likely  to 
be  well  received  by  him  who  has  obliged  us.     But,  though  it  may  be  uncertain  whether 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  695 

we  ought  to  speak,  it  is  yet  sometimes  difficult  to  be  silent, -KhQn  kind  things  are  done 
in  a  kind  manner. 

"My  honored  fkthcr  informed  me  that,  on  an  expected  vacancy  in  tlie  clerlcsliip  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  this  county,  you  were  pleased  to  mention  my  name  to 
the  court  as  a  candidate  for  tliat  ofhce.  I  should  be  happy  if  on  this  occasion  I  could 
express  my  gi-atitude  in  terms  not  liliely  to  offend  against  the  delicacy  of  your  feel- 
ings. I  confess  I  was  gratified,  as  well  as  surprised,  by  this  unexpected  mark  of  dis- 
tinction ;  particularly  so,  as  I  have  not  the  honor  of  much  acquaintance  with  you, 
and  am  destitute  of  many  of  those  aids  which  make  young  men  known  in  the  world 
beyond  the  sphere  of  their  personal  friends. 

"Ofi&ce  and  emolument  have,  I  hope,  their  just,  and  no  more  than  their -just, 
estimation  in  my  mind  ;  but,  aside  from  the  consideration  of  these,  and  though  I 
should  never  in  this  case  possess  them,  the  nomination  will  add  something  to  my  hap- 
piness, as  I  shall  be  the  better  pleased  with  myself  for  having  been  thought  worthy 
an  office  of  trust  and  confidence  by  Judge  Farrar. 
"  I  am,  sir,  with  high  respect, 

"Your  humble  servant,  Daxiel  Webster." 

"  Hon.  Timothy  Farrar,  New  Ipswich,  N.  11." 

An  interesting  incident  has  very  recently  been  related  to  the  editor  of  this  work,  as 
having  happened  to  Mr.  Webster  before  he  had  been  long  at  the  bar  in  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  for  the  county  of  Rockingham.  He  had  obtained  a  verdict  for  his 
client,  which  the  opposing  counsel — the  late  Gov.  Plumer  —  had  moved  to  set  aside. 
Mr.  Webster,  in  resisting  this  motion,  addressed  the  court  at  considerable  length,  and 
in  a  well-studied  argument,  upon  the  power  of  courts  over  the  verdicts  of  juries,  and 
especially  how  far  that  power  could  be  properly  exercised  by  courts  of  inferior  juris- 
diction. We  remember,  among  other  authorities,  he  cited  rather  a  peremptory  saying 
of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Holt,  that  he  would  not  permit  an  inferior  court  to  regard  itself 
as  a  better  judge  of  the  law  than  a  jury  of  the  king's  subjects.  When  he  sat.down, 
a  member  of  the  bar  now  living,  Mr.  Moody  Kent,  said  to  him,  "  Now,  my  friend, 
you  have  made  a  good  argument  ;  but  it  had  one  great  fault  in  it,  and  that  is,  that 
your  first  proposition  was  so  far  in  advance  of  the  knowledge  of  the  court,  that 
although  we,  at  the  bar,  understood  you,  yet  what  you  said  was  heathen  Greek  to 
those  you  addressed."  In  this  respect  Mr.  Webster  soon  learned  a  most  useful  les- 
son from  his  sagacious  and  elder  friend,  the  late  Mr.  Mason,  M'hose  shrewdness  was 
remarkable  for  selecting  always  the  most  suitable  and  effective  argument  for  the 
tribunal. 


A  recent  traveller  from  Egypt  (Rev.  Alexander  J.  Sessions)  has  remarked  to  the 
editor  of  this  work  that  its  title,  "  The  Hundred  Boston  Oi-ators,"  reminded  him  of 
the  Hall  of  a  Hundred  Pillars  at  Karnak,  which,  on  a  careful  examination,  he  found 
comprised  the  number  of  political  pillars  noticed  in  this  work.  We  tliiiik  the  cogno- 
men applied  to  this  volume  is  appropriate,  as  there  are  exactly  one  hundred  of  whom 
a  more  detailed  statement  is  furnished.  And,  in  passing,  the  editor  repels  any  implied 
censure  for  not  presenting  a  more  extended  account  of  the  residue,  as  materials  of  much 
public  interest  were  difficult  to  be  obtained.  In  reference  to  the  pulflication  of  every 
one  of  the  orations  in  an  entire  form,  while  we  ai-e  well  apprised  of  the  pleasure  their 
appearance  would  render  the  antiquarian,  it  is  our  decided  opinion  tliat  the  plan  here 
adopted,  of  selecting  the  noblest  passages  from  a  part  of  them,  is  the  greatest  act  of 
justice  to  the  authors,  and  in  several  instances  is  more  grateful  to  their  memory,  and 
more  consonant  to  the  popular  taste. 


GOG  HARRISON   GRAY    OTIS. 


HARRISON  GRAY  OTIS. 

The  passage  herewith  is  selected  from  his  English  oration,  delivered  in  1783.  at 
Harvard  College,  when  he  was  graduated. 

"  The  greatest  danger  to  which  a  state  is  exposed,  after  deliverance  from  an  enemy, 
results  from  the  lethargy  which  naturally  accompanies  an  opinion  of  security.  It  is 
particularly  incumbent  upon  America  to  avoid  this  listless  inattention  to  her  internal 
police.  It  is  true  our  constitution  is  delineated,  but  it  is  hardly  advanced  beyond  the 
outlines.  Our  situation  is  different  from  that  of  established  republics.  They  fight  for 
the  privilege  of  adhering  to  ancient  customs  ;  we  have  fought  for  liberty  to  introduce 
new.  They  wish  only  to  confirm  their  laws  ;  we  have  oui-s  to  form.  The  Union  of 
these  States  was  founded  upon  common  danger.  A  coincidence  of  customs  and  laws 
was  not  the  cause  ;  we  must  labor  to  make  it  the  etfect.  "We  must  combat  our  ancient 
prejudices,  which  are  unavoidably  tinctured  with  a  regard  for  some  old  regulations, 
which  may  insensibly  lead  us  to  swerve  from  principles  strictly  republican 

"  In  considering  the  means  of  preserving  our  freedom,  the  first  idea  which  occurs 
is  the  necessity  of  preventing  restrictions  upon  the  press. 

"Independent  sentiment  must  be  the  energizing  principle  of  independent  states; 
and  for  the  conveyance  of  this  the  press  is  the  most  speedy,  if  not  the  only  vehicle. 
Private  instructions  to  representatives  are  by  no  means  competent.  They  ought  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  general  opinion  relative  to  ordinary  occurrences  ;  and,  although 
the  press  should  sometimes  be  prostituted  to  the  purposes  of  scurrility  and  abuse  of 
the  government,  still  it  is  better  to  give  vent  to  these  peccant  humors  when  their 
general  diffusion  will  almost  annihilate  their  contagion,  than  suflfer  them  to  mortify 
in  a  tavern  or  a  village,  and  presently  bui-st  forth  with  increased  virulence. 

"  In  short,  liberty  of  the  press  was  the  last  vestige  of  Britain's  fi'eedom,  and  that 
was  effaced  by  the  imprisonment  of  an  honest  printer." 

In  the  second  English  oration,  delivered  two  years  afterwards  upon  the  all-engross- 
ing topic  of  the  existing  national  difficulties,  we  find  the  following  eloquent  remarks 

"I  shall,  however,  repeat  the  sentiment  of  a  great  pohtician,  —  'If,'  says  he, 
'  there  be  such  criminals  as  robbers,  traitors,  assassins,  who  deserve  to  be  punished 
with  more  than  ordinary  severity,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  place  at  the  head  of  the 
bloody  catalogue  the  man  who  would  defeat  the  application  of  the  pubUc  money  to 
the  support  of  the  public  credit.' 

"  There  is  one  expedient  which  some  people,  in  the  fulness  of  distress,  have  wished 
to  see  adopted,  but  which  we  venture  to  predict  would  give  the  death-wound  to  our 
public  credit.  The  emission  of  a  paper  currency, — would  not  this  fneasure  prove 
the  harbinger  to  a  train  of  the  most  flagrant  frauds  and  sordid  vices  ?  Would  it  not 
exhibit  our  national  faith  and  dignity  as  objects  of  derision,  hasten  the  decline  of  the 
i-epublic,  and  aggravate  the  horror  of  her  fall  ?  Surely  nothing  can  be  more  chimer- 
ical than  the  idea  of  an  unfunded,  irredeemable  currency,  destitute  of  all  the  intrin- 
sic properties  of  a  medium.  This  description  will  certainly  be  applicable  to  an  emis- 
sion of  paper  at  this  period.  It  is  impossible  to  constitute  a  fund  that  could  be 
appropriated  to  its  redemption.  To  suppose  that  government  should  assess  taxes  in 
specie  for  this  purpose  is  a  manifest  absurdity,  since  the  adoption  of  a  paper  money 
implies  a  scarcity  of  coin  adequate  to  defray  the  public  charges  ;  and  the  distinction 
between  specie  and  paper  thus  authorized  by  government  would  continually  hold  to 
view  the  insufficiency  of  the  latter,  and  totally  destroy  its  credit.  The  system  adopted 
in  a  neighboring  state,  of  forming  a  loan  upon  mortgage,  might  easily  be  proved  feeble 


SOLID    MEN    OF   BOSTON.  697 

in  its  basis,  and  injurious  in  its  practice.  The  government  will  either  become  the  solo 
proprietary  of  the  lands,  or  (which  is  more  probable)  will  finally  release  them  with- 
out redemption,  while  the  depreciated  paper  sinks  in  the  hands  of  the  unfortunate 
persons  who  are  compelled  to  receive  it. 

"  The  annihilation  of  our  former  bills  of  credit,  without  producing  some  dreadful 
convulsion,  furnishes  no  argument  against  the  probability  of  the  universal  uproar  that 
would  now  ensue  upon  the  failure  of  a  new  emission.  The  burthen  then  fell  princi- 
pally upon  the  weak  and  impotent.  Where  could  the  helpless  widow  find  protection  ? 
To  whom  could  the  little  orphan  lisp  his  wrongs  ?  But,  should  this  illusion  again  be 
introduced,  the  calamitous  effects  of  the  famous  system  in  France,  and  the  more  dif- 
fusive wretchedness  attendant  on  the  South  Sea  scheme  in  England,  would  appear  an 
imperfect  miniature  of  the  distress  that  will  swallow  up  the  nation." 


"SOLID  MEN  OF  BOSTON." 

BY    CHARLES    C.  HAZEWELL. 

In  a  number  of  the  Boston  Courier  appears  an  article  which  opens  thus  : 
"  '  Solid  Men  of  Boston.'  — Many  persons  have  asked  for  the  original  of  the  quo- 
tation introduced  by  Mr.  Webster  in  his  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall,  May  21,  1852.  It 
was  copied  from  a  political  jeu  d^esprit,  written  by  one  of  the  London  wits  at  the 
time  when  Boston  first  commenced  to  make  a  noise  in  the  world,  and  her  port  troubles 
and  her  patriotic  resolutions  first  became  known  in  Europe.    The  whole  verse  ran  . 

'  Solid  men  of  Boston,  drink  no  strong  potations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  go  to  bed  at  sundown, 
And  you  '11  never  lose  your  way,  like  the  loggerheads  of  London.' 

"  The  quotation  was  very  felicitously  introduced  into  the  dinner  speech  of  Hon. 
George  S.  Hillard,  before  the  New  England  Society  of  New  York,  last  winter,  with  a 
sketch  of  its  origin  ;  and,  as  the  speech  has  never  been  piinted  here,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  to  publish  the  whole  at  this  time. ' ' 

The  Courier  then  proceeds  to  give  Mr.  Hillard's  speech  ;  and  a  very  elegant,  elo- 
quent and  scholarly  production  it  is,  like  all  the  efforts  of  its  distinguished  author 
that  we  have  seen.     We  copy  from  it  the  following  paragraph : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  New  England  Society,  —  I  thank  you  for 
your  kind  reception  of  me,  and  I  would  that  it  were  in  my  power  to  coin  wishes  into 
words,  and  thanks  into  wit,  tliat  I  might  the  better  express  to  you  my  acknowledg- 
ments. In  the  early  stages  of  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  it  so  occurred  that  Mr. 
Pitt,  then  a  very  young  man,  with  Mr.  Dundas,  and  one  or  two  other  political  friends, 
retired  from  Parliament  on  one  occasion  into  some  suburban  retreat  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  London,  tliere,  perchance,  to  meditate  on  high  political  themes.  On  their 
return,  late  at  night,  doubtless  in  a  state  of  transcendental  elevation,  in  reference  to 
the  topics  in  the  discussion  of  which  they  had  indulged,  they  ran  through  a  turnpike 
gate  without  paying  any  toll,  and  the  keeper  of  the  gate  discharged  a  musket  after 
them,  which  fortunately  took  no  effect.  The  incident  was  taken  up  by  the  wits  of  the 
rival  party,  and  Captain  Morris,  at  the  time  a  sort  of  poet-kiureato  of  the  wiiigs,  wrote 
a  song  upon  it,  in  which,  in  allusion  to  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  he  says, 

59 


698  SOLID   MEN   OF   BOSTON. 

'  Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  drink  no  deep  ijotations.' 

•'  Mr.  President,  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  get  out  of  the  clutches  of  this  New  England 
Society  of  New  York,  without  violating  both  these  precepts.  I  made  you  a  long  ora- 
tion yesterday,  and,  from  the  temptation  there  is  before  me,  I  am  afraid  of  the  deep 
potations  to-night.  But  then  I  will  take  refuge  in  the  other  alternative  ;  for  it  is 
very  true,  and  you  will  bear  me  witness,  that  yesterday  I  drank  no  deep  potations, 
and  to-day  I  will  make  no  long  oration." 

It  is  a  little  curious,  and  perhaps  rather  consoling  to  us  dull  fellows,  who  have  not 
the  faculty  of  making  speeches,  that  so  well  read  a  man  as  Mr.  Hillard  should  have 
fallen  into  two  or  three  amusing  errors  respecting  a  period  of  English  history  tol- 
erably familiar  to  even  Americans  who  can  make  no  pretensions  whatever  to  being 
well  read.  "  The  early  stages  of  our  Revolutionary  struggle"  cannot  be  placed  fur- 
ther back  than  1775-6,  at  which  time  William  Pitt  was  only  some  sixteen  or  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  had  no  connection  whatever  with  the  ministry.  His  political 
sympathies,  if  he  felt  any,  were  with  his  father,  who  was  the  greatest  of  those  states- 
men —  Burke  alone  excepted  —  that  opposed  the  attack  made  by  the  British  govern- 
ment on  the  rights  of  the  American  colonies.  It  is  a  familiar  fact  that  a  few  years 
later  he  entered  Parliament  as  a  member  of  the  opposition  party.  In  1775-6  the 
North  ministry  was  at  the  height  of  its  power,  and  Mr.  Bundas  was  a  supporter  of 
it,  and  a  useful  and  influential  supporter  too,  with  no  feeling  in  common  with  any 
member  of  the  Pitt  family  or  connection.  In  after  days,  Dundas  and  the  younger 
Pitt  became  intimately  associated,  and  for  a  long  time  acted  together  as  brother  min- 
isters ;  but,  when  the  latter  entered  public  life,  he  did  so  as  a  warm  opponent  of 
Dundas  and  his  party.  It  was  one  of  the  singular  consequences  of  the  death  of  the 
Marquis  of  Rockingham,  and  of  coalition  between  Fox  and  North,  that  Pitt  and 
Dundas  became  friends  and  associates, — bound  together  by  ties  t;xr  stronger,  it 
should  seem,  than  those  which  usually  form  the  connecting  links  of  politicians  and 
statesmen.  The  Pitt  ministry  was  formed  in  1788-4,  after  the  war  between  England 
and  America  had  ceased,  and  when  the  tory  party  had  assumed  a  new  character, 
under  the  leadership  of  a  man  who  certainly  had  no  reason  to  be  looked  upon  as  • 
being  himself  a  representative  of  tory  principles. 

The  Maine  law  was,  unhappily,  quite  unknown  to  those  barbarian  times.  If  there 
were  temperance  lectxirers  then,  history  has  not  condescended  to  record  their  efforts. 
They  are  forgotten,  like  the  brave  men  who  lived  and  died  so  long  ago.  It  was  an 
age  of  hard  drinking,  hard  swearing,  hard  thinking,  and  "  fast "  driving.  From  the 
first  minister  of  the  crown  to  the  last  peasant  who  paid  taxes  to  the  crown,  there  was 
hardly  a  man  in  England  who  did  not  swallow  enough  strong  drink,  in  a  twelve- 
month, to  sober  a  modern  temperance  society  by  the  mere  thought  of  it.  Great  peo- 
ple drank  wine  and  brandy  ;  little  people  swilled  ale  and  beer,  and  British  gin. 
Altogether  it  might  be  called  a  beastly  age,  only  that  beasts  are  not  so  beastly  as  to 
get  drunk.  It  was  an  age  of  what  Thomson,  in  the  preceding  generation,  had  called 
"  serious  drinking."  'William  Pitt  was  the  first  subject  and  the  chief  drunkard  of 
the  realm  of  England.  Drinking  was  both  a  business  and  a  pleasure  with  him.  As 
the  Ii-ishman  treated  sleep,  so  did  he  treat  drinking,  —  "he  paid  attention  to  it." 
Port  wine  was  his  favorite  tipple,  and  we  may  suppose  that  he  took  it  as  Job  Pippins  did 
his  ale,  calling  for  "  the  best."  We  may  be  sure  that,  however  great  may  have  been 
the  consumption  of  logwood,  elderberries,  &c.,  in  the  British  empire,  as  a  conse- 


SOLID    MEN    or   BOSTON.  699 

quence  of  the  Methuen  treaty,  William  Pitt  drank  only  "  genuine  crusted  old  Port." 
It  was  said  of  liim,  years  later,  tliat  he  "  died  of  Austerlitz  —  and  Port  wine."  In 
fact,  his  fate  was  not  very  unlike  that  of  a  celebrated  Irishman,  mentioned  by  the 
beautiful  Donna  Julia,  if  you  substitute  war  for  love  ;  and  they  are  as  nearly  allied 
as  kissing  and  contention. 

"  Lord  Mount  CoEfeehouse,  the  Irish  peer, 
■\Vho  killed  himself  for  love  (with  wine)  last  year." 

To  get  drunkj  or  at  least  to  swallow  liquor  enough  to  make  a  modern  cabinet  too 
drunk  to  be  actively  mischievous,  was  the  relaxation  of  a  great  minister  sixty  years 
-since.  Who  shall  say  that  the  world  has  not  improved  in  that  time  ?  Were  a  modern 
statesman  to  exhibit  himself  to  the  world  in  the  chai-acter  of  an  "  old  soaker,"  or 
were  he  to  dash  through  a  turnpike  gate  in  a  condition  not  far  removed  from  delirium 
tremens,  he  would  need  no  Austei-litz  to  do  his  business.  His  liquor  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  that.  But  this  is  digression,  into  which  we  are  tempted  by  the  recollection 
that  great  men  do  not  now  drink  to  excess,  except  in  the  strictest  privacy. 

It  was  when  he  was  returning  from  a  visit  to  Mr.  Jenkinson,  who  was  afterwards 
made  Lord  Liverpool,  that  Mr.  Pitt  "bilked"  the  keeper  of  what  Mr.  Weller  would 
call  "  a  pike,"  at  Wimbledon.  To  do  him  justice,  the  act  was  not  done  maliciously, 
but  in  consequence  of  the  gentleman  who  sat  at  the  toll-gate  not  being  ready  to 
take  the  toll.  The  premier  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Dundas  and  Lord  Thurlow, 
the  latter  being  chancellor  and  keeper  of  the  king's  conscience, — no  sinecure,  by  the 
way,  in  the  reign  of  George  III.  The  joke  had  fallen  in  their  way,  and  they  rode^on, 
vastly  pleased  at  its  occurrence.  The  pike-keeper  was  a  ferocious  fellow  (all  pike- 
keepers  are  misanthropes,  according  to  Mr.  Weller),  and  he  fired  a  heavily-loaded 
gun  after  them,  under  the  sly  pretence  that  he  mistook  them  for  thieves.  Captain 
Moi-ris,  who  was,  as  Mr.  Hillard  says,  "  a  sort  of  poet-laureate  of  the  whigs,"  made 
this  adventure  the  theme  of  what  he  called  an  American  Song,  in  which  a  Yankee 
tells  the  story,  with  suitable  alterations  and  embellishments.  The  last  verse  of  the 
song  is  that  quoted  by  Mr.  Webster,  though  he  slightly  altered  it  from  the  original : 

"  Solid  men  of  Boston,  '  banish '  strong  potations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orauons  ; 
SoUd  men  of  Boston,  go  to  bed  at  sundown, 
And  you  '11  never  lose  your  way,  like  the  loggerheads  of  London." 

The  reader  who  may  be  curious  to  see  the  whole  song  can  find  it  in  the  Lyra 
Urbanica,  published  years  ago,  in  London,  and  which  contains  other  good  poetry  of 
not  quite  so  temperate  a  kind  as  that  quoted  above  ;  for,  how  good  soever  his  advice 
to  the  "  solid  men  of  Boston,"  Captain  Charles  Morris,  like  some  other  theoretical 
temperance  men  whom  we  know,  preferred  the 

" l)rij,'lit  liquid,  from  its  mountain  mother 


Born  fresh,  the  joy  of  the  time-hallowed  vine," 


"  The  limpid  droppings  of  the  virgin  fount." 


He  was  an  associate  of  the  then  Prince  of  AVales,  and  water  was  in  not  much  demand 
at  Carlton"  House.  As  a  specimen  of  the  soldier  poet's  notions  on  the  subject  of 
temperance,  take  the  following  verses  from  his  True  Philosophy.    They  ought  to  be 


700  SOLID   MEN   OF  BOSTON. 

as  offensive  to  the  hundred  millions  of  voters  (we  are  not  sure  that  we  have  got  the  right 
number,  but  it  don't  matter  much,  as  it  is  not  a  great  deal  further  from  the  truth 
than  the  statements  "  thereanent  "  in  the  Senate  dui-ing  the  debates  on  the  liquor- 
bill)  who  signed  the  great  petition,  as  the  rhyme  they  sing  : 

'  Don't  you  see,  as  we  reel,  the  world  reels  up  and  down  ? 
She  rolls  in  her  fluid,  and  we  in  our  own  ; 

Thus  going  together,  we  still  keep  our  ground, 

And  to-morrow,  thank  Fortune,  are  sure  to  come  round. 

'•  Then,  as  to  the  matter  that  makes  up  this  ball, 
We  're  all  spirit,  with  us  't  is  no  matter  at  all ; 
If 't  is  LIFE,  keep  it  up ;  and  if  dust,  as  they  tell, 
■!-'  "RTiy,  before  it  flies  off,  let  us  sprinkle  it  well. 

"  Some  say  that  by  water  or  fire  it  steers, 
Talk  of  atoms  and  essences,  orbits  and  spheres  ; 
But,  let  Newton,  Descartes,  and  Ptolemy  doze. 
As  we  push  round  our  bottles  the  way  the  world  goes. 
******* 

"  Then,  on  subjects  where  fools  are  as  wise  as  the  sage, 
■When  we  've  one  we  cax  fathom,  why  should  we  engage  ' 
Since  we  cannot  clear  it,  why  puzzle  our  souls  ? 
Let  Time  clear  the  riddle,  while  we  clear  the  bowls." 

Not  exactly  moral,  according  to  the  canons  of  any  age,  but  very  pleasant,  for  all 
that,  or  rather  because  of  that.  It  is  a  shocking  thing  to  reflect  upon,  that  vicious 
matters  should  be  so  pleasant,  or  sinful  ones  so  welcome  —  we  condemn  both.  But 
this  is  another  digression,  pardonable,  however,  because  made  for  the  benefit  of  our 
temperance  friends,  who  are  entitled  to  all  that  deference  which  success  is  sure 
to  bring.     Who  would  not  cast  his  mite  of  incense  upon  the  altar  of  moral  reform  ? 

Mr.  Webster  is  not  the  only  great  man  by  whom  the  "  solid  men  of  Boston  "  was 
quoted.  Burke,  after  he  had  ratted,  and  in  allusion  to  his  quondam  friend's  talking 
and  drinking  habits,  quoted  these  lines  against  Sheridan,  in  the  Hotise  of  Commons  : 

"  Solid  men  of  Boston,  banish  strong  potations  ; 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orations." 

For  one  second  the  laugh  was  against  Sheridan  ;  but  he  jumped  up,  and  quoted 
against  Burke  two  other  lines  from  the  song  : 

"  He  went  to  Daddy  Jenky,  by  Trimmer  Hal  attended  ; 
Good  lack  !  in  such  company,  how  his  morals  must  be  mended  !  " 

Daddy  J^nky  was  Charles  Jenkinson,  to  whom  Pitt  had  been  on  a  visit  when  the 
affair  making  the  burden  of  the  song  took  place.  He  was  chief  of  "the  king's 
friends,"  and  supposed  to  be  the  person  who  gave  the  finishing  touch  to  political  rats, 
Burke  was  preparing  to  receive  the  handsome  reward  for  which  he  had  left  his  party 
and  friends,  and  therefore  Sheridan's  hit  told.  One  is  renainded  of  the  scene  at 
Ashby-de-la-Zouche.  "Thou  canst  not  mend  that  shot,  Locksley,"  said  Prince 
John,  when  Hubert  had  sent  his  arrow  right  into  the  very  centre  of  the  target.  "  I 
will  notch  his  shaft  for  him,  however,"  said  Locksley;  and  so  he  did,  sending  his  own 
arrow  so  truly  upon  that  of  his  rival  as  to  shiver  it  to  pieces,  and  destroy  the  merit 
of  his  shooting.     Burke  was  Hubert ;  Sheridan  was  Locksley. 


THE   PATROL  AND   CONDUCT 

OF  THE  BRITISH  SOLDIERS  IN  BOSTON,  1775-6. 


As  the  Order  of  the  Patrol  of  the  British  Troops  in  Boston  affords  a  conception 
of  the  condition  of  a  besieged  city  when  garrisoned  by  a  standing  army,  we  here 
present  it,  and  quote  the  whole  record  as  it  stands  in  Waller's  Orderly  Book,  1775, 
30th  Dec. 

Head-quarters,  Boston.     Parole,  Guilford ;  0.  Sign,  Kingston.     Gen'l  officer  for 

to-morrow,  Grant.     Field  officer  for  lines,  Major  Sill.     Day,  Major  JMitchell. 
Major  Brigade,  Brown. 
Adj't  Qr.  Mr.  and  Sui-geon  10th  Regiment. 

The  Districts  are  as  follows,  appointed  to  each  Corps.  The  commanding  officer 
will  accordingly  inspect  them,  taking  care  to  prevent  all  irregularities,  put  a  stop 
to  Dram  Shops,  and  to  make  a  return  of  all  persons'  names  that  have  licenses  to 
sell  spirituous  liquors,  mentioning  by  whom  signed.  The  officers  of  the  Piquet 
will  leave  directions  from  their  respective  commanding  officers,  for  visiting  and 
patrolling  within  the  extent  of  their  district,  taking  two  men  with  them  from  the 
regimental  guard  to  attend  them. 

The  Soldiers'  Wives  are  not  to  lodge  out  of  their  respective  Districts.  The 
Patroles  of  the  10th  Reg't  to  visit  the  right  hand  of  Orange  Street,  from  the  new 
works  to  the  Neck ;  those  of  the  22d  Reg't  from  Allen's  Warf,  near  Lieut.  Col. 
Campbell's  quarters,  on  the  left  side  of  Orange  Street,  to  the  Neek,  and  all  the 
lanes  leading  to  ye  Water ;  those  of  the  63d  Reg.  are  to  visit  from  where  the  Hay- 
market  stood,  up  Pleasant  Street,  and  all  lying  between  this  and  Hollis  Street ; 
those  of  the  35th  Reg.,  all  that  part  of  the  town  that  lays  between  Hollis  Street 
and  Frog  Lane,  including  the  quarters  where  Lt.  Col.  Carr  lives ;  those  of  the 
40th  Reg.  are  to  visit  Newbury  Street,  Frog  Lane  and  Water  Lane,  and  all  the 
Alleys  laying  between  these  streets  and  the  Common.  The  Grenadiers  are  to 
visit  all  the  lanes  laying  between  Water  Street  and  Bromfield's  Lane,  and  run- 
ning between  these  and  the  Common  —  also  Common  Street ;  those  of  the  49th 
to  visit  Beacon  Street,  School  Street,  part  of  Cornhill,  Queen  Street,  and  Tramont 
Street ;  those  of  the  45th  to  visit  Camljridgo  Street,  from  Shardon's  Lane,  South- 
wark  Court,*Hanover  Street  to  the  Mill  Bridge,  and  all  the  Lanes  from  that  street 
to  the  Mill  Pond,  north  of  Coal  Lane  —  also  Wing's  Lane  and  Union  Street ;  those 
of  the  17th  to  visit  Coal  Lane,  Sudbury  Street,  Tramond  Street  as  far  as  Earl 
Peircy's,  and  all  the  lanes  between  Cambridge  Street  and  the  IMill  Pond  as  far  as 
Shardon's  Lane  ;  those  of  the  4th  to  visit  Cambridge  Street  from  Sliardon's  Lane 
to  the  westward,  with  all  the  lanes  leading  from  thence  to  Beacon  Hill  —  also 
Staniford  Street ;  those  of  the  Grenadiers  quartered  in  "West  Boston  Meeting 
59* 


702  PATROL  AND   CONDUCT 

House,  to  visit  Chamber  Street,  Ljnd  Street,  Green  Lane,  and  all  the  lanes 
leading  from  thence  to  the  Mill  Pond ;  those  of  the  47th  to  visit  their  own 
quarters  ;  those  of  the  six  companies  of  Light  Infantry  to  visit  Leverett  Street 
and  all  the  lanes  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barton's  Point ;  those  of  the  43d 
to  visit  Back  Street  as  far  as  Prince's  Street,  IMiddle  Street  from  that  to  the 
Jliddle  Bridge  —  likewise  Ann  Street  and  Fish  Street  as  far  to  the  northward 
as  Sun  Court,  with  all  the  Lanes  from  Back  Street  to  ^liddle  Street,  from  Middle 
Street  to  Fore  Street  and  Ann  Street,  and  from  these  to  the  Water ;  1st  British 
Marines  to  visit  Prince's  Street,  from  the  corner  of  Back  Street  to  Charles- 
town  Fen-y  —  likewise  Middle  Street  to  TTinnisimot  Ferry,  and  all  the  streets 
and  lanes  lying  between  them  ;  2d  British  Marines  to  visit  Fish  Street,  Ship  Street 
and  Lynn  Street,  to  Charlestown  Ferry,  with  all  the  lanes  from  these  to  the 
Water  —  also  all  the  Streets  and  Lanes  between  Sun  Court  and  Winnisimot 
Ferry,  leading  from  Fish  Street  and  Ship  Street  to  ^Middle  Street ;  those  of  the 
44th  to  visit  King's  Street,  part  of  Cornhill,  from  the  Town  House  to  j\Iilk  Street 
as  far  as  Oliver's  Dock,  with  all  the  streets  and  lanes  between  that  and  King 
Street  —  also  that  part  of  Cornhill  from  the  Town  House  to  the  Theatre,  and  all 
the  Lanes  between  that  and  King  Street ;  thpse  of  the  38th  Reg.  to  visit  from 
their  Barracks  to  Oliver's  Dock,  Fort  HiU  Lane,  part  of  MiUc  Street,  the  Piope 
Walk,  Green's  Lane,  all  the  cross  Lanes  within  that  District ;  those  of  the  23d 
Reg.  to  visit  Cow  Lane,  Long  Lane,  part  of  Jlilk  Street,  Bishop's  Alley,  and  the 
Lanes  from  thence  to  Marlboro  Street,  and  part  of  Summer  Street,  with  the  lanes 
from  Cow  Lane  to  the  Water ;  those  of  the  G5th  Reg.  to  visit  part  of  Summer 
Street,  Flounder  Lane,  part  of  Belcher's  Lane  and  South  Street  to  Windmill 
Point,  with  all  the  Lanes  and  Wharfs  within  that  District ;  those  of  the  5th  Reg- 
iment to  visit  part  of  South  Street,  part  of  Summer  Street,  Blind  Lane,  Short 
Street,  and  all  the  Lanes  leading  to  the  Water,  between  Short  Street  and  South 
Street ;  those  of  the  52d  to  visit  Achmouty's  Lane  from  Short  Street  to  Liberty 
Tree,  and  all  the  lanes  leading  to  the  Water ;  those  of  the  Light  Infantry  to 
visit  part  of  Orange  Street  from  Allen's  Wharf,  with  the  Lanes  leading  from 
thence  to  the  Water  —  also  Newbury  Street,  Summer  Street  as  for  as  the  New 
South  Meeting-house,  Blind  Lane,  and  Pond  St. 

The  paymasters  of  Regiments  to  give  to  Captain  IMcKenzie  a  List  of  their 
respective  Drafts  received  from  the  18  and  59  Regiments,  that  an  order  may  be 
given  by  the  Commander  in  Chief  for  the  payment  of  their  Bounty  Money.  The 
quarter  master  of  Corps  to  call  on  the  Dep.  Q.  Master  Gen.,  where  they  will 
receive  an  order  for  100  pairs  of  Croopers  for  their  respective  corps,  for  which 
they  will  give  receipts  and  be  answerable.     Then  follows  Detail  for  Guard,  etc. 

Notwithstanding  the  regulars  were  strictly  forbidden  to  destroy  houses,  fences  . 
or  trees,  during  the  siege,  they  demolished  the  steeple  of  Rev.  Dr.  Howard's 
Church,  suspecting  that  it  had  been  used  as  a  signal  staif ;  converted  the  edifice 
into  a  barrack,  demolishing  the  pews  ;  the  Old  South  was  used  as  a  riding-school ; 
Dr.  StiUman's  Church  was  converted  into  a  hospital ;  the  Old  North  was  demol- 
ished for  fuel,  "  although  there  were  then  large  quantities  of  coal  and  wood  in 
the  town,"  and  Brattle-street  Chm-ch  was  used  as  a  barrack.  The  regulars  com- 
menced destroying  the  fences  around  Hancock's  mansion ;  but  Gage  prevented  it, 


OP   BRITISH    SOLDIERS. 


ro3 


on  the  complaint  of  the  selectmen.  But  their  direst  vengeance  was  against  Lib- 
erty Ti*ee,  when  one  of  the  regulars,  in  attempting  to  dismantle  its  branches,  fell 
on  the  pavements,  and  was  instantly  killed.  Dr.  Pemberton  relates  that  the 
enterprise  of  destroying  Liberty  Tree  was  under  the  direction  of  Job  Williams, 
a  tory  refugee  from  the  country. 

Gov.  Gage,  who  was  fi'iendly  to  Howard,  relates :  "I  distinctly  remember  a 
little  circumstance  which  will  evidence  his  manner.  He  and  I  were  walking, 
and  stopped  to  watch  some  young  men  screwing  hay  for  the  troops  in  Boston. 
We  saw  they  were  about  putting  some  stones  into  the  bundles  to  increase  their 
weight.  It  was  rather  a  merry  than  a  serious  fraud,  for  they  were  not  to  be  ben- 
efited. His  mild  queries  soon  led  them  to  question  the  right  and  abandon  the 
design,  and  I  doubt  whether  it  was  ever  done  in  that  neighborhood  afterward." 

Head-quarters,  Boston,  17th  Nov.,  1775. 
INIany  of  His  Majesty's  loyal  American  subjects,  residing  in  Boston,  with  their 
adherents,  having  offered  their  service  for  the  defence  of  the  place,  the  Com- 
mander in  Chief  has  ordered  them  to  be  armed  and  formed  into  three  companiea, 
under  the  command  of  the  Hon.  Brig.  Gen.  Ruggles,  to  be  called  the  Loyal 
American  Associators.  They  will  ho  distinguished  by  a  white  sash  around  the 
left  arm.     Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles,  Commandant. 


1st  Company. 


2d  Company. 


3d  Company. 


Abijah  Willard,  Captain. 
Thomas  Beaman,  First  Lieut. 
George  Leonard,        Do. 
Thomas  Danforth,  Second  Lieut. 
Samuel  Payne,  Do. 

James  Putnam,  Jr.,      Do. 

James  Putnam,  Captain. 

Jolin  Sargent,  First  Lieut. 

Daniel  Oliver,       Do. 

Joshua  Dummer  Rogers,  Second  Lieut. 

John  Ruggles,  Do. 

Stephen  Jones,  *    Do. 

Francis  Green,  Captain. 
Ebenezer  Spooner,  First  Lieut. 
Josiah  Jones,  Do. 

Abraham  Savage,  Second  Lieut. 
William  Chandler,        Do. 
Nathaniel  Colpin,  Do. 


HON.   THEODORE   LYMAN.  . 

The  following  more  extended  memoir  of  the  philanthropic  Theodore  Lyman, 
principally  prepared  by  a  gentleman  of  great  literary  and  political  eminence, 
who  was  his  intimate  friend,  was  received  too  late  for  insertion  in  the  proper 
place  : 

Gen.  Theodore  Lyman  was  born  on  the  22d  February,  1792.  His  father  was 
Theodore  Lyman,  a  distinguished  merchant  of  Boston.  The  celebrated  Rev. 
Joseph  S.  Buckminster,  a  relative  of  the  family  by  marriage,  was  his  private 
teacher,  at  Waltham.  It  was  at  this  period  that  i\Ir.  Buckminster  addressed  a 
poetical  invitation  to  William  S.  Shaw,  a  literary  friend,  of  Boston,  to  visit  him 
at  the  Lyman  country-seat,  famous  for  its  pastures,  cataracts,  and  fish-ponds, 
besides  the  sister  deities  of  the  place.     We  extract  a  passage  : 

"  Come,  and  with  loitering  steps  the  walk  we  '11  rove, 
And  chat  discursive  on  the  themf  s  we  love  ; 
BecaU,  with  memory  sweet,  those  scenes  of  yore, 
Which  oft  in  Harvard's  walls  we  've  acted  o'er, 
Where  first  we  learnt  in  friendship  to  unite, 
And  linked  the  chain,  unbroken  yet  and  bright  ; 
Wliere  judgment  ripened,  where  attachment  grew. 
And  where  we  learnt  to  love  whom  best  we  knew. 
Here  art  with  wealth  conspires  the  grounds  to  grace, 
And  traces  lovelier  lines  on  nature's  face. 
Enter  and  gaze  where  living  graces  lurk, 
And  waste  an  hour  with  nature's  fairer  work.'" 

Young  Lyman  entered  Phillips'  Exeter  Academy  in  1804,  and  was  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  CoUege  in  1810.  He  made  a  visit  to  Europe  in  1814,  and  was 
at  Paris  while  it  was  in  the  occupation  of  the  allied  powers.  The  result  of  his 
observations  was  published  in  a  small  volume,  entitled  "  A  Few  Weeks  at  Paris." 
On  his  return  to  America,  he  resumed  the  study  of  the  law,  to  which  he  had 
given  his  attention,  rather  as  tlie  completion  of  a  liberal  education,  than  with  any 
intention  to  engage  in  the  practice.  His  health  having  failed  him,  he  was 
advised,  with  a  view  to  its  restoration,  to  make  another  visit  to  Europe.  After 
passing  some  time  with  his  uncle,  the  late  Samuel  Williams,  Esq.,  a  banker  of 
eminence  in  London,  he  crossed  to  the  continent,  and  joined  his  friend  Mr. 
Edward  Everett,  then  residing  at  Gottingen.  Mr.  Lyman  employed  a  few 
weeks  in  a  tour  through  Northern  Germany,  exploring  with  great  interest  the 
scenes  of  the  recent  important  military  events.  In  the  autumn  of  1817  he 
returned  to  Gottingen,  and  proceeded  with  !Mr.  Everett  to  Paris.  About 
eighteen  months  were  passed  by  these  gentlemen  together  in  the  south  and 
east  of  Europe.     An  outline  of  their  tour  is  given  in  oiu-  article  on  Mr.  Everett. 

On  his  return  to  America,  in  the  autumn  of  1819,  Mr.  Lyman  began  to  take 
an  interest  in  public  life.     He  was  successively  an  efficient  member  of  both 


THEODORE   LYMAN.  705 

brandies  of  the  Legislature.  In  1820  he  delivered  the  municipal  oration  on  the 
4tli  of  July.  In  the  same  year  he  published  an  octavo  volume  upon  the  statis- 
tics of  Itixly,  containing  the  result  of  his  inquiries  and  observations  in  that  coun- 
try in  the  winter  of  1819-20.  Gen.  Lyman  had  a  taste  for  military  affiiirs,  and 
took  an  active  interest  in  the  volunteer  militia  of  the  commonwealth.  He  was 
an  aid-de-camp  of  Gov.  Brooks,  an  ofiScer  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company,  and  a  brigadier-general  in  the  first  division.  The  discipline  of  the 
brigade  under  his  command  was  greatly  improved  while  he  remained  in  office. 
He  was  chosen  major-general,  but  declined  the  appointment.  In  1826  he  pul> 
lished  a  History  of  the  Diplomacy  of  the  United  States,  in  one  volume,  8vo.,  of 
which  a  second  edition,  enlarged  to  two  volumes,  appeared  in  1828.  This  is  a 
work  of  considerable  research,  and  of  ability  as  a  work  of  reference. 

In  1834  and  1835  Gen.  Lyman  was  mayor  of  the  city  of  Boston.  During  his 
administration  events  occurred  requiring  no  ordinary  exercise  of  firmness  and 
prudence.  The  peace  of  the  city  was  disturbed  by  the  disgraceful  abolition  riots, 
and  the  burning  of  the  Ursuline  Convent  in  Charlestown  produced  an  excitement 
of  a  very  dangerous  character  in  the  neighboring  metropolis.  The  vigilance  and 
discretion  of  Gen.  Lyman  were  equal  to  the  crisis. 

From  the  time  of  his  retirement  from  the  mayoralty.  Gen.  Lyman  withdrew 
from  public  life.  He  had  man-ied,  in  1820,  Mary  Elizabeth  Henderson,  of  New 
York,  and  had  passed  his  summers  in  the  country, —  first  at  the  country-seat  of 
Gov.  Gore,  at  Waltham,  of  which  he  became  the  proprietor,  and  afterwards  at 
Brookline,  on  the  estate  formerly  of  the  Hon.  Jonathan  INIason.  Here  Gen. 
Lyman  built  a  beautiful  villa,  and  bestowed  a  good  deal  of  attention  upon  his 
garden  and  farm.  He  became  an  active  member  of  the  Horticultural  Society,  to 
which,  at  his  decease,  he  made  the  liberal  bequest  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

After  his  retirement  from  public  life,  Gen.  Lyman  interested  himself  much  in 
the  public  charities  of  Boston,  and  gave  his  time  and  attention  to  subjects  con- 
nected with  the  moral  improvement  of  the  suffering  classes  of  the  community. 
He  was  a  trustee  and  a  lil^eral  benefactor  of  the  Farm  School,  to  which,  at  his 
decease,  he  bequeathed  ten  thousand  dollars.  He  presided  over  the  Prison  Dis- 
cipline Society  from  1847  until  his  decease,  and  was  an  efficient  friend  of  most 
of  the  public  benevolent  institutions.  His  great  work  was  the  foundation  of  the 
State  Reforin  School,  at  Westboro.  He  entertained  a  very  decided  opinion 
of  the  necessity  of  connecting  the  administration  of  justice  with  measures  of 
reform.  Merely  to  punish,  especially  in  the  case  of  juvenile  delinquents,  was, 
in  his  judgment,  alike  cruel  and  impolitic.  Toward  the  endowment  of  the  insti- 
tution just  named  Gen.  Lyman  during  his  lifetime  made  a  secret  donation  of 
twenty-two  thousand  dollars,  to  which,  by  his  will,  the  munificent  sum  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars  was  added.  His  name  will  descend  to  posterity  as  the  father 
of  this  admirable  institution. 

Gen.  Lyman  was  fond  of  books,  and  cultivated  a  taste  for  several  I)ranchc3  of 
literary  inquiry.  He  collected  a  very  valuable  library,  with  the  contents  of 
which  he  was  well  acquainted.  When  the  Boston  Athenaeum  was  removed  to 
Pearl-street,  he  took  the  lead  in  its  arrangement  and  decoration.  lie  was  pros- 
perous in  his  circumstances,  having,  by  judicious  management,  increased  a  large 
inheritance.    That  he  understood  the  true  use  of  money,  as  a  gi-eat  means  of 


706  PETER   FANEUIL   AND    THE    CRADLE    OF    LIBERTY. 

doing  good,  is  sufficiently  apparent  from  the  following  sketch.  Of  a  thousand 
acts  of  liberality,  known  only  to  himself  and  their  objects,  the  record  is  preserved 
on  high.     Uis  hand  was  never  closed  on  any  meritorious  application. 

Gen.  Lyman  survived  his  highly-accomplished  wife  and  a  daughter  of  great 
promise.  In  1848  he  went  for  a  third  time  to  Europe,  with  his  only  son,  who, 
with  a  daughter,  married  to  E.  G.  Shaw,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  are  left  to  deplore  his 
prematiu-c  los^.  Shortly  after  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he  died  at  his  res- 
idence in  Brookline,  the  17th  July,  1849.  He  was  a  person  of  highly-polished 
manners,  great  evenness  of  temper,  exemplary  in  all  the  relations,  and  exact  in 
all  the  duties,  of  life.  His  friends  and  the  community  confidently  anticipated 
from  him  a  continued  career  of  steadily  growing  usefulness,  and  his  death  was 
justly  regarded  as  a  public  calamity. 


[From  the  Boston  Transcript.] 

PETER  FANEUIL  AND  THE  CRADLE  OF  LIBERTY. 

One  may  as  successfully  search  for  that  identical  peck  of  pickled  peppers  that 
Peter  Piper  picked,  as  for  the  original  hall  that  Peter  Faneuil  built.  Like 
Rachel's  first-bom,  it  is  not.  After  all  the  reparations,  and  changes,  and  hard 
hammerings,  she  has  imdergone,  we  may  as  well  search  within  the  walls  of  Old 
Ironsides  for  those  very  ribs  of  live  oak  which,  some  fifty  years  ago,  were  launched 
in  the  body  of  the  frigate  Constitution. 

In  the  olden  time,  the  market-men,  like  the  mom-ners,  went  "  about  the 
streets."  The  inhabitants  were  served  at  their  doors.  As  early  as  1G34,  Gov. 
Winthrop,  in  his  journal,  speaks  of  a  market  which  was  kept  in  Boston,  "  on 
Thursday,  the  fifth  day  of  the  week."  This  weekly  market  on  the  fifth  day  is 
mentioned  by  Douglass  as  of  1G39.  (Vol.  i.  page  434.)  This,  I  think,  refers  only 
to  a  gathering  of  sellers  and  buyers  at  one  spot,  and  not  to  any  "  visible  temple  " 
for  storage  and  shelter.  Citizens  differed  as  to  the  best  method  of  getting  their 
provant.  Some  preferred  the  old  mode,  as  it  was  su2iposed  to  save  time  ;  others 
were  in  favor  of  ha\ing  a  common  point,  with  a  covered  building.  Parties  were 
formed ;  the  citizens  waxed  wroth,  and  quarrelled  about  their  meat  like  angry 
dogs.  Those  who  were  in  favor  of  market-houses  prevailed.  Three  were  erected ; 
one  at  the  Old  North  Square,  one  where  Faneuil  Hall  now  stands,  and  one  near 
Liberty  Tree.     People  were  no  longer  supplied  at  their  houses. 

It  seems  very  strange  that  this  sensible  arrangement  should  have  led  to  violent 
outrage.  The  malecontents  assembled  togetlier  in  the  night,  "  disguised  like 
clergymen,"  —  the  devil,  sometimes,  assumes  this  exterior, —  and  "  totally  demol- 
ished the  centre  market-house."  This  occurred  about  the  year  1736-7,  or  about 
the  time  of  Andrew  Faneuil's  death.  Such  is  the  account  of  good  old  Thomas 
Pemberton.     (M.  H.  C.  iii.  255.) 

The  popular  sentiment  prevented  the  reconstruction  of  the  centre  market- 
house,  till,  in  1740,  July  14,  a  town-meeting  was  held  to  consider  a  petition  for 


•  PETER   FANEUIL   AND    THE    CRADLE    OF   LIBERTY.  707 

this  object,  from  Thomas  Palmer  and  three  hundred  and  forty  others.  At  this 
meeting,  it  was  stated  that  Peter  Faneuil  had  oifered,  at  his  own  cost,  to  build 
a  market-house  on  the  town's  land,  in  Dock-square,  for  the  use  of  the  town, 
if  the  citizens  would  legally  empower  him  so  to  do,  place  the  same  under  proper 
regulations,  and  maintain  it  for  that  use. 

An  impression  has  somewhat  extensively  prevailed  that  JMr.  Faneuil's  proposal 
was  not  courteously  received  by  his  fellow-citizens,  and  that  a  majority  of  seven 
only  were  in  favor  of  it. 

On  the  contrary,  ]\Ir.  Faneuil's  proposal  was  received  with  the  most  ample 
demonstrations  of  grateful  respect.  There  were  two  questions  before  the  meet- 
ing :  First,  shall  a  vote  of  thanks  be  passed  to  Peter  Faneuil  for  his  liljcral  oifer  ? 
Secondly,  shall  we  give  up  the  itinerant  system,  and  have  a  market-house  on  any 
conditions  ?  Upon  the  first  question,  there  was  but  one  mind  ;  on  the  second, 
there  were  two.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Faneuil  was  instantly  passed,  without 
a  dissentient.  But  the  second  question  was  the  vexed  question  revived,  and 
excited  the  passions  of  the  people.  Of  seven  hundred  and  twenty-seven  persons 
present,  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  only  voted  in  favor  of  granting  the  petition 
of  Palmer  and  others,  giving  a  majority  of  seven  only. 

Accordingly,  the  work  was  commenced  ;  and  it  was  completed  Sept.  10,  1742, 
"  on  which  day,"  says  Dr.  Snow,  "  Mr.  Samuel  Ruggles,  who  was  employed  in 
building  the  market-house,  waited  on  the  selectmen,  by  order  of  P.  Faneuil,  Esq., 
and  delivered  them  the  key  of  said  house." 

Peter  was  a  magnificent  fellow.  An  antiquarian  friend,  to  whom  the  fancy 
has  lineally  descended  through  a  line  of  highly  respectal)le  antiquarian  ances- 
tors, informs  me  that  his  father  handed  down  to  him  a  tradition  which  is  cer- 
tainly plausible.  It  runs  thus  :  While  the  market-house  was  in  progress,  — 
probably  on  paper,  —  it  was  suggested  to  Peter  that,  with  very  little  additional 
expense,  a  splendid  town-hall  might  be  constructed  over  it.  Peter's  heart  was 
quite  as  roomy  as  the  market-house  and  town-hall  together,  and  he  cheerfully 
embraced  the  suggestion.  The  tradition  goes  a  little  fiirther.  When  the  cost 
was  summed  up,  Peter  scolded  —  a  little.  Very  likely.  Mr.  Peter  Faneuil  was 
not  an  exception,  I  presume,  to  the  common  rule. 

The  keys,  as  I  have  stated,  were  presented  to  the  town  Sept.  10,  1742,  with 
aU  that  courtesy,  doubtless,  for  which  he  was  remarkable.  Peter's  relatives  and 
connections  are  somewhat  numerous.  The  descendants  of  Benjamin,  his  brother, 
are  scattered  over  the  country.  It  will  be  equally  grateful  to  them  and  honora- 
ble to  our  forefathers,  to  exhibit  a  portion  of  the  record. 

Sept.  13,  1742,  at  a  meeting,  in  the  new  hall,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  moved  by 
the  Hon.  John  Jeffi-ies,  uncle  of  the  late  Dr.  John  Jeffries.  In  this  vote,  it  is 
stated  that,  whereas  Peter  Faneuil  has,  "  at  a  very  great  expense,  erected  a  noble 
structui'c,  far  exceeding  his  first  proposal,  inasmuch  as  it  contains  not  only  a 
large  and  sufficient  accommodation  for  a  market-place,  but  a  spacious  and  most 
beautiful  town-hall  over  it,  and  several  other  convenient  rooms  which  may  prove 
very  beneficial  to  the  town  for  offices  or  otherwise  :  as  the  said  building  being 
now  finished,  he  has  delivered  possession  thereof  to  the  selectmen  for  the  use  of 
the  town  :  it  is  therefore  voted  that  the  town  do,  with  the  utmost  gratitude, 
receive  and  accept  this  most  generous  and  noble  benefaction,  for  the  use  and 


708  PETER  »FANEU1L   AND    THE    CRADLE    OF   LIBERTY. 

intentions  it  is  designed  for ;  and  do  appoint  the  lion.  Thomas  Gushing,  Esquire, 
the  moderator  of  this  meeting,  the  Hon.  Adam  "Wintlu-op,  Edward  Hutchinsdn 
Ezekiel  Lewis,  and  Samuel  Waldo,  Esquires,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Esquire,  the 
selectmen  and  representatives  of  the  town  of  Boston,  the  Hon.  Jacob  Wendell 
James  Bowdoin,  Esq.,  Andrew  Oliver,  Esq.,  Captain  Nathaniel  Cunningham, 
Peter  Chardon,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Charles  Apthorp,  to  wait  upon  Peter  Faneuil,  Esq., 
dnd  in  the  name  of  the  town  to  render  him  their  most  hearty  thanks  for  so  boun- 
tiful a  gift,  with  their  prayers  that  this  and  other  expressions  of  his  bounty  and 
iharity  may  be  abundantly  recompensed  with  the  Divine  blessing." 

In  addition  to  this  vote,  the  citizens  passed  another,  that  the  hall  should  be 
called  Faneuil  Hall,  forever,  and  that  the  portrait  of  Faneuil  should  be  painted 
at  full  length  and  placed  therein.  On  the  14th  of  jNIarch,  1744,  a  vote  was 
passed  "  to  purchase  the  Faneuil  arms,  carved  and  gilt  by  ]\Iose's  Deshon,  to  be 
fixed  in  the  hall." 

Pemberton  says  :  "  Previous  to  the  Revolution,  the  portraits  of  Mr.  Faneuil, 
Gen.  Conway  and  Col.  Barre,  were  procured  by  the  town,  and  hung  up  in  the 
hall.  It  is  supposed  they  were  carried  off  by  the  British."  The  portrait  of 
Faneuil  at  present  in  the  hall  was  painted  by  Henry  Sargent,  from  the  portrait 
presented  to  the  ^Massachusetts  Historical  Society  by  i\liss  Jones,  a  grandchild 
of  Peter's  sister,  Mary  Ann. 

The  original  building  was  but  half  the  width  of  the  present,  and  but  two  stories 
high.  The  hall  could  contain  but  one  thousand  persons.  In  the  memorable  fire 
of  Tuesday,  Jan.  13, 1761,  Faneuil  HaU  was  destroyed,  and  nothing  left  standing 
but  the  walls.  On  the  23d  of  the  following  ]\Iarch,  the  town  voted  to  rebuild, 
and  the  state  authorized  a  lottery  to  meet  the  expense.  There  were  several 
classes.  A  ticket  of  the  seventh  class  lies  before  me,  Ijearing  date  March,  17G7, 
with  the  spacious  autograph  of  John  Hancock  at  the  bottom. 

The  building  retained  its  primitive  proportions  till  1806,  when,  the  occasions 
of  the  public  requiring  its  enlargement,  its  width  was  increased  from  forty  to 
eighty  feet,  and  a  third  story  added.  A  very  simple  rule  may  be  furnished  for 
those  who  would  compare  the  size  of  the  present  building  with  that  of  the  gen- 
uine Peter  Faneuil  Hall.  Take  a  north-east  view  of  the  hall.  There  are  seven 
windows  before  you,  in  each  story.  Run  a  perpendicular  line  from  the  ground 
through  the  centre  of  the  middle  window  to  the  top  of  the  belt,  at  the  bottom  of 
the  third  story ;  carry  a  straight  line  fi'om  that  point  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
second  window,  on  the  right,  in  the  third  story.  That  point  is  the  apex  of  the 
old  pediment.  From  that  point,  draw  the  corresponding  roof  line  down  to  the 
belt  at  the  corner,  and  you  have  a  profile  of  the  ancient  structure,  aU  of  which  is 
well  exhil)ited  by  Dr.  Snow  on  the  plan  in  his  history  of  Boston. 

Small  as  the  original  structui'e  may  appear,  when  compared  with  the  present, 
it  was  a  magnificent  donation  for  the  times.  It  may  well  be  considered  a  munif- 
icent gift,  from  a  single  individual,  in  1742,  when  we  consider  that  its  repairs,  in 
1761,  were  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  the  commonwealth,  and  the  creation  of  a 
lottery  which  continued  to  curse  the  community  for  several  years. 

A  grasshopper  was  not  the  crest  of  Peter  FaneuiFs  arms.  I  formerly  supposed 
it  was  ;  for  a  gilded  grasshopper,  as  half  the  world  knows,  is  the  vane  upon  the 
cupola  of  Faneuil  Hall,  —  and  a  gilded  grasshopper,  as  many  of  us  well  remem- 


PETER   FANEUIL   AND    THE    CRADLE    OF   LIBERTY.  T09 

ber,  whirled  about,  of  yore,  upon  the  little  spire  that  rose  above  the  summer-house 
appurtenant  to  the  mansion  where  Peter  Faneuil  lived  and  died.  That  hou.ie 
was  built  apd  occupied  by  his  uncle  Andrew ;  and  he  had  some  seven  acres  for 
his  garden  thereabouts.  It  was  upon  the  westerly  side  of  old  Treamount-strcet, 
and  became  the  residence  of  the  late  William  Phillips,  whose  political  relations 
to  the  people  of  ^Massachusetts,  as  their  lieutenant-governor,  could  not  preserve 
him  from  the  sobriquet  of  Billi/. 

I  thought  it  not  unlikely  that  Peter's  crest  was  a  grasshopper,  and  that  on 
that  account  he  had  become  partial  to  this  emblem.  But  I  am  duly  certified  that 
it  was  not  so.  The  selection  of  a  grasshopper,  for  a  vane,  was  made  in  imitation 
of  their  example  who  placed  the  very  same  thing  upon  the  pinnacle  of  the  Royal 
Exchange  in  London. 

Peter  Faneuil  was  then  in  all  his  glory.  How  readily,  by  the  power  of  imag 
ination,  I  raise  him  from  the  dead,  bolt  upright,  with  his  over  portly  form,  and 
features  full  of  bonhommie ;  and  speaking  volumes  about  those  five  pipes  of  amber- 
colored  IMadeira,  such  as  his  friend  Delancey  had ;  and  that  laest  book  of  all 
sorts  of  cookery,  of  a  large  character,  for  the  maid's  reading !  There  he  is,  at 
the  door  of  his  English  chariot,  "  handsome,  but  nothing  gaudy,"  with  his  arms 
thereon,  and  his  English  coachman,  and  his  English  horses,  and  that  "  straight 
negro  lad  "  perched  behind.  I  see  him  now,  helping  in  Miss  Mary  Anne,  his 
youngest  maiden  sister ;  and,  as  he  ascends  the  steps,  wrapping  his  cloak  around 
him,  trimmed  with  that  identical  "  scarlet  cloth  of  the  very  best  quality" 

The  vanity  of  man's  anticipations,  the  occasional  suddenness  of  his  summons 
away,  seldom  find  a  more  graphic  illustration  than  in  the  case  of  this  noble 
hearted  and  most  hospitalsle  gentleman.  When  he  received  the  grateful  saluta- 
tions of  the  magnates  of  the  town,  who  came  to  thank  him  for  his  munificence, 
what  could  have  been  so  little  in  his  thoughts,  or  in  theirs,  as  the  idea  that  he 
was  so  soon  to  die  ! 

In  about  five  years  —  five  short,  luxurious  years  —  after  the  death  of  Andrew 
Faneuil,  Peter,  his  favorite  nephew,  was  committed  to  the  ground,  JNIarch  10, 
1742,  Old  Style.  The  event,  fi-om  its  suddenness,  and  from  the  amial^le  and 
benevolent  character  of  the  individual,  produced  a  deep  sensation  in  the  village, 
for  Boston  was  nothing  but  a  seashore  village  then.  In  1728,  some  foiu-tccn 
years  before,  we  learn  from  Douglass,  i.  531,  that  there  were  but  three  thousand 
ratable  polls  on  the  peninsula.  This  event  was  unexpected  by  the  living,  and 
had  been  equally  unexpected  by  the  dead.  Death  came  to  Peter  like  a  thief  in 
the  stilly  night.  He  had  not  looked  for  this  imwelcome  visiter.  He  had  made 
no  will.  By  this  event,  Benjamin  was  restored  to  his  birthright,  and  old  Andrew 
is  supposed  to  have  turned  over  indignantly  in  his  coffin. 

The  remains  of  this  noble-spirited  descendant  of  the  Huguenots  of  Rocliclle 
were  deposited  in  the  Faneuil  tomb,  in  the  westerly  corner  of  the  Granary 
Ground.  This  tomb  is  of  dark  freestone,  with  a  freestone  slab.  Upon  the  east- 
erly end  of  the  tomb  there  is  a  tablet  of  slate,  upon  which  are  sculptured,  with 
manifest  care  and  skill,  the  family  arms  ;  while  upon  the  freestone  slab  are 
inscribed,  at  the  top,  M.  M.,  —  memento  mori,  of  course  ;  and,  at  the  bottom  of 
the  slab,  —  a  cruel  apology  for  the  old  Huguenot  patronymic, —  "  Peter  Funel. 
1742,"  and  nothing  more. 

GO 


710  PETER   PAXEUIL   AND    THE    CRADLE    OF    LIBERTY. 

The  explanation  ■which  arises  in  my  mind,  of  this  striking  inconsistency,  is 
this  :  I  believe  this  tomb,  -whose  aspect  is  simple,  solid  and  antique,  to  have 
been  built  by  Andrew  Fancuil,  -who  was  a  wealthy  merchant  here  as  early  as 
1709  ;  and  I  think  it  quite  certain  that  the  lady  whom  he  married  in  Holland, 
and  whose  beauty  is  traditional  among  her  descendants,  made  the  great  exchange 
—  beauty  for  ashes  —  in  this  very  sepulchre .  In  this  tomb  Andrew  was  buried 
by  Peter,  Feb.  20,  1737,  and  Peter  by  his  brother  Benjamin,  March  10,  1742, 
Old  Style ;  and  here  Benjamin  himself  was  laid,  after  an  interval  of  two-and- 
forty  years,  where  there  is  neither  work,  nor  device,  nor  will,  nor  codicil. 

The  arms  of  Peter  Faneuil,  —  I  have  them  before  me  at  this  moment  on  his 
massive  silver  pepper-pot,  —  he  found  a  place  for  them  on  many  of  his  posses- 
sions, though  I  cannot  say  if  on  aU  the  articles  which  came  into  the  possession 
of  Gillam  Phillips,  —  were  afield  argent  —  no  chevron  —  a  large  heart,  truly  a 
suitable  emblem,  in  the  centre,  gules  —  seven  stars  equidistant  from  each  other, 
and  from  the  margin  of  the  escutcheon,  extending  from  the  sinister  chief  to  the 
dexter  lia.oe  —  in  the  smistcr  base  across  moulin,  within  an  annulet  —  no  scroll  — 
no  supporters. 

The  arms  upon  the  tomb,  though  generally  like  these,  and  like  the  arms  on 
other  articles  once  Peter's  and  still  extant,  differ  in  some  important  particulars, 
and  seem  to  have  been  quartered  with  those  of  another  family,  as  the  arms  of 
Andrew,  being  a  collateral,  might  have  been.  A  helmet,  beneath  the  martlet, 
especially,  is  wholly  different  from  Peter's  crest.  Such,  precisely,  are  the  arms 
on  the  seal  of  wax  upon  Andi-ew"s  will,  in  the  Registry.  Hence  I  infer  that 
Uncle  Andrew  built  this  ancient  sepulchre.  Arms,  in  days  of  old,  and  still, 
where  a  titled  nobility  exists,  are  deemed,  for  the  popular  eye,  sufficient  evidence 
of  ownership,  without  a  name.  So  thought  Uncle  Andrew,  and  he  left  the  free- 
stone tablet  without  any  inscription. 

Some  five  years  after  the  testator's  burial,  the  tomb  was  again  opened,  to  let 
.in  the  residuary  legatee.  Peter's  was  a  grand  funeral.  The  Evening  Post  of 
]\Iarch  3,  1742-3,  foretold  that  it  would  be  such  ;  but  the  pa]^)ers,  which  doubt- 
less gave  an  account  of  it,  are  lost.  The  files  are  imperfect  of  all  those  primitive 
journals.  At  first,  and  for  years,  the  resting-place  of  Peter's  remains  was  well 
enough  known.  But  the  rust  of  time  began  to  gather  upon  men's  memories. 
The  Faneuil  arms  ere  long  became  unintelligible  to  such  as  strolled  among  the 
tombs.  That  ^'handsome  chariot,  but  nothing  gaudy,''''  with  Peter's  armorial 
bearings  upon  its  panels,  no  longer  rolled  along  Treamount  and  Queen  streets, 
and  Cornhill,  and  drew  up,  of  a  Sabbath  morning,  before  Trinity  Church,  that 
Brother  Peter  and  the  ladies  might  sit  upon  their  cushions,  in  No.  40,  while 
Brother  Addiugton  Davenport  gave  them  a  sermon  upon  the  apostolical  succession 
The  good  people  had,  therefore,  forgotten  all  about  the  Faneuil  arms,  and  before 
a  great  many  years  had  rolled  away  the  inquiry  naturally  arose,  in  popular  phra- 
seology, "  Whereabouts  teas  it  that  Peter  Faneuil  was  buried?  " 

Some  worthy  old  citizen,  —  God  bless  him  !  —  who  knew  rather  more  of  this 
matter  than  his  neighbors,  and  was  weU  aware  that  the  arms  would  be  but  a 
dead  letter  to  posterity,  resolved  to  serve  the  public,  and  remedy  the  defect.  Up 
he  goes  into  the  Granary  Ground,  in  the  very  spirit  of  Old  ^Mortality,  and,  with 
all  his  orthography  in  his  ear,  inscribes  P.  Fcxel  upon  the  tablet ! 

A  Sexton  or  the  Old  Schooi/. 


DANIEL   WEBSTER.  711 


DANIEL   WEBSTER   AND    HIS   WORKS. 

There  is  probably  n9  name,  since  those  of  Washington  and  Franklin,  more 
inefiliceablj  intcrwrought  into  the  history  of  our  country  than  that  of  Daniel 

Webster.     However  men  may  differ  from  him  on  particular  questions, on 

tariffs  or  currency,  on  banks  or  revenues,  —  all  men  agree  that  no  one  has  lifted 
the  reputation  of  the  country  so  high  for  gi-eat  thoughts  and  classic  eloquence. 
He  has  brought  to  the  service  of  the  country  the  most  stupendous  intellect  it  has 
ever  produced.  And  when  the  time  comes  —  which  we  hope  may  yet  be  distant 
—  for  the  termination  of  his  earthly  career,  we  believe  it  will  be  granted  by  foes, 
as  well  as  claimed  by  friends,  tliat  the  very  strongest  and  greatest  man  of  the 
age  will  have  departed  from  the  world.  His  name  will  be  a  tower  of  strength,  to 
which  every  American  will  point  with  a  just  pride,  in  argument  for  American 
intellect.  When  political  animosity  shall  have  died  away,  and  rust  gathered  on 
the  sword  of  party  vindictiveness,  we  believe  that  all  Americans,  north  and 
south,  east  and  west,  young  and  old,  Whigs  and  Democrats,  or  of  whatever  faith 
or  creed,  will  agree  in  installing  Webster  in  the  very  highest  intellectual  seat  in 
America. 

For  real  mental  muscle,  we  think  Mr.  Webster  must  be  regarded  as  the  great- 
est living  man.  Many  may  transcend  him  in  particular  departments  ;  none,  we 
think,  can  equal  him  in  all.  Humboldt  may  grasp  a  more  minute  and  extensive 
geographical  or  scientific  knowledge  ;  Wellington,  or  Scott,  excel  huu  in  mili- 
tary skill ;  Kossuth,  in  versatility ;  Clay,  in  impassioned  and  spontaneous  dec- 
lamation ;  and  Calhoun,  when  living,  may  have  wielded  a  keener  metaphysical 
scimetar.  And  so,  perhaps,  we  might  run  through  the  catalogue  of  the  most 
illustrious  men  of  the  age  ;  but  in  a  scale  of  mental  measurement,  where  the 
intellect  stands  up  in  full,  perfect,  proportioned  and  developed  stature,  Webster 
towers  above  any  other  man  who  now  treads  the  globe. 

It  has  been  the  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Webster,  more  than  of  most  statesmen,  to 
record  the  evidence  of  his  transcendent  powers.  His  speeches,  in  their  pon- 
derous massiveness,  are  of  the  classics  of  the  language.  As  such,  they  will  ever 
remain.  They  are  as  durable  as  the  constitution,  as  the  country,  as  the  lan- 
guage.    They  are  immortal. 

In  hearing  Webster,  we  are  impressed  ■\^■ith  the  conviction  that  ho  is  not 
aroused  to  the  fulness  of  his  power.  There  seems  always  behind  unmcasm-od 
capability.  The  plummet  never  touches  the  depths  of  his  mind.  They  aro 
beyond  soundings.  In  his  mightiest  efforts,  the  hearer  feels  that  if  the  occasion 
were  however  greater,  there  is  a  latent  capacity  in  the  orator  to  meet  it ;  that, 
if  need  should  be,  he  could  rise  still  higher,  and  pour  out  his  resistless  argument 
in  compacted  sentences  of  yet  greater  power.  The  colossal  grandeiu:  and 
supremacy  of  the  great  harmonious  mind  of  Webster  are  bodied  forth  in  a  head 
of  unequalled  fulness  and  preponderance.  It  is  a  battery  of  thought,  the  symmetry 
of  who.'?e  external  proportions  makes  it  a  model  of  the  finest  and  most  intellectual 
of  the  Caucasian  race.  Thorwaldsen,  tlie  Swedish  sculptor,  after  passing  in 
review  the  heads  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  Europe,  and  the  long  list  of 


712  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

antiques,  as  he  approached  the  marble  semljlance  of  Weljster,  instinctively  bend- 
ing before  it,  pronounced  it  the  grandest  specimen  he  had  ever  seen.  Nature 
has  inscribed  greatness  upon  him  in  her  most  imposing  characters.  His  erect 
and  linnvny  form,  his  clarion  voice,  his  large  and  lustrous  eyes,  and  massive, 
overhanging  brain,  proclaim  him  one  on  whom 

"  Every  God  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man." 

It  is  extraordinary  that  Webster  shoxild  have  maintained  his  health  and  ability 
to  think,  speak  and  work,  amidst  such  protracted  and  gigantic  labors.  Seventy- 
two  years  weigh  heavily  upon  even  those  of  the  hardiest  of  our  race  who  are 
permitted  to  reach  that  period,  and  whose  labors  may  be  most  favorable  to 
health  and  longevity.  But  when  we  reflect  how  much  j\Ir.  Webster  has  accom- 
plished, —  a  professional  study  and  practice  of  itself  sufficient  to  break  down  a 
sturdy  constitution,  —  six  volumes  of  the  ablest  speeches  that  ever  glanced  fi:om 
human  tongue,  —  a  life  of  oflScial  toil,  as  legislator  and  Secretary  of  State,  —  the 
excitement  of  personal  homage  such  as  has  been  rarely  tendered  to  mortal,  — 
the  vast  concerns  of  his  own  private  business,  and  the  constant  excogitation,  the 
working  of  that  mind,  which  in  its  wear  and  tear,  requires  machinery  of  supe- 
rior texture  and  power,  —  and  we  are  amazed  that  even  his  iron  frame  has  not 
long  since  suiTrendered  to  these  crushing  labors.  Nevertheless,  we  see  him  at 
this  day  with  a  mind  as  unclouded  and  vigorous  as  ever,  delivering  the  most 
splendid  ai-guments  before  courts  and  juries,  —  speeches  and  classical  addresses, 
as  occasions  occur,  —  conducting  a  most  exteasive  private  correspondence ;  and, 
amidst  these  and  other  labors,  carrying  on  the  correspondence  and  business  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  triumphantly  grappling  with  all  the  great  national 
questions  that  arise.  —  New  York  Times. 

The  recently  published  Works  of  Daniel  Webster,  edited  by  Hon.  Edward 
Everett,  are  an  imperishable  memorial  of  his  powerful  mind  ;  and  the  beautiful 
dedications  pi'efixed  to  each  volume  evince  the  strength  of  his  domestic  and  social 
affections.  The  first  is  dedicated  to  his  nieces,  Mrs.  Alice  Bridge  Whipple  and  Mrs. 
Mary  Ann  Sanborn,  the  daughters  of  Ezekiel  Webster,  the  brother  of  Daniel ;  and 
this  not  only  for  the  love  ]Mr.  "Welister  bears  for  them,  but  from  the  desire,  as  he 
expresses  it,  that  his  brother's  name  might  be  associated  with  his  own  so  long 
as  anything  written  or  spoken  by  him  should  be  regarded  or  read ;  the  second  is 
dedicated  to  Isaac  P.  Davis,  Esq.,  as  "an  affectionate  and  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment" of  warm  private  friendship  ;  the  third,  to  Caroline  Le  Roy  Webster,  his 
wife,  as  a  tribute  of  his  affections,  and  some  acknowledgment  of  her  deep  interest  in 
the  productions  they  contain  ;  the  fourth,  to  Fletcher  Webster,  his  son,  "  his  only 
surviving  child,  and  the  object  of  his  affections  and  hopes  ;  "  the  fifth,  to  J.  W. 
Paige,  Esq.,  as  a  grateful  token  of  long  friendship.  The  last  we  copy  entire,  to 
show  the  felicitous  manner  of  these  dedications  : 

DEDICATION   OF   THE   SIXTH  TOLniE. 

With  the  warmest  paternal  affection,  mingled  with  deeply  afflicted  feelings,  I  dedicate  this,  the  last 
volume  of  my  Works,  to  the  memory  of  my  deceased  children, 

Julia  Webster  Appleton, 

beloved  in  all  the  relations  of  Daughter,  AVife,  Mother,  Sister,  and  Friend  ;  and 

Major  Eilward  Webster, 

who  died  in  Mexico,  in  the  miUtary  service  of  the  United  States,  wifh  unblemished  honor  and  reputation, 

and  who  entered  that  service  solely  from  a  desu-e  to  be  useful  to  his  country,  and  do  honor  to  the  State 

in  which  he  was  born. 

"  Go,  gentle  Spirits,  to  your  destined  rest : 
While  I,  reversed  our  Nature's  kindlier  doom, 
Pour  forth  a  Father's  sorrow  on  your  tomb."  ^^ 

Daxiei.  Webster. 


MR.    PALFREY  IN   CONGRESS.  713 


MR.   PALFREY   IN   CONGRESS. 

As  ia  the  articles  on  Mr.  Palfrey  and  Mr.  Winthrop  allusions  are  made  to 
their  political  career,  we  extract  from  the  autobiography  of  Mr.  Palfrey  the  fol- 
lowing passages,  as  an  act  of  justice,  and  leave  the  public  to  judge  the  merits  iu 
the  case : 

"  Complaint  was  made  that,  before  giving  my  vote,  I  inquired  of  Mv.  Win- 
throp how  he  intended  to  constitute  the  committees  with  reference  to  the  ques- 
tions of  slavery  and  war.  It  was  represented  as  inconsistent  and  indecorous  in 
me  to  take  that  step,  inasmuch  as,  when  called  upon  by  the  Liberty  party,  while 
a  candidate  for  election  as  representative,  to  give  pledges  respecting  my  future 
action,  I  had  declined  to  do  so. 

"  I  cannot  admit  that  there  is  any  ground  for  such  a  censure,  in  either  of  ita 
phases.  When  questions  had  been  addressed  to  me,  I  had  never  dreamed  of  treating 
or  of  regarding  that  course  as  affi-ontive,  or  otherwise  than  as  entirely  respectful, 
on  the  part  of  the  questioner.  Any  gentleman  —  such  was  and  is  my  view  —  may 
properly  ask  questions,  and  any  one,  on  his  responsibility,  may  answer  them,  or 
decline  to  answer.  As  to  which  of  these  courses  is  preferable,  different  persons 
think  difierently,  and  the  same  persons  think  differently  in  respect  to  different 
occasions.  Tlie  latter  course  had  been  adopted  by  me  in  respect  to  a  communica- 
tion from  a  committee  of  the  Liberty  party  ;  it  was  perfectly  right  that  it  should 
be  adopted  by  Mr.  Winthrop,  if  he  saw  fit ;  —  by  both  of  us,  of  com-se,  under  the 
same  condition  ;  namely,  that  our  refusal  l^ecame  a  fact  to  be  taken  into  account 
by  the  questioner  in  determining  his  own  further  action.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
have  answered  questions.  When  the  committee  of  the  Liberty  party  asked  me 
whether  I  should  refuse  to  vote  for  a  slaveholder  for  any  office,  I  told  them  that 
I  should  not  so  refuse.  I  might  add,  though  I  do  not  care  to  lay  any  stress  upon 
it,  that  the  series  of  measures  referred  to  in  the  questions  addressed  to  me  by  the 
Liberty  party  was  such,  that,  whenever  canvassed  in  Congress,  they  would  lead 
to  much  consideration  and  debate,  to  which  the  legislator  should  not  preclude 
himself,  by  previous  engagements,  from  giving  a  fair  attention ;  whereas  my 
questions  to  !Mr.  Winthrop  related  to  an  act  solely  his  own,  to  be  done  within  a 
few  days,  and  of  which  the  outline,  if  not  most  of  the  details,  had  no  doubt  been 
fully  resolved  upon  in  his  own  mind.  lie  knew  just  as  well,  and  as  irrevocably, 
on  the  5th  day  of  December,  the  principles,  policy,  and  plan  on  which  he  should 
constitute  the  committees,  as  he  knew  on  the  13th,  when  the  names  were  read 
from  the  clerk's  desk. 

"  One  of  the  Boston  editors  published  that  it  was  within  his  knowledge  that 
ray  opposition  to  JNIr.  Winthrop  was  arranged  between  me  and  my  friends  Ijefore 
I  left  home.  I  met  him  soon  after  at  Washington,  and  told  him  how  clearly  he 
was  mistaken.  But  what  good  did  that  do  1  He  could  not  have  known  how  I 
should  proceed.  No  human  being  knew.  I  did  not  know  myself.  I  had  not 
spoken  to  any  person  of  any  intention  of  mine  in  respect  to  the  choice  of  speaker, 
nor  had  any  one  given  me  advice,  opinion,  or  (as  far  as  I  remember)  so  much  as 
hint,  upon  the  subject. 

60* 


THE  WILL  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

IN    THE   NA3IE    OF   ALMIGHTY    GOD  ! 

I,  Daniel  Webster,  of  ]\Iarslifield,  in  the  County  of  Plymouth,  and  Commonwealth 

of  Massachusetts,  Esquii-e,  being  now  confined  to  my  house  with  a  serious  illness, 

which,  considering  my  time  of  life,  is  undoubtedly  critical,  but  being,  nevertheless, 

in  the  full  possession  of  all  my  mental  faculties,  do  make  and  publish  this  my  last 

Will  and  Testament. 

I  commit  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  my  heavenly  Father,  trusting  in  his  infinite 
goodness  and  mercy. 

I  direct  that  ray  mortal  remains  be  buried  in  the  family  vaiilt  at  Marshfield,  where 
monuments  are  already  erected  to  my  deceased  children  and  their  mother.  Two 
places  are  marked  for  other  monuments,  of  exactly  the  same  size  and  form.  One  of 
these,  in  proper  time,  is  to  be  for  me  ;  and  perhaps  I  may  leave  an  epitaph.  The 
other  is  for  Mrs.  Webster.  Her  ancestors  and  all  her  kindred  lie  in  a  far-distant  city. 
My  hope  is,  that  after  many  years  she  may  come  to  my  side,  and  join  me  and  others 
whom  God  hath  given  me. 

I  wish  to  be  buried  without  the  least  show  or  ostentation  ;  but  in  a  manner  respect- 
ful to  my  neighbors,  whose  kindness  has  contributed  so  much  to  the  hajDpiness  of  me 
and  mine,  and  for  whose  prosperity  I  offer  sincere  prayers  to  God. 

Concerning  my  worldly  estate,  my  AVill  must  be  anomalous  and  out  of  the  common 
form,  on  account  of  the  state  of  my  affairs.  I  have  two  large  real  estates.  By  mar- 
riage settlement,  Mrs.  Webster  is  entitled  to  a  life  estate  in  each  ;  and  after  her  death, 
they  belong  to  my  heirs.  On  the  Franklin  estate,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  no  incum- 
brance except  Mrs.  Webster's  life  estate.  On  Mai-shfield,  Mr.  Samuel  Frothingham 
has  an  unpaid  balance  of  a  mortgage,  now  amounting  to  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 
My  great  and  leading  wish  is  to  preserve  Marshfield,  if  I  can,  in  the  blood  and  name 
of  my  family.  '  To  this  end,  it  must  go  in  the  first  place  to  my  son,  Fletcher  Webster, 
who  is  hereafter  to  be  the  immediate  prop  of  my  house,  and  the  general  representa- 
tive of  my  name  and  character.  I  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  his  affection  and 
good  sense,  and  that  he  will  heartily  concur  in  anything  that  appears  to  be  for  the 
best. 

I  do  not  see,  under  present  circumstances  of  him  and  his  fiimily,  how  I  can  now 
make  a  definite  provision  fur  the  future,  beyond  his  life.  I  propose,  therefore,  to  put 
the  property  into  the  hands  of  Trustees,  to  be  disposed  of  by  them  as  exigences  may 
require. 

My  affectionate  wife,  who  has  been  to  me  a  source  of  so  much  happiness,  must  be 
tenderly  provided  for.  Care  must  be  taken  that  she  has  some  reasonable  income.  I 
make  this  Will  upon  the  faith  of  what  has  been  said  to  me  by  friends  of  means  which 
will  be  found  to  carry  out  my  reasonable  wishes.  It  is  best  that  Mi'S.  Webster's  life- 
interest  in  the  two  estates  be  purchased  out.  It  must  be  seen  what  can  be  done  with 
friends  at  Boston,  and  especially  with  the  contributors  to  my  life  annuity.  My  son- 
in-law,  Mr.  Appleton,  has  most  generously  requested  me  to  pay  little  regard  to  his 
interests  or  to  those  of  his  children  ;  but  I  must  do  something,  and  enough  to  mani- 
fest my  warm  love  and  attachment  to  him  and  them.  The  property  best  to  be  spared 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  out  Mrs.  Webster's  life-interest  under  the  marriage  settle- 
ment is  Franklin,  which  is  very  valuable  property,  and  which  may  be  sold,  under 
prudent  management,  or  mortgaged,  for  a  considerable  sum. 


THE  WILL   OF   DANIEL   WEBSTER.  715 

I  have  also  a  quantity  of  land  in  Illinois,  at  Peru,  which  ought  to  be  immediately 
seen  after.  Mr.  Edward  Curtis,  and  Mr.  Blatchford,  and  Mr.  franklin  Haven,  know 
all  about  my  large  debts,  and  they  have  undertaken  to  see  at  once  whether  those  can 
be  provided  for,  so  that  these  purposes  may  probably  be  carried  into  effect. 

With  these  explanations,  I  now  make  the  following  provisions,  namely  : 

Item.  —  I  appoint  my  wife,  Caroline  Le  Roy  Webster,  my  son,  Fletcher  Webster,  and 
R.  M.  Blatchford,  Esquire,  of  New  York,  to  be  the  Executors  of  this  Will.  I  wish  my 
said  Executors,  and  also  the  Trustees  hereinafter  named,  in  all  things  relating  to 
finance  and  pecuniary  matters,  to  consult  with  my  valued  friend,  Franklin  Haven  ; 
and  in  all  things  respecting  Marshfield,  with  Charles  Henry  Thomas,  always  an  inti- 
mate friend,  and  one  whom  I  love  for  his  own  sake  and  that  of  his  flxmily  ;  and  in 
all  things  respecting  Franklin,  with  that  true  man,  John  Taylor  ;  and  I  wish  them  to 
consult,  in  all  matters  of  law,  with  my  brethren  and  highly-esteemed  friends,  Charles 
P.  Curtis  and  George  T.  Curtis. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  devise  to  James  W.  Paige  and  Fi-anklin  Haven,  of  Boston,  and 
Edward  Curtis,  of  New  York,  all  my  real  estate  in  the  towns  of  Marshfield  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  and  Franklin,  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  being  the  two 
estates  above-mentioned,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  them  and  their  heirs  and 
assigns,  forever,  upon  the  following  Trusts,  namely  : 

First.  —  To  mortgage,  sell  or  lease,  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay  to 
my  wife,  Caroline  Le  Roy  Webster,  the  estimated  value  of  her  life  interest,  heretofore 
secured  to  her  thereon  by  marriage  settlement,  as  is  above  recited,  if  she  shall  elect 
to  receive  that  valuation  in  place  of  the  security  with  which  those  estates  now  stand 
charged. 

Secondly.  — To  pay  to  my  said  wife,  from  the  rents  and  profits  and  income  of  the 
said  two  estates,  the  further  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum  during  her 
natural  life. 

Thirdly.  — To  hold,  manage  and  carry  on  the  said  two  estates,  or  so  much  thereof 
as  may  not  be  sold  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  for  the  use  of  my  son,  Fletcher  Web- 
ster, during  his  natural  life  ;  and  after  his  decease,  to  convey  the  same  in  fee  to  such 
of  his  male  descendants  as  a  majority  of  the  said  Trustees  may  elect,  they  acting 
therein  with  my  son's  concurrence,  if  circumstances  admit  of  his  expressing  his 
wishes,  otherwise  acting  upon  their  own  discretion  ;  it  being  my  desire  that  his  son 
Ashburton  AVebster  take  one,  and  his  son  Daniel  Webster,  Jr.,  the  other,  of  the  said 
estates. 

Item.  —  I  direct  that  my  wife,  Caroline  Le  Roy  Webster,  have,  and  I  hereby  give  to 
her,  the  right  during  her  life  to  reside  in  my  mansion-house  at  Marshfield,  when  she 
wishes  to  do  so,  with  my  son,  in  case  he  may  reside  there,  or  in  his  absence  ;  and  this 
I  do,  not  doubting  my  son's  affection  for  her  or  for  me,  but  because  it  is  due  to  her 
that  she  should  receive  this  right  from  her  husband. 

Item. — I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  said  James  AV.  Paige,  Franklin  Haven  and 
Edward  Curtis,  all  tlie  books,  plate,  jjictures,  statuary  and  furniture,  and  other  per- 
sonal property,  now  in  my  mansion-house  at  Marshfield,  except  such  articles  as  are 
hereinafter  otherwise  disposed  of,  in  trust  to  preserve  the  same  in  the  mansion-houso 
for  the  use  of  my  son  Fletcher  AVebster  during  his  life,  and  after  his  decease  to  make 
over  and  deliver  tlfe  same  to  the  person  who  will  then  become  "  the  owner  of  the 
estate  of  Marshfield  ;  "  it  being  my  desire  and  intention  that  they  remain  attached  to 
the  house  while  it  is  occupied  by  any  of  my  name  and  blood. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  said  wife  all  my  furniture  which  she  In-ought 


716  THE   WILL   OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

with  liei"  on  her  marriage,  and  the  silver  plate  purchased  of  ^Ir.  Rush,  for  her 
CTvn  use. 

Item.  —  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath,  to  my  said  Executors  all  my  other  real  and 
personal  estate,  except  such  as  is  hereinafter  described  and  otherwise  disposed  of,  to  be 
applied  to  the  execution  of  the  general  purposes  of  this  Will,  and  to  be  sold  and  disposed 
of,  or  held  and  used,  at  Marshfield,  as  they  and  the  said  Trustees  may  find  to  be  expe- 
dient. 

Item.  —  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son,  Fletcher  Webster,  all  my  law-books,  Tvhere- 
ever  situated,  for  his  own  use. 

Item.  — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son-in-law,  Samuel  A.  Appleton,  my  California 
watcTi  and  chain,  for  his  own  use. 

Item.  — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grand-daughter,  Caroline  Le  Roy  Appleton,  the 
portrait  of  myself  by  Healey,  which  now  hangs  in  the  south-east  parlor  at  Marsh- 
field,  for  her  own  use. 

Item.  — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  gi-andson,  Samuel  A.  Appleton,  my  gold  snuff- 
box with  the  head  of  General  Washington,  all  my  fishing-tackle,  and  my  Selden  and 
Wilraot  guns,  for  his  own  use. 

Item.  — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grandson,  Daniel  Webster  Appleton,  my  Wash- 
ington medals,  for  his  own  use. 

Item. — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grand-daughter,  Julia  Webster  Appleton,  the 
clock  presented  to  her  grandmother  by  the  late  Hon.  George  Blake. 

Item.  —  I  appoint  Edward  Everett,  George  Ticknor,  Cornelius  Conway  Felton  and 
George  Ticknor  Curtis,  to  be  my  literary  executors  ;  and  I  direct  my  son,  Fletcher  Web- 
ster, to  seal  up  all  my  letters,  manuscripts  and  papers,  and  at  a  proper  time  to  select 
those  relating  to  my  personal  history,  and  my  professional  and  public  life,  which  in  his 
judgment  should  be  placed  at  their  disposal,  and  to  transfer  the  same  to  them,  to  be 
xised  by  them  in  such  manner  as  they  may  think  fit.  They  may  receive  valuable  aid 
from  my  friend  Geoi'ge  J.  Abbott,  Esq.,  now  of  the  State  Department. 

Item.  —  Mj  servant  William  Johnson  is  a  free  man.  I  bought  his  freedom  not 
long  ago  for  six  hundred  dollars.  No  demand  is  to  be  made  upon  him  for  any  portion 
of  this  sum,  but  so  long  as  is  agreeable  I  hope  he  will  remain  with  the  family. 

Item.  —  Morricha  McCarty,  Sarah  Smith  and  Ann  Bean,  colored  persons,  now  also 
and  for  a  long  time  in  my  service,  are  all  free..  They  are  very  well-deserving,  and 
whoever  comes  after  me  must  be  kind  to  them. 

Item.  —  I  request  that  my  said  Executors  and  Trustees  be  not  required  to  give 
bonds  for  the  performance  of  their  respective  duties  under  this  Will. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  at  Marshfield,  and 
have  published  and  declared  this  to  be  my  last  Will  and  Testament,  on  the  twenty- 
first  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Loi'd  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-two. 

(Signed)  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  (Seal.) 

Signed,  sealed,  published  and  declared,  by  the  said  Testator,  as  and  for  his  last 
Will  and  Testament,  in  the  presence  of  us,  who,  at  his  request,  and  in  his  presence, 
and  in  the  presence  of  each  other,  have  set  our  names  hereto  as  subscribing  witnesses, 
the  word  "  our  "  being  erased  in  the  third  line  from  the  bottom  of  the  fifth  page, 
before  signing. 

(Signed) 

George  J.  Abbott, 
John  Jeffbies, 
Chables  H.  Thomas. 


MAYOR  CHAPMAN'S  WELCOME  TO  LORD  ASHBURTON, 

AT  FANEUIL  HALL,  AUGUST  27,   1842, 

YouE  Excellency  : 

It  is  my  privilege,  sir,  on  this  occasion,  in  common  with  my  associates  in  the  city 
government,  to  represent  the  city  of  Boston,  and  in  its  behalf  to  speak  the  warm  and 
hearty  welcome  with  which  you  are  greeted  here. 

We  welcome  you,  sir,  as  the  representative  of  your  country  ;  and  not  yours  only, 
but  in  a  near  sense  our  own  ;  —  for,  so  long  as  there  is  a  tie  to  link  a  child  to  its 
parent,  America  will  not  forget  that  England  is  her  mother.  We  partake  in  the 
honorable  pride  which  must  thrill  your  bosom  at  the  recollection  of  her  glorious  his- 
tory ;  and,  though  the  past  is  common  to  us,  we  would  yet  pay,  through  you,  a  trib- 
ute of  respect  to  the  illustrious  queen  on  whose  friendly  errand  you  have  come.  Lon" 
may  she  live  to  preside,  like  a  ^jeaceful  star,  over  the  friendly  alliance  which  now 
unites  our  two  countries. 

We  welcome  you,  therefore,  in  an  espiecial  manner,  on  this  occasion,  as  the  friend 
of  peace.  We  acknowledge,  M'ith  great  joy,  that  through  your  instrumentality,  in  no 
small  degree,  the  clouds  of  discord  which  lowered  over  two  great  nations  have  been 
happily  dispersed,  and  that  they  who  boast  a  common  lineage  and  speak  a  common 
language  shall  henceforth  know  no  rivalry  but  that  of  friends. 

We  rejoice  at  this,  sir,  for  the  great  benefits  which  both  nations  must  receive.  But 
we  glory  in  it  most  for  the  principle  which  has  been  established,  and  for  the  noble 
example  which  it  exhibits  to  the  world.  It  shows  that  nations  do  not  stoop,  when  they 
submit  their  differences  to  reason  instead  of  passion.  Yes,  sh-,  you  have  helped  to 
teach  the  glorious  lesson  that  there  are  other  and  better  guardians  of  a  nation's  honor 
than  the  sword  ;  and  that,  in  the  sight  of  man  as  well  as  God,  there  is  a  loftier  dig- 
nity in  a  noble,  magnanimous  and  Christian  spirit,  than  in  the  proudest  array  of 
hostile  armies  or  navies. 

And  we  welcome  you  personally,  sir.  We  delight  to  know  that  your  distinguished 
rank  is  the  just  reward  of  a  long  life  of  activity,  intelligence,  and  virtue.  And  we 
pray  that  tliat  old  age  nii'.y  be  serene  and  happy  which  has  sprung  with  the  alacrity 
of  youth  at  the  call  of  its  country  and  in  the  cause  of  humanity. 

We  otfer  to  you,  sir,  the  hospitalities  of  our  city.  We  have  not  the  custom  of  ten- 
dering what  is  called  the  freedom  of  the  city,  in  a  golden  box  ;  but  we  proffer  you 
that  which,  if  I  understand  aright,  you  will  prize  far  higher.  In  republican  simplic- 
ity, we  tender  you  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  a  free  people. 

With  these  feelings,  sir,  permit  me  to  present  to  you  the  citizens  of  Boston.  And, 
fellow-citizens,  permit  me,  in  turn,  to  introduce  to  you  the  Right  Honorable  Lord 
Ashburton,  the  representative  of  England,  the  friend  of  peace,  the  man  ennobled 
indeed  by  title,  but  far  more  ennobled  as  a  benefactor  of  nations. 


EOLLS   OF  THE  BOSTON  EOYS, 

DRILLED   AT  FANEUIL  HALL,  FOR  MARCIirXG   IN   THE   PROCESSIONS  OF   THE  WASH- 
INGTON BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY,  APRIL  30,  1813  AND  1814. 


The  youths  at  these  annual  celebrations  appeared  in  blue  and  white  uniform,  decorated 
with  wreaths  and  garlands,  marching  five  deep,  each  bearing,  on  his  breast,  Washington's 
Legacy.  In  the  centre  of  this  division  of  the  procession  was  the  Standard  of  the  Rising 
Generation,  painted  by  Col.  Henry  Sargent;  as,  also,  were  the  banners,  from  which  was 
suspended  the  gorget  of  Washington,  presented  to  the  society  April  30,  1813,  by  Mrs. 
Martha  Peters  (late  Custis),  of  Georgetown,  D.  C,  through  the  medium  of  Hon.  Josiah 
Quincy,  and  which  was  worn  by  AVashington  at  Braddock's  defeat.  The  standard  was  borne 
by  Master  Albert  F.  Hall,  supported  by  two  aids  —  Masters  Francis  Jenks  and  Ignatius  Sar- 
gent, Jr.  In  1812,  when  the  society  was  organized,  there  were  one  hundred  and  twelve  boys 
drilled  by  Col.  Henry  Sargent.  In  the  next  two  years  they  were  di-illed  by  Lemuel  Blake, 
Esq.,  the  bookseller.    A  portion  only  of  these  youths  paraded  more  than  once. 


Amory  Jonathan. 
Andrews  Henry. 
Andrews  James  T. 
Andrews  John  A.  G 
Andrews  James  W. 
Allen  Samuel. 
Abbot  George  W. 
Adams  George  W. 
Allen  John  H. 
Amory  John.  ■ 
Austin  Israel  R. 
Ash  ton  John. 
Amory  Samuel  Linzee. 
Augustine  Ebenezer  M. 
Augustine  Joel. 
Bradlee  Fletcher. 
Bass  Henry. 
Bass  John  B. 
Blancbard  James 
Barrett  George. 
Bond  Joseph. 
Bullard  Calvin. 
Bullard  James. 
Baldwin  Henry. 
Bridge  Frederick  William. 
Bridge  Alfred  H. 
Baxter  Edwin. 
Bradford  Thomas  G. 
Belcher  Edward. 
Brewer  Stephen. 
Bowers  Charles. 
Boyle  James. 
Bowes  John  R. 
Bayley  James. 
Bedford  Samuel. 
Bulfineh  George  S. 
Brewer  William  Charles. 
Blagge  Charles. 
Blake  Edward. 


Blake  Samuel  P. 
Bates  Elihu. 
Brewer  Thomas. 
Barrett  Francis. 
Brown  William. 
Barrett  Charles  M. 
Blake  James. 
Brewer  Charles. 
Booth  John  G. 
Burr  Aaron. 
Barry  Charles. 
Bradlee  Samuel  G. 
Baxter  George  A. 
Baxter  Edvrin. 
Barrett  George. 
Blake  Francis  S. 
Baker  Theodore. 
Baker  Samuel. 
Baldwin  Henry. 
Bond  Joshua. 
Bellowes  John  N. 
Bradlee  P.  Fletcher. 
Brazer  William. 
Bowers  John  R. 
Bullard  Otis. 
Bedford  AVilliam. 
Barrett  Charles. 
Bayley  John. 
Barnard  John. 
Brewer  John  E. 
Bazin  Charles. 
Bell  Samuel. 
Barrus  Lorenzo  M. 
Blake  Joseph. 
Barnes  Henry. 
Bumstead  Samuel  A. 
Bickner  Alexander. 
Benjamin  Charles  E. 
Buibeck  Henry. 


Blagge  Samuel. 
Boott  AVilliam. 
Carter  AVUliam  P. 
Callender  Samuel  N. 
Callender  Edward. 
Coolidge  Thomas  B. 
Colburn  James. 
Clark  John. 
Cunningham  James. 
Curtis  Daniel. 
Curtis  Samuel. 
Chapman  Henry  G. 
Cutler  Benjamin. 
Cruft  John  F. 
Church  John  H. 
Crocker  Isaac. 
Cowden  AVarren. 
Chadwick  William  S. 
Corlew  Elijah  J.  S. 
Church  Edward. 
Cordwell  Robert. 
Curtis  Henry. 
Clark  Nathaniel. 
Coolidge  Samuel. 
Clap  Bradish  R. 
Clap  Osborn. 
Chase  George. 
Chase  William  H 
Cody  Thomas 
Coolidge  Charles. 
Colburn  James  B 
Cooke  John  C. 
Cooke  James. 
Cooke  Charles. 
Cordwell  Robert. 
Coolidge  James. 
Coffin  Joshua  M. 
Coffin  John  P. 
Carter  Joseph  0. 
Cotton  Edward. 


ROLLS   OF  THE   BOSTON   BOYS. 


719 


Carter  Henry. 
Crocker  Isaac. 
Davenport  John. 
Dupee  Isaac. 
Dennie  George. 
Dunn  James  C. 
Dall  Joseph. 
Davis  Henry  A. 
Davis  Edward  Q. 
Duggins  William. 
Davis  Amasa. 
Davis  William  James. 
Duncan  John. 
Deuch  Lawson  B. 
Dawes  Rufus. 
Dawes  George. 
Dean  Thomas. 
Ellis  Grenville. 
Erving  James. 
Ellis  George. 
Everett  Enoch. 
Eaton  Joseph  B.  D. 
Ellis  Samuel. 
Eaton  John  A. 
Etheridge  John. 
Eliot  Frederick  William. 
Eaton  Ebenezer.. 
Ellis  Francis. 
Edwards  Richard. 
Ellison  James. 
Furness  Daniel. 
Furness  William  H. 
Farley  Frederick  A. 
Foster  Charles  S. 
Fox  Edward. 
Fox  George. 
Fessenden  John  M. 
Fessenden  Guy. 
FuUock  AVilliam  George. 
Foster  George. 
Farrie  Z. 
Fenley  Frederick. 
Foster  Samuel  H. 
Foster  Charles  W. 
Foster  Archibald. 
Foley  James. 
Farrie  Zephaniah. 
Foster  James  H. 
Foster  Charles  P. 
Foster  Charles  S. 
Francis  Charles  S. 
Fullock  James. 
French  Jonathan. 
Goddard  AVilliam. 
Goddard  Frederick  W. 
Goddard  George  A. 
Greenough  John. 
Goodwin  John  Bray. 
Greene  Francis. 
Greene  Ellis  B. 
Greene  Benjamin  H. 
Geyer  Rodolph  C. 
Greenough  Horatio. 
Greenwood  Alfred. 
Goddard  Thacher. 
Goodrich  Charles. 
Greene  John  R. 


Gilbert  Benjamin  Russell. 
Green  Mathew. 
Gibson  William  P. 
Qeyer  John. 
Goff  Davis. 
Green  John  B. 
Greenwood  Edwin  L. 
Gardner  John  L. 
Gardiner  James. 
Gould  Samuel. 
Gilbert  Samuel. 
Homes  William  B. 
Homes  Barzilla. 
Homes  William. 
Homes  Henry. 
Hunt  Henry. 
Harris  William. 
Hickling  William  A. 
Hickling  Charles. 
Hall  Albert  F. 
How  Stephen  B. 
Hicks  James  C. 
Hicks  William  H. 
Hale  James. 
Hall  JIathew. 
Hicks  Charles. 
Haskins  John. 
Hayward  William  H. 
Hall  Christopher  J. 
Haven  Joseph. 
Homer  William. 
Harrington  William 
He  wins  Joseph  D. 
Holden  Joshua. 
Homer  William  F. 
Hutchins  George. 
Homer  Michael  A.  H. 
Hammond  Samuel. 
Haven  Charles. 
Hale  Thomas  C. 
Hall  Theodore  N. 
Howe  George. 
Harris  John. 
Hale  James. 
Hey  wood  William. 
Hammond  William. 
Holland  George  W. 
Howard  Eleazer. 
Homer  Abraham. 
Hall  Edward. 
Harris  William  S. 
Hancock  John. 
Hancock  Thomas. 
Head  Francis. 
Huggeford  Henry. 
Jackson  Benjamin  C. 
Jenks  John. 
Jenks  Francis. 
Johnson  Daniel  II. 
Jackson  William. 
Jones  Edward. 
Jennison  John. 
Jenniion  George. 
Jones  Thomas. 
Jones  Henry. 
Kilham  William. 
Kreagcr  John. 


Kreager  Charles. 

King  Charles  G. 

Kupfer  Charles  P. 

Levering  Frederick. 

Leverett  Frederick  P. 

Leverett  Charles  E. 

Lamb  John  A. 

Lelaud  Augustus. 

Lewis  William. 

Lewis  Frederick. 

Lienow  William. 

Lamb  William  D. 

Leeds  Henry  jMorris. 

Lyman  Charles. 

Locke  Andrew  A. 

Lovett  Charles  W. 

Locke  Joseph. 

Loring  George. 

Loring  James  Speare. 

Loring  Jonathan  Heard. 

Leeds  W.  S.  H. 

Lewis  Winslow. 

Lewis  Gustavus. 

Lincoln  Abraham. 

Lincoln  William. 

Lacaire  John. 

Leland  Lewis. 

Low  John  F. 

Leland  Francis  L. 

Lincoln  Mitchell. 

Livermore  Edward  St.Loe,  Jr 

McCondry  Emery. 

]McConcb-y  Frederick. 

Messenger  Thomas. 

Manning  William. 

Minns  Constant  Freeman. 

Minns  Thomas. 

Morse  Samuel  T. 

Moulton  George. 

Mackay  Barnard. 

Mutzenbechcr  John. 

Morrill  James. 

Mackay  Robert  C. 

Messenger  Foster. 

Munroe  Daniel. 

Merriam  Nathaniel. 

Alerriam  William. 

Merriam  John. 

Miller  William  H. 

McNeill  Frederick. 

McNeill  Henry. 

Norwood  George. 

Nichols  George. 

Niokerson  Ebenezer. 

Nash  Daniel. 

Nash  Joseph. 

Norton  Charles  E. 

Nickels  Samuel. 

Neill  John. 

McNeill  AVilliam  H 

Neat  George. 

Neat  John. 

Otis  James. 

Oliver  Thomas  H. 

Osborn  George. 

Otis  George  W. 

Ouvre  Francis  N. 


720 


ROLLS   OF  THE   BOSTON  BOYS. 


Phelps  Charles  C. 

Parker  Charles| 

Parker  Richard  G. 

Peii'cc  John. 

Potter  William. 

Prescott  Jonathan  P. 

Payne  Samuel  B. 

Payne  Josiah  C. 

Perry  Charles. 

Park  John  C. 

Pope  Xathaniel  E.. 

Price  Henry. 

Phillips  Isaac. 

Pierce  William. 

Perkins  William  F. 

Pottle  William  B. 

Perkins  Abijah  C. 

Perkins  Pilchard. 

Perkins  William. 

Peh-ce  John  B. 

Payson  John  B. 

Pritchard  William  H. 

Potter  William  T. 

Parker  Charles  A. 

Plumbeek  Henry. 

Parker  John  H. 

Perkins  Abijah. 

Pollock  David. 

Phillips  Samuel, 

Partridge  Henry. 

Parker  Albert. 

Perkins  Samuel. 

Penniman  George. 

Prescott  Edw.  Goldsborough. 

Penniman  Augustus. 

Kedmau  John. 

Russell  James. 

Rupp  Joseph. 

Rich  Benjamin. 

Rich  Samuel  H. 

Russell  John  C. 

Rand  Caleb  H. 

Roulstone  Michael. 

Richardson  Benjamin  P. 

Redman  William. 

Rogers  George. 

Rogers  Thomas. 

Rice  John. 

Russell  Francis. 

Roulstone  John. 

Rupp  Joseph  D. 

Roach  James. 

Rogers  Charles. 


Richardson  Edward  G, 
Richardson  Thomas. 
Reed  Lemuel. 
Russell  Horatio  N. 
Richards  Charles. 
Reed  Michael. 
Russell  Calvin. 
Rogers  Peter  R.  D. 
Rich  Aquila  J. 
Rogers  Henry  B. 
Rynex  A.  R. 
Spear  Josiah. 
Sargent  Ignatius. 
Smith  Thomas. 
Sullivan  James. 
Sturgis  Russell. 
Spooner  John  P. 
Spooner  Charles. 
SnelUng  George  H. 
Swan  Benjamin  F. 
Symmes  William. 
Snelling  Jonathan. 
Smith  Samuel. 
Stimpson  Herbert  H. 
Simonds  Joshua  W. 
Smith  Benjamin. 
Stanwood  William. 
Smith  James. 
Smith  Charles. 
Sullivan  Thomas  R. 
Stimpson  Samuel. 
Stevenson  Thomas. 
Stanwood  David. 
Scolfield  Arthm-. 
Spooner  Francis  J. 
Singleton  John. 
Singleton  Clark. 
Stimpson  Frederick  H. 
Singleton  Charles. 
Stevenson  George. 
Sumner  Xathaniel  C. 
Stanwood  Lemuel. 
Salisbury  Samuel. 
Sargent  George  W. 
Tucker  C.  C.  C. 
Twing  William  E. 
Tilden  William. 
Tileston  Robert. 
Tucker  John. 
Thaxter  Joseph. 
Tupper  Alfred. 
Taylor  John. 


Turner  Edward  A.  H. 
Turner  William, 
Thayer  Thomas. 
Tuttle  Samuel. 
Thomas  Alexander. 
Taylor  Henry. 
Thayer  Richard. 
Tileston  William  M. 
Tilden  George  W. 
Taylor  Robert. 
Thaxter  Levi. 
Whall  WiUiam. 
Wade  Henry. 
W-ood  Samuel  S. 
Wales  Elisha. 
Winchester  Edmund. 
Weld  Charles. 
Wheeler  Benjamin. 
Wendell  Henry. 
Wright  Stephen. 
Watson  Adolphus  Eugene. 
Willett  William. 
White  Henry. 
Winslow  Edward. 
Wells  John  D. 
Welch  Benjamin  R. 
Williams  Orlando. 
WUliams  Francis  H. 
Wigglesworth  Edward. 
Wyman  Oliver  C. 
Winslow  Isaac, 
Waters  John. 
Walter  Lynde  M. 
Willis  Xathaniel  P. 
Withington  George  R.  M 
Wright  Chandler. 
Washburn  James. 
Whiting  Ephraim  W. 
West  Charles. 
Weaver  Edward. 
Whitney  James  H. 
Whitney  William. 
Wheeler  George. 
Weld  Eugene. 
WilUams  John  D.  W, 
Weld  George. 
Winueberger  George,  Jri 
West  Edward. 
Ward  George  W. 
AVhitney  Jonathan, 
Young  George. 
Young  Alexander. 


INDEX    OF    NAMES. 


Abebcbomeie,  James,  161. 
Abbot,  Benjamin,  427. 
Abbott,  George  J.,  71G. 
Abbot,  John  L.,  257,  532. 
Adams,   Abigail,   1,  2,  41,  128, 

612. 
Adams,  Anna,  307. 
Adam.^  Abijah,  232. 
Adams,    Charles    Francis,    276, 

400,  609. 
Adams,  Hannah,  93,  56, 29(3, 391. 
Adams,  John,  3,  7,  11,  18,  19,  2G, 

28,  33,  57,  72,  79,  116,  133,  158, 

213,  280,  304,   339,    352,   394, 

423. 
Adams,  Jolm   Gluincv,  149,  154, 

206,  233,  271,  360,  385,414,465, 

495,  560,  578,  599. 
Adams,  Samuel,  II,  12, 13, 17, 60, 

61,  77,  92,  94,  105, 117, 146,  156, 

170,  190, 200,  235,  254,  293,  309, 

391. 
Adams,  Zabdiel,  190. 
Alden,  Ebenezer,  445. 
Alden,  Jolm,  567. 
Alexander,  386. 
Allen,  577. 
Allen,  Ethan,  35. 
Allen,  James,  23. 
Allen,  Jeremiah,  119,  330. 
Allen,  Joseph,  285. 
Allen,  Wilkes,  530. 
Allen,  William,  64,  287,  385. 
Allstou,  Washington,  559,  C2G. 
Ambrose,  Hannah,  510. 
Ambrose,  Stephen,  510. 
Ames,  Fisher,  146,  200,  203,  206, 

286,291,309,383. 
Ames,  Nathaniel,  292. 
Amory,  Klizabeth  Turner,  584. 
Amory,  Rebecca,  281. 
Amory,  Rufus  Green,  199,  277, 

325,  389. 
Andrews,  Anna,  300,  307. 
Andrews,  Benjamin,  132. 
An-iicr,  Oakes,  304. 
Appleton,  714. 
Appleton,  Oaniel  VV.,  71G. 
Appleton,  Dorothy,  339. 
Appleton,  Isaac,  340. 
Appleton,  Julia  W.,  712,  716. 
Appleton,  Nathan,  642. 
Appleton,  Samuel  A.,  716. 
Apthorp,  Sarah  Wentworth,  129. 
Apthorp,  Charles,  708. 
Armstrong,  Samuel  T.,  642. 
Arnold,  91. 
Ashburton,  436,  717. 
Atkinson,  Theodore,  45. 
Attucks,  Crispus,  20,  21,  37. 
Atwood,  Charles,  477. 


Austin,  Benjamin,  121,  122,  173, 

180,  308,  322. 
Austin,  Charles,  339. 
Austin,  Ivers  James,  .584. 
Austin,   James    Trecothic,    470, 

585. 
Austin,   Jonathan    Loring,    172, 

471. 
Austin,  Jonathan  Williams,  31, 

133. 
Austin,  Stephen,  370. 
Austin,  William,  328. 
Avery,  Samuel,  119,  120. 
B.1BC0CK,  Adam,  198. 
Bacon,  Francis,  87. 
Badlam,  Samuel,  330. 
Bailey,  Ebenezer,  582. 
BainlJridce,  William,  364. 
Baker,  Elizaijelh,  285. 
Balch,  Nathaniel,  90,  109. 
Baldwin,  91. 

Baldwin,  Loammi,  186,  498. 
Balfour,  33. 
Ballard,  322. 
Ballister,  Joseph,  673. 
Ballister,  Sarah  E.,  673. 
Bancroft,  George,  392,  5G7. 
Bangs,  348. 
Bangs,  Edward,  301. 
Bangs,  Edward  D.,  637. 
Bangs,  Samuel,  302. 
Barker,  Benjamin,  2. 
Barker,  James,  373. 
Barker,  Jedediali,  371. 
Barre,  708. 
Barren,  Joseph,  157. 
Barrett,  Samuel,  598. 
Bartlett,  Ezekiel,  .577. 
Bartlett,  Joseph,  405. 
Bartlelt.  Josiah,  l(i7. 
Bass,  Elizabeth,  566. 
Bassett,  Francis,  380,  406. 
Batclielder,  Susan,  451. 
Batchelder,  William,  451 
Baty,  Rachel,  254.      " 
Baylies,  Francis,  303. 
Beaman,  Thomas,  703. 
Bean,  Ann,  716. 
Beardmore,  Arthur,  170. 
Beattie,  420. 
Beck,  450. 

Beecher,  Lyman,  576. 
Belknap,  111,458. 
Bell,  257. 

Benson,  George,  .579. 
Bentley,  William,  501. 
Berklev,  George,  3). 
Bernard,  Francis,  4, 23, 24, 44, 53, 

54,75,212. 
Bertody,  Amelia,  449. 
Bigelow,  Andrew,  187,  C86. 


Bigelow,  Jolm  P.,  187. 

Bigelow,  Timothy,  298,  686. 

Biglow,  William,  385,  531. 

Binney,  Amos,  356. 

Bisbv,  Elisha,  2. 

Black,  Anna,  231. 

Blagden,  George  W.,  253. 

Blake,  367,  369. 

Blake,  Francis,  254. 

Blake,  George,  200,  231,  253,  716 

Blake,  Joseph,  231. 

Blake,  Lemuel,  369. 

Blake,  William,  253. 

Blanchard,  Eliza  C,  642. 

Blanchard,  John,  2. 

Blatchford,  715. 

Bliss,  303. 

Blodgett,  Samuel,  154. 

Blovvers,  Elizabeth,  321. 

Blowers,  Jarathniel,  321. 

Bolan,  John,  580. 

Boswell,  James,  36. 

Bowditch,  Nathaniel,  275,  411. 

Bowdoin,  James,  5,  11,  104,  107, 

381,641,708. 
Bowen,  10. 
Boyer,  Samuel,  328. 
Brace,  Anna  Pierce,  395. 
Bradford,  Alden,  53,  101,  287. 
Brewer,  Jonathan,  65. 
Brickett,  James,  151. 
Briggs,  George  Nixon,  412, 498. 
Briiifey,  566. 
Brack,  Isaac,  221. 
Bromtield,  John,  656. 
Brooks,  Abigail  B.,  611. 
Brooks,  Charlotte  Gray,  53.5. 
Brooks,  John,  184,  200,  208,  307, 

336,  392,  637.  705. 
Brooks,  Peter  C.,  535,  611. 
Brooks,  William  H.,  668. 
Brown,  Henry  Clinton,  552. 
Brown,  Elisha,  24. 
Brown,  Eliza  Maria,  552. 
Brown,  John,  2. 
Brown,  John  B.,  40,  not.  47,  Ca 
Brown,  Luke,  580. 
Brown,  PenucI,  10. 
Brownson,  Orestes,  458. 
Bryant,  Thomas,  2. 
Bryant,  William  C,  508. 
Buchanan,  C,  513. 
liuckiiigliam,  Joseph  T  ,  36.5, 501 
Bui-kmiiister,    Jose|)li    Stevens. 

2(10,  355,  391,  427,  533,  701. 
Bullard,  Asa,  377,  411. 
Bollard,  llavis  C,  322. 
Billiard,  Samuel,  2. 
Kurgoyne,  67,  107,  174,  375,  506 
liurkc,  Acdannis,  184. 
Burke,  Edmund,  226 
(721) 


722 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


niirnev,  3-19. 

Burr,  Aaron,  200,263. 

Burr,  Eben,  445. 

Burrell,  450. 

Burritt,  Elihu,  510. 

Burton,  Warren,  496. 

Bus:.ev,  Benjamin,  198. 

Byles,'Mather,  37,  371. 

Byron,  Lord,  413. 

Cabot,  Henrj',  20G. 

Cabot,  Elizabeth,  288. 

Cabot,  George,  201,  202,  206,  288, 

303. 
Caine,  Major,  40.  43. 
Caldwell,  351,  373. 
Caldwell,  James,  20. 
Caldwell,  James,  21. 
Calhoun,  543. 
Callender,  Eleazer,  257. 
Callender,  John,  201,  257. 
Cambaceres,  138. 
Cambell,  John  R.,  580. 
Camden,  458. 
Campbell,  Lord,  321. 
Campbell,  Thomas,  418. 
Campbell,  William,  77. 
Carew,  603. 
Carleton,  101,  343. 
Carleton,  Emily,  510. 
Carleton,  Guy,  199. 
Carleton,  Jonathan.  510. 
Carr,  Col.,  14. 
Carr,  Patrick,  20,  21. 
Carter,  500. 
Carter,  James,  284. 
Cary,  Thomas  Greaves,  653. 
Cass,  Lewis,  COO. 
Cavaignac,  332. 
Cazneau,  d(^. 
Chamberlain,  Samuel,  2. 
Champney,  Jonas  C,  343. 
Chandler,  Pcleg  W.,  613. 
Chandler,  William,  703. 
Channing,  Edward  Tyrell,  384 
Channing,  Francis  Dana,  322. 
Channing,  Walter,  466. 
Channing,  William  Ellery,  322, 

385,  476,  568,  612. 
Chapin,  E.  H.,  679. 
Chapman,  Jonathan,  23, 193,  571, 

602,  717. 
Chardon,  8. 
Chardon,  Peter,  708. 
Chase,  Irah,  456. 
Chase,  Tiionias,  427. 
Chatham,  8,  120,208. 
Chauncey,  Charles,  10, 23, 32,174. 
Checklev,  Richard,  23. 
Cheever,  .508. 
Chesterfield,  420. 
Cheverus,  3J9,  446. 
Child,  David  Lee,  419,  577. 
Child,  Lvdia  Jlaria,  14. 
Chipiiian,  Ward,  199. 
Choate,  Rufus,  395,  588,  630,  649. 
Church,  Benjamin,  37,  60,  92. 
Clapham,  Mary,  38,  59,  79,  122. 
Clapp,  407. 
Clapp,  Asa,  663. 
Clapp,  Elizabeth,  663. 
Clapp,  Lucy,  529. 
Clapp,  Noah,  529. 
Clark,  81. 

Clark,  Henry  G.,  553. 
Clarke,  James  Freeman,  221. 
Clarke,  Richard,  8. 
Clarke,  William,  2,  5G0. 
Claxton,  Timothy,  508. 
Clay,  Henry,  261',  434,  592. 
Cleveland,  71,  551. 
■  Cleveland,  Martha  Ann,  13,  615. 


Cleaveland,  Parker,  615. 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  317,  340. 

Clinton,  Henn-,  103. 

Clough,  Ebenezer,  324,  391. 

Cobden,  Richard,  608,  622. 

Codman,  John,  333. 

Coffin,  Isaac,  566. 

Cole,  Ilenn-,  46. 

Collier,  Wi'Uiain,  578. 

Collins,  Abigail,  165. 

Collins,  John,  16.5. 

Colpin,  Nathaniel,  703. 

Columbus,  359,  640. 

Colver,  Nathaniel,  276. 

Combe,  -Andrew,  608. 

Conant,  81,  82. 

Condy,  Jeremiah,  222. 

Conway,  708. 

Cooley,  Aaron,  581. 

Coolidge,  Joseph,  345. 

Cooper,  Samuel,  7,  9,  10,  48,  87, 

108,  1 17,  122,  126,  128,  157, 174. 
Cooper,  William,  7, 9, 60, 156, 174. 
Copley,  John  S.,  8,  107. 
Copley,  Richard,  8. 
Cordis,  Sarah  Eliza,  403. 
Cotton,  John,  459. 
Crafts,  Thomas,  230. 
Craig,  James,  207. 
Crancli,  Mrs.,  1. 
Cranch,  William,  30. 
Crane,  JIargaret,  495. 
Crawford,  William  H.,  451,  452. 
Croswell,  William,  502. 
Crowningshield,  507. 
Cruft,  Edward,  Jr.,  570. 
Cruikshank,  Alexander,  20. 
Crum,  570. 

Cummings,  David,  588. 
Cumniings,  Sarah,  552. 
Cunningham,  Nathaniel,  708. 
Cunningham,  William,  116,  117. 
Curtis,  Benjamin,  596. 
Curtis,  Catharine  S.,  660. 
Curtis,  Charles  Pelham,400,550, 

596,  660,  715. 
Curtis,  Edward,  715. 
Curtis,  George  Ticknor,  595,  645, 

715,  716. 
Cushing,  Benjamin,  .358. 
Cashing,  Caleb,  440, 513, 577, 652. 
Cushing,  Charles,  310. 
Cushing,  John  Newmarch,  513. 
Cushing,  Marj-,  419. 
Cushing,  Sarah,  310. 
Cushing,  Thomas,  2, 7, 11, 19, 22, 

85,  125,  157,  235,  612,  708. 
Cushing,  William,  560. 
Cushman,  Isaac,  2. 
Cutler,  Pliny,  576. 
Cutler,  Susan,  576. 
Dalrymple,  12,  14,  7.5. 
Dana,  61,  668. 
Dana,  Caroline,  403. 
Dana,  Edmund,  49,  52. 
Dana,  Francis,  50,  2.39,  389. 
Dana,  Richard  Henry,  670. 
Dana,  Samuel,  303,  559,  662. 
Dane,  Nathan,  303. 
Danforth,  Samuel,  321. 
Danforth,  Thomas,  320,  703. 
Davenport,  Addington,  710. 
Davis,  157,  256,  304,  563. 
Davis,  Amasa,  446. 
Davis,  Caleb,  43. 
Davis,  Isaac  P.,  712. 
Davis,  John,  304,  359,  497,  642. 
Davis,  Joseph,  2. 
Davis,  Mary  Ann,  446. 
Davis,  Solomon,  108. 
Dawes,  Thomas,  107,110,141, 307. 


Dawes,  William,  81. 

Dearborn,  Henry,  360,  363,  391; 

420. 
Dearborn,  Henry  A.  S.,  360,  444. 
Dennie,  Joseph,  301,  370. 
Derby,  Haskett,  558. 
Derby,  John,  642. 
Derby,  Jolm  B.,  568. 
Derby,  Laura,  642. 
Deshon,  Moses,  708. 
D'Estaign,  102,  103. 
Devens,  Richard,  82. 
Dexter,  Franklin,  206,  388. 
Dexter,   Samuel,  206,   293,  295 

301,  315,  350,  .355,  370,  383,  389. 
Dickens,  Charles,  272,  497,  573. 
Dickinson,  John,  423. 
Diraraock,  380. 
Dinsmore,  2,  262,  284. 
Dix,  ^66. 

Doane,  George  H.,  502. 
Doggett,  449. 
Dorr,  53. 

Dorr,  Harbottle,  157,  238. 
Douglass,  583,  706. 
Dowse,  Edward,  598. 
Drake,  Samuel  Gardner,  28,  36. 
Drowne,  Samuel,  22. 
Dudley,  40,  79. 
Duer,  Judge,  318. 
Duncan,  45. 
Dunlap,  Andrew,  454,  465,  504, 

620. 
Dunlap,  James,  504. 
Durant,  Cornelius,  325. 
Dutton,  Warren,  206,  321. 
Dwiiht,  Edmund,  599. 
Dwiirbt,  Jonathan,  317,  573. 
Dwight,  Lucinda,  573. 
Dwight,  Theodore,  208,  388. 
Dwight,  Timothy,  294,  370. 
Dwinette,  Justin,  555. 
Dwinette,  Susan,  555. 
Eastbum,  552. 
Eastman.  Abigail,  426. 
Eddy,  Thomas,  447. 
Edes,  Benjamin,  26,  53,  76,  122, 

157. 
Edwards,  Tommv,  133. 
Eliot,  Ephraira,  127,  256. 
Eliot,  John,  10,  38,  41. 
Eliot,  Samuel,  281,  288. 
Elliot,  453. 
Elliot,  James  H.,  328. 
Elliot,  Simon,  328. 
Ellery,  Henrietta  S.,  384. 
Ellery,  William,  384. 
Eilsler,  Fanny,  001. 
Elv,  373. 
Etuerson,  50S. 

Emerson,  George  B.,  466,  .533. 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  312, 342. 
Emerson,  William,  126,  311. 
Empson,  79. 
Endicott,  John,  359. 
English,  George  B.,  533. 
Etheridge,  410. 
Eustis,  William,  48, 187, 208, 267, 

407. 
Everett,  Alexander  Hill,  64,  67, 

480. 
Everett,  David,  337,  344, 348, 377. 
Everett,  Edward,  237,  272,  275, 

287,  334,  341,  421,  525,  583,  600, 

645,  652,  687,  704,  712,  716. 
Everett,  John,  342,  407. 
Everett,  Oliver,  407,  482,  529. 
Fairbanks,  Jerry,  398. 
Fales,  Lucv  Ann  C.  A.,  504. 
Fales,  Sam'ucl,  504. 
Faneuil,  Andrew,  706, 709. 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


723 


Faneuil,  Mary  Ann,  709. 

Faiieuil,  Peter,  29,  706. 

Farrar,  Epinaim  H.,  341,  407. 

Farrar,  Stephen,  342. 

Farrar,  Timothy,  434,  G88. 

Faunce,  .371. 

Fay,  Richard  Sullivan,  524. 

Fay,  .Sanuiol  P.  P.,  534. 

Folt,  Joseph  Barlovv,28,  117,296. 

Felton,  Cornelius  C,  535,  716. 

Fenuo,  10,  WiS. 

Fessenden,  Thomas  G.,  151. 

Field,  21. 

Field,  Barnum,  603. 

Fields,  James  T.,  668. 

Fillmore,  Jlillard,  243,  436,  611. 

Fisher,  Deborah,  292. 

Fisher,  Jabez,  73. 

Fisher,  John  D.,  466. 

Fisher,  Marv,  292. 

Fisk,  Tlieop'hilus,  555. 

Fiske,  Josiah  J.,  598. 

Fitzpatrick,  552. 

Fleet,  Thomas,  20. 

Fleminsi,  40. 

Fletcher,  Ellen,  445. 

Fletcher,  Grace,  434. 

Fletclier,  Richard,  509. 

Flint,  Ilcnrv,  37. 

Flint,  Tiinotliv,  377. 

Flucker,  Thomas,  41,  78. 

Forbes,  John  M.,  339. 

Forsylh,  268. 

Fosdick,  Uavid,  679. 

Foster,  450. 

Foster,  Dwight,  201. 

Foster,  Sally,  494. 

Foster,  Samuel  H.,  5C9. 

Foster,  William,  200,  466. 

Fox,  Charles  James,  178. 

Francis,  Converse,  306. 

Francis,  Lvdia  Maria,  419. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  61, 174,  239, 

416,  .586. 
Fraiiklyn,  14. 
Freeman,  James,  148. 
French,  Ebenezcr,  322. 
French,  William  E.,  46. 
Frothinjiham,  Ricluird,  154,  500. 
Frothiiifiham,  Sanmel,  714. 
Frye,  128. 

Fuller,  Henry  H.,  686. 
Fuller,  .Sarah,  220. 
Fuller,  Timolhv,  333,  494,  538. 
Furness,  William  H.,  342. 
Gage,  Thomas,  15,  30,  43,  61,  62, 

75,  78,  85,  89,  161,  703. 
Gale,  William,  381. 
Gallowav,  138. 
Gardiner,  John,  168, 309, 501,  524, 

668. 
Gardiner,  John  S.  J.,  170, 200, 293, 

3.15,  500,  619. 
Gardiner,  Lydia,  667. 
Gardiner,  Priscilla,  29. 
Gardner,  Sylvester,  169,  172. 
Gardiner,William  H.,169,217,342. 
Gardner,  Joseph,  35. 
Gardner,  Elizabeth  F.,  398. 
Gardner,  Hannah,  132. 
Gardner,  John.  29.3. 
Gardner,  Samuel  P.,  398. 
Garrick,  226. 
Garrison,  Abijah,  577. 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  577. 
Gates,  174. 

Gerry,  Catharine,  473. 
Gerrv,  Elbridge,  36,  63,  201,  352, 

473,  476. 
Gibbs,  367,  391. 


Giltici-t,  Benjamin,  20,  342. 

(Jllliert,  Samuel,  20,  342. 

Giles,  366. 

Giles,  Henry,  670. 

Giles,  Joel,  616,  6,56. 

Gill,  John,  26,  ,53,  76. 

Gill,  Moses,  128. 

Gihnan,  John  Taylor,  436. 

Gleason,  Joseph,  323. 

Glover,  72. 

Goddard,  Calvin,  317. 

Goildard,  Cornelia  A.,  395. 

Goddard,  Edward,  2. 

Goldthwaite,  Ezekiel,  190. 

Goose,  Isaac,  46. 

Gordon,  George  William,  452. 

Gordon,  William,  09,  87,  282. 

Gore,  Christopher,  231,  256,  257, 

432. 
Gore,  Elizabeth,  257. 
Gore,  Samuel,  90,  108. 
Gorham,  Benjamin,  435. 
Gould,  43,  394. 
Gould,  .-Vugustus  A.,  688. 
Gould,  Hannah  F.,  517. 
Giahauie,  James,  275. 
Grant,  Moses,  193. 
Graves,  Samuel,  62,  85,  132. 
Gray,  Alonzo,  252. 
Gray,  Benjamin,  21. 
Grav,  Edward,  189,  229. 
Gray,  Ellis,  307. 
Gray,  Francis  C,  385. 
Grav,  Frederic  T.,  229. 
Gray,  Harrison,  67,  190. 
Gray,  John  C,  398. 
Grav,  Samuel.5,  20,  21. 
Grav,  Sarah,  307. 
Grav,  Thomas,  87,  226. 
Gray,  William,  385,  393. 
Green,  Aaron,  125. 
Green,  Abi;:ail,29. 
Green,  Dull',  393,  403,  473. 
Green,  Francis,  703. 
Green,  Joseph,  10. 
Greene,  102. 

Greene,  Charles  Gordon,  466, 477. 
Greene,  Gardiner,  8. 
Greene,  Nathaniel,  449,  447. 
Greene,  Samuel,  477. 
Greenleaf,  620. 
Greenleaf,  Benjamin,  477. 
Greenleaf,  Margaret,  141. 
Greenleaf,  William,  7,  8,  90. 
ureenough,  Thomas,  1.57. 
Greenough,  William,  660. 
GreenouL'h,  William  II.,  658. 
Greenwood,  21,  282,  458. 
Grenville,  George,  52. 
Grice,  Hannah,  322. 
Gridlev,  Jeremiah,  90,  128. 
Gritfilh,  19,3. 
Griswold,  317. 
Gurnev,  John  J.,  237. 
H.vLE,'john,  406. 
Hale,  Joseph,  2. 
Hale,  Nathan,  368. 
Hall,  Joseph,  181,282,307. 
Hall,  Rowland,  69. 
Hallett,  Benjamin  F.,  511. 
Hallett,  George,  380. 
Hallev,  Edmund,  30,  370. 
Iliilliiwcll,  Benjamin,  63. 
Hamilton,  Alc.vander, 90,203, 326. 
Haiiilel,  (.30. 
Hammond,  Mary,  485. 
Hammond,  Samuel,  4S.5. 
Hancock,  John,  9,  11,  13,  19,  38, 

60,  61, 72,  88, 126, 157,  197,  424, 

708. 


Hancock,  Dorothy,  106. 
Hancock,  Thomas,  73,  88. 
Hardin,  Benjamin,  518. 
Harper,  119. 
Harris,  5U8,  557. 
Harris,  Margaret,  170. 
Harris,  .'\lehitabel,-367. 
Harris,  Robert,  367. 
Harris,  Thaddeus  M.,  530. 
Harris,  Thaddeus  W.,  .530. 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  93. 
Harrison,  William  H.,  436,  589. 
Haskell,  Daniel  Noyes,  672. 
Haskins,  Ruth,  312. 
Hastings,  42. 
Hastings,  Edmund  Trowbridge, 

50. 
Haven,  Franklin,  715. 
Haven,  Sanmel,  253. 
Hawke,  Mary,  72. 
Hayden,  William,  272,  383,  453. 
Haves,  Mordecai  M.,  199. 
Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  439. 
Hayward,  Benjamin,  184. 
Hayward,  Susanna,  377. 
Hazewell,  Charles  C,  697. 
Heath,  William,  61,223. 
Henchman,  Daniel,  73. 
Henderson,  .Marv  E.,  393,  705. 
Hcnicv,  David,  138. 
Henry,  John,  207. 
Henrv,  Patrick,  592 
Ilenshaw,  668. 
Henshaw,  Charles,  508. 
Henshaw,  Daniel,  566. 
Henshaw,  David,  362,  478,  564. 
Herbert,  George,  2. 
Hewes,  Samuel,  133. 
Hewes,  George  R.  T.,  554. 
Hichborn,    Benjamin,    103,   130, 

141,  (not)  143,  167,307. 
Hickliug,  Catharine  G.,  500. 
Hickling,  Edward,  500. 
Hickling,  Thomas,  .500. 
Hickling,  William,  500. 
Higginson,  Stephen,  110,  334. 
Higginson,  Susan,  323. 
Hill,  Charlotte,  478. 
Hill,  Hannah,  37. 
Hill,  Henrv,  45. 
Hill,  Isaac,  450. 
Hill,  Lucv,  539. 

Hillard,  George  S.,  539,  546,  697. 
Hillhouse,  366. 
llilliard,  195. 
Hinckley,  103. 
Hinckley,  Joseph,  21. 
Hobson,  John,  2. 
Holbrook,  Abiel,  377. 
Holbrook,  Abraham.  90. 
Hoi  lev,  Horace,  367,. 368,  407,  413, 

680. 
Hulley,  John,  370. 
Hcdiey,  Luther,  ,370. 
Holmes,  John,  245,  2G7. 
Holt,  695. 

Holyoke,  Edward  Augustus,  159. 
Homer,  Jonathan,  60. 
Hood,  Charles,  363. 
Hoolon,  Richard,  49. 
Hopkinson,  Francis,  318. 
Howanl,  703. 
Howard,  Simeon,  10. 
Howe,  James  Blako,  530. 
Howe,  .Sanmel,  576. 
Howe,  Susan  T.,  550. 
Howe,  William,  6,  31,  C3,  64,  66, 

98,  163,  107. 
Howell,  347. 
Hubbard,  Samuel,  391,  397,  569. 


724 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


Hubbard,  Tuthill,  21, 157. 
Hull,  William,  218. 
Hunipliries,  184,382. 
Hunt,  4in. 

Hunt,  James,  984,  471. 
Hunt,  Mary  Le  Baron,  323. 
Hunt,  Sam'uel,  22,  471. 
Huntinfiton,  Julia  B.,  46G. 
Huntington,  Ralph,  4G6. 
Hutchinson,  Ann,  C16. 
Hutchinson,  Edward,  703. 
Hutchinson,  Thomas,  8,  11,  14, 

lii,  53,  75,  78,  108,  139,  708. 
Hutton,  Mary,  524. 
Inches,  Henderson,  7. 
Higalls,  William,  393,  553. 
Ingcrsoll,  Joseph,  115. 
Irving,  74. 
Ivers,  Hannah,  174. 
Jackson,  114,  167,  209,  228,  315. 

316,  326,  586. 
Jackson,  Andrew,  240,  407,  451, 

465,  537,  567. 
Jackson,  Charles,  206,  294,  448. 
Jackson,  Francis,  .371. 
Jackson,  Henrj',  184. 
Jackson,  James,  1G7,  228. 
Jacob,  Relief,  329. 
James,  Benjamin,  464. 
James,  John  Warren,  460. 
Jarvis,  Charles,  157, 170, 200, 232, 

309. 
Jarvis,  Delia,  135. 
Jarvis,  133. 
Jarvis,  Russell,  403. 
Jarvis,  Samuel  Gardner,  403. 
Jaques,  Nathan,  106. 
Jav,  John,  307. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  12,  55,  68,  95, 

132,  200,  234,  239, 261, 318,  369, 

451. 
Jeffries,  David,  157. 
Jeffries,  John,  63, 64, 182,707, 716. 
Jenkinson,  699. 
Jenks,  William,  326. 
Jennison,  Eunice,  464. 
Johnson,  131. 
Johnson,  Joshua,  240. 
Johnson,  Louisa,  240. 
Johnson,  Maiy,  365. 
Joliiison,  Samuel,  36,  420,  612. 
Johnson,  William,  716. 
Johnston,  D.  C,  419. 
Jones,  204,  567,  708. 
Jones,  Daniel,  31. 
Jones,  James  A.,  477. 
Jones,  Josiah,  703. 
Jones,  Stephen,  703. 
Jones,  Thomas,  84. 
Josephine,  138. 
Jiidson,  Ann  H.,  456. 
Kent,  624. 
Kent,  Jlary,  1.54. 
Kent,  Moodv,  695. 
Keppell,  William,  16,  37. 
Kettelle,  358,  415. 
Kev,  605. 

Kuider,  Frederic,  683. 
Kilson,  9. 

King,  Rufus,  137,  318,  534. 
King,  Thomas  F.,  678. 
King,  Thomas  Starr,  676. 
Kingsbury,  Joseph,  296. 
Kinsman,  Henry  VVillis,  564. 
Kirkby,  William,  37. 
Kirkland,  John   Thornton,  271, 

287,  328,  529. 
Knapp,  Elizabeth,  377. 
Knapp,  Isaac,  ,578. 
Knapp,  Jacob,  385. 


Knapp,  Jacob  N.,  500. 

Knapp,  Josiah,  377. 

Knapp,  Samuel  L.,  202,  250,  419, 

449,  445. 
Kneeland,  Abner,  595. 
Knight,  Thomas,  69. 
Knowles,  Edward,  455. 
Knowles,  James  D.,  455. 
Knox,  Henry,  91,  184,  316,  365. 
Kossuth,  Louis,  3.3Q,  538. 
Krum,  John  M.,  570. 
Kuhn,  John,  358. 
Lafavette,    102,  107,  187,   336, 

307,  391,  415. 
Lamartine,  A.  de,  332. 
Lamb,  Thomas,  26. 
Lamson,  477. 
Langdon,  174. 
Langley,  Joshua,  455. 
Langley,  Susan  E.,  455. 
Larkin,  83. 

Lathrop,  John,  3,  IQ,  135,  255. 
Laurens,  Henry,  236. 
Lawrence,  Abbott,  303,  643. 
Lawrence,  James,  206. 
Lawrence,  Samuel,  66. 
Lee,  Arthur,  35,  62,  176,  239. 
Lee,  Richard  Henry,  482. 
Lee,  William,  200. 
Lee,  William  R.,  392,  364. 
Legare,  543. 
Leland,  Sherman,  67. 
Leonard,  George,  703. 
Leroy,  Caroline,  434. 
Lerov,  Herman,  434. 
Lewis,  Ezekiel,  2,  708. 
Lincoln,  Abner.  355. 
Lincoln,  Benjamin,  184,  220,  301, 

304,  316. 
Lincoln,  Daniel  W.,  351. 
Lincoln,  Elizabeth,  356. 
Lincoln,  Ezra,  412. 
Lincoln,  James  Otis,  356. 
Lincoln,  Levi,  271,  301,  331,  347, 

351,  378,  494,  637. 
Little,  Francis  Boyd,  393. 
Little,  Sempronia,  393. 
Little,  William,  14,  393. 
Livermore,  Edward  St.  Loe,  367. 
Livermore,  Harriet,  367. 
Livingston,  Edward,  242,  453. 
Lloyd,  Fanny,  577. 
Llovd,  James,  198,  228,  391. 
Loiigfellow,  303. 
Loring,  Caleb,  394. 
Loring,  Charles  Greelv,  393. 
Loring,  Edward  G.,  272. 
Loring,  James,  148,  293. 
Loring,  John,  21,  358. 
Loring,  Samuel,  358. 
Loring,  Thomas,  2. 
Lothrop,  Samuel  K.,  217, 307, 444. 
Lovell,  James,  22,  29,  131,  146. 
Lovell,  John,  29,  194,  198,  302. 
Lowell,  84,  206,  278,  321,  395. 
Lucas,  326. 

Lumpkin,  Wilson,  579. 
Lundy,  Benjamin,  .578. 
Lunt,  William  P.,  241,342. 
Lvman,  Theodore,  210,  307,  391, 

534,  580,  704. 
Lyndliurst,  8. 
Lyon,  407. 
Lyon,  Lawson,  341. 
Mackav,  William,  1.57. 
Mackintosh,  James,  459,  569. 
Mac  Naniee,  538. 
Madison,  James,  200, 240, 340,435. 
Malcom,  Howard,  456. 
Mann,  Herman,  605. 


Mann,  Horace,  242,  244,  477, 498, 

540,  598,  605. 
Manning,  William,  148,  293. 
Mansfield,  169. 
Marett,  84. 
March,  427,  433. 
Mark,  82. 

Markoe,  Francis,  531. 
Marlborough,  215. 
Marshall,  Emilv,  493. 
Marshall,  John,"  296, 433, 465, 478, 

542  555. 
Marshall,  Josiah,  493. 
Marvel,  Andrew,  242. 
Mason,  Jeremiah,  695. 
Mason,  Jonathan,  139,  448,  705. 
Mason,  William  P.,  447. 
Mather,  274. 
Maverick,  Marj",  21. 
Maverick,  Samuel,  20. 
May,  Joseph,  22,  23. 
May,  Samuel  J.,  342. 
Maynard,  Needham,  65. 
McCarty,  Morricha,  716. 
McCaulev,  William,  13.1. 
McDonou'gh,  Charlotte  T.,  324. 
McDonough,  Thomas,  324. 
McKenzie,  703. 
McKean,  403. 
McLean,  Louis,  543. 
McLeod,  543. 
Mead,  508. 
Mein,  John,  24. 
Meredith,  David,  170. 
Merrick,  Pliny,  635. 
Messenger,  Daniel,  368. 
Messer,  603. 
Messer,  Charlotte,  603. 
Metcalf,  Theron,  449,  601. 
Middleton,  Alexander,  32. 
Middleton,  Mary,  32. 
Mifflin,  Thomas,  103. 
Miller,  323,  496. 
Mills,  Elijah  H.,  436. 
Minot,  George  R.,  Ill,  128,  146, 

250,  328. 
Mitchell,  83. 

Monk,  Christopher,  79,  139. 
Monroe,  James,  240. 
Monroe,  Stephen,  349. 
Monroe,  Susan  J.,  349. 
Montague,  William,  67. 
Montague,  William  H.,  68,  193. 
Montgomery,  96,  165. 
Mooney,  468. 
Moorhead,  John,  10,  74. 
Morgan,  138,  322. 
Morgan,  Hannah,  2K. 
Morgridge,  Sarah,  382. 
Morris,  Charles,  697. 
Morris,  Robert,  101,  199,  318. 
Morrison,  James,  371. 
Morse,  Jedediah,  27,  117. 
Morton,  21,  69,  137,  133,  157, 172, 

260,  278,  305,  329,  353,  637. 
Moseley,  Ebenezer,  514.       • 
Mountiort,  George,  121. 
Munroe,  Isaac,  322. 
Murdock,  Sarah,  254. 
Murray,  John,  322. 
Mvstrom,  Louis  Adale,  596. 
Napoleon,  138,  431. 
Xewcomb,  Joseph  ^Varren,'  49. 
Newcomb,  Richard  E.,  08. 
Newell,  108. 
Newhall,  Allen,  508. 
Nfcholas,  332. 
Nichols,  Francis,  365. 
Noddle,  357. 
North,  Lord,  6,  12,  26,  77. 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


(20 


Nott,  Eliphalet,  260. 

Oatley,  Thomas,  50. 

O'Oonncll,  Daniel,  468. 

Ogilvie,  James,  559. 

O'Hara,  9. 

Olcott,  Helen,  588. 

Olcott,  Miles,  588. 

Oliver,  Andrew,  16,  708. 

Oliver,  Daniel,  703. 

Oliver,  Francis  J.,  368. 

Oliver,  Mary  L.,  oGO. 

Oliver,  Peter,  79. 

Oliver,  Thomas  Fitch,  .560. 

Orne,  Azor,  109. 

Orne,  Henrv,  382,  393,  5CS. 

Osgood,  54-i,  686. 

Osgood,  Dorcas,  362. 

Osseli,  Margaret  Fuller,  333,495. 

Otis,  George  Alexander,  466. 

Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  119, 170, 189, 

206,  2.52,  268,  280,  303,  308,  310, 

315,  318,  325,  352,  475,  485,  493, 

534,  568,  586,  696. 
Otis,  James,  3, 4, 11, 23, 57, 74, 79, 

117,  156,  195,  197,  334,  542. 
Otis,  Joseph,  304. 
Otis,  Samuel  Allevne,  189. 
Otis,  Sophia  H.,  323. 
Otis,  William  F.,  493. 
Oxenbridge,  Peter,  125. 
Paddock,  Adino,  89,  223. 
Paddy,  William,  269. 
Paige,  James  W.,  712,  715. 
Paine,  Charles,  310. 
Paine,  Robert  Treat,  129,235,283, 

310,  352,  365. 
Pall'rev,  John,  48.5. 
Pallrev,  John  G.,72, 249, 272, 290, 

485,' 648,  713. 
Palfrey,  William,  485. 
Palmer,  David,  657. 
Palmer,  Joseph,  559. 
Palmer,  Thomas,  707. 
Park,  Edwards,  224. 
Park,  John,  302. 
Parke,  Baron,  G22. 
Parker,  Isaac,  281,  330,  355,  378, 

569. 
Parker,  Marv,  580. 
Parker,  Phebe,  343. 
Parkman,  367,  582,  638. 
Parr,  Sanmel,  170. 
Parsons,  Charles  C,  206. 
Parsons,   Theoiihilus,   117,   906, 

239,  286,  290,  379,  389,  615. 
Parsons,  William,  342. 
Patterson,  Robert,  144. 
Paxton,  Charles,  2,  62. 
Payne,  John  Howard,  485. 
Payne,  Samuel,  703. 
Payne,  William,  485. 
Payson,  Phillips,  314. 
Peabody,  377. 
Peabody,  Augustus,  493. 
Peabody,  Lucretia  O.,  482. 
Peabody,  Mary,  603. 
Peabody,  Nathaniel  T.,  603. 
Peabody,  Oliver,  482. 
Peirce,  Joseph,  257. 
Pelham,  Peter,  8. 
Pemberton,  Ebenezer,  10, 53, 326, 

703. 
Pemberton,  Thomas,  70G. 
Pendleton,  419. 
Pepperell,  William,  310. 
Percy,  Lord,  85,  106,  163. 
Perkins,  James,  20,  655. 
Perkins,  .Alary,  055. 
Perkins,  Tliomas  H.,  20, 202, 206, 

315,  655 


Pern',  Oliver  H.,  187. 

Phillips,  Abigail,  2.59. 

Phillips,  George,  252. 

Phillips,  Grenville  'l'.,  252. 

Phillips,  John,  248,  268. 

Phillips,  Jonathan.  476. 

Phillips,  Siaiiiiiel,  250. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  252. 

Phillips,  William,  709. 

Pickant,  8. 

Pickard,  Mark,  33. 

Pickering,  154,  208,  326,  453. 

Picknian,  Benjamin,  206. 

Pickuian,  Catharine  Leavitt,  524. 

Pickman,  Dudley,  524. 

Pierce,  Daniel,  2,  257. 

Pieriiont,  8,  296. 

Pillow,  247. 

Piiickuey,  Charles  C,  208. 

Pitcairnj  161. 

Pitman,  John,  .504. 

Pitt,  William,  292,  698. 

Plunicr,  G95. 

Poindexter,  Robert,  263. 

Polk,  James  Knox,  482,  663. 

Pollard,  Anne,  365. 

Pollard,  Benjamin,  365. 

Pollard,  Jonathan,  365. 

Pollard,  William,  365. 

Polo,  Marco,  332. 

Pool,  Elizabeth,  125. 

Pope,  Joseph,  301. 

Pope,  William,  273. 

Potter,  503. 

Powell,  Charles,  118. 

Powell,  Jeremiah,  101. 

Powell,  Susanna,  141. 

Powell,  William,  35,  141. 

Power,  Thomas,  586. 

Pownal,  Thomas,  72. 

Prentiss,  256,  448. 

Prescott,  63,  65,  83,  195,  202,  206, 

303,  385,  390,  500. 
Prescott,  Edward  G.,  500. 
Prescott,  William,  195,  202. 
Prescott,  William  H.,  500. 
Preston,  Thomas,  6, 14, 18,22,139. 
Price,  Ezekid,  42,  157. 
Priestley,  Joseph,  178. 
Prince,  Henry,  453. 
Prince,  Joseph  H.,  453. 
Prince,  Thomas,  641. 
Purkitt,  Henry,  368,  554. 
Putnam,  George,  364,  588. 
Putnam,  Israel,  64. 
Putnam,  James,  703. 
Putnam,  Jesse,  437. 
Putnam,  Mary  Ann,  395. 
Putnam,  Samuel,  .558. 
QuiNCY,  1,  2,  84,  8(),  284,  616. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  18,  59,  86,  104, 

167,  210,  251,  258,  288, 328, 331, 

368,  415,  418. 
duincy,  Josiah,  Jr.,  495,  658. 
ttuitman,  247. 
Radclifk,  Peter  W.,  370. 
Rand,  Benjamin,  620,  658. 
Rand,  Elizabeth,  412. 
Randolph,  John,  419,  51-. 
Randolph,  Pcvlon,  93,  )  '. 
Rantoiil,  liohcrt,  .524,  042. 
Rawson,  Eliot,  72.  . 

Reed,  62. 

Reed,  Luman,  656. 
Rees,  53,  127. 
Reeve,  394. 

Revere,  Paul,  25,  41,  43,  81,  210. 
Rcvnolds,  Edward,  252. 
Rhea,  Daniel,  116. 
Rice,  Jolin,  2. 


Rice,  John  Parker,  270. 

Rice,  David,  .567. 

Richardson,  George,  ,539. 

Richardson,  James,  598. 

Ritchi^,  Andrew,  325. 

Rivin^ion,  60. 

Robbins,  Chandler,  657. 

Robinson,  42,  332. 

Robinson,  Frederic,  524.  ^ 

Rochester,  53. 

Rogers,  Daniel  D.,  448. 

Rogers,  Hannah,  448. 

Rogers,  Joshua  D.,  703. 

Rogers,  Margaret,  572. 

Rogers,  Nathaniel,  9. 

Rogers,  William,  2,  13,  356. 

Rogers,  W^illiam  B.,  356. 

Rolfe,  Baron,  622. 

Ross,  Charles,  238. 

Rouillard,  414. 

Roulstone,  142. 

Rowe,  George,  40. 

Rowson,  Susanna,  166. 

Ruggles,  John,  703. 

Ruggles,  Timothy,  12,  43,  44,  703. 

Ruggles,  Samuel,  707. 

Rumford,  186. 

Rush,  716. 

Russell,  Benjamin,  109,  113,  142, 

191,  240,  267,  286, 301,  368,  554, 

559  589. 
Russell,  Charles  Theodore,  673. 
Russell,  Thomas,  159. 
Sampson,  Elizabeth,  .586. 
Sanborn,  Edwin  D.,  437. 
Sanborn,  Marj'  Ann,  712. 
Sanders,  John,  2. 
Sanderson,  103. 
Sargent,  Daniel,  206. 
Sargent,  Henry,  671. 
Sargent,  John,  703. 
Sargent,  Jonathan,  2. 
Sargent,  Lucius  Jlanlius,  28. 
Sargent,  Henry,  708. 
Sargent,  Mary,  566. 
Sargent,  Nathan,  566. 
Savage,  Abraham,  703. 
Savage,  Arthur,  67. 
Savage,  Habijah,  355. 
Savage,  Hope,  377. 
Savage,  James,  334,  353,  4^18. 
Savage,  Samuel,  377. 
Savage,  Thomas,  354. 
Schuyler,  Philip,  95,  100. 
Scollav,  Anna  Wroe,  403. 
Scolla'y,  John,  128,  157. 
Scollay,  Lucy,  368. 
Scollay,  Mercy,  49. 
Scott,  James,  73,  IOj. 
Scott,  John,  8. 
Scott,  Madam,  107. 
Scott,  Walter,  331,  421,  542. 
Scott,  Winfield,  .521. 
Sears,  David,  8,  141,  380. 
Sedgwick,  Theodore,  318. 
SeltVidge,  Thomas  O.,  339. 
Sessions,  Alexander  T.,  695. 
Sowall.  Jonathan,  62,  168. 
Seward,  Catharine,  36, 
Sewell,  Samuel,  84,  5.57. 
Shaw,  Lenmol,  337, 375, 397, 403, 

411,582. 
Shaw,  (Jakes,  195,  377. 
Shaw,  Robert  G.,  4.52,  706. 
Shaw,  Samuel,  275> 
Shaw,  William  S.,  117,  29G,  312, 

355,  377,  497,  704. 
Shavs,  Daniel,  117,  147,  187,  200. 
Shctlield,  038. 
Sliclburne,  53, 178. 


726 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


Shields,  247. 

Shove,  Edward,  2. 

Shtiitletr,  N;ali;iiiiel  B.,  359. 

Shiu-tleir,  Ruswell,  4J1. 

Siimuuls,  Ephniini,  431. 

Skene,  33,  35. 

Small,  John,  64,  66. 

Smibeit,  8,  30. 

Smith,  Barney,  483. 

Smith,  Henry  Barney,  483. 

Smith,  Isaac,  189. 

Smith,  Jerome  V.  C,  551. 

Smith,  Lucy,  180. 

Smith,  Margaret  J.,  502. 

Smith,  Martin,  23. 

Smith,  Richard  R.,  551. 

Smith,  Sarah,  716. 

Smith,  Tamar,  348. 

Snell,  508. 

Snider,  Christopher,  25. 

Snow,  707. 

Somes,  Thomas,  144. 

Southey,  Robert,  415,  458. 

Soiithworth,  Nathaniel,  2. 

Sparks,  Jared,  482,  544. 

Speakman,  Jlary,  147. 

Spear,  Pool,  9. 

Spencer,  Ambrose,  195. 

Spooner,  305,  371,  703. 

Sprague,  Charles,  1, 217, 373, 377, 

408. 
Sprague,  Charles  James,  419. 
Sprague,  Helen  Elizabeth,  412. 
Sprague,  Madam,  296. 
Sprague,  Samuel,  409. 
Sprague,  Seth,  267. 
Stackpole,  Sarah  Creese,  367. 
Stackpole,  William,  307. 
Stanwood,  Amelia,  686. 
Stanwood,  Theodore,  686. 
Stark,  John,  361. 
Starr,  Susan,  678. 
Staughton,  William,  456. 
Stedman,  6t 
Steuben,  220. 
Stevens,  Henry,  304. 
Stevens,  Samuel,  46. 
Stevenson,  Andrew,  543. 
Stevenson,  Margaret,  403. 
Stewart,  C.  S.,  337. 
Stiles,  Ezra,  23. 
Stillman,  George,  3.i6,  548. 
Stillman,  Samuel,  10,  222,  373, 

702. 
Stodder,  Amelia  M.,  412. 
Stone,  20.- 
Stone,  William,  2. 
Storer,  Ebenezer,  88. 
Stormont,  175. 
Story,  Elisha,  557. 
Story,  Joseph,  269,  287,  295,  329, 

362,  363,  430,  438, 505,  534,  541, 

543,  555,  621. 
Story,  Mary  Oliver,  596. 
Stoughton,  William,  456. 
Strong,  Caleb,  187,  203,  384. 
Stuart,  George  O.,  187. 
Stuart,  Gilbert,  141,  217,  373. 
Stuart,  Moses,  226,  606,  649. 
Sullivan,  102,  104,  111,  118,  126, 

157,  174,  217,  253,  295,  313. 
Sullivan,  George,  381. 
Sullivan,  Richard,  382. 
Sullivan,  William,  111,  202,  200, 

313,  355,  3t;8,  379,  403,  448, 473. 
Sumner,  Bradtord,  449,  507. 
Sumner,  Charles,  277,  505,  563, 

611,  617,  619,  687. 
Sumner,  Charles  P.,  19,  325,  618. 
Sumner,  George,  332. 


Sumner,  Horace,  333. 

Sumner,  Job,  325. 

Sumner,  Mary,  398. 

Swan,  James,  314. 

Swan,  Sarah  Webb,  314. 

Swett,  Hannah,  362. 

Swetl,  Sannjel,  64. 

Taney,  Roger  B.,  603. 

Taj>j)an,  James,  427. 

Tappan,  John,  20. 

Tay,  Isaiah,  2. 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  459. 

Taylor,  John,  715. 

Tavlor,  Zachary,  214,  395,  522, 

630. 
Temple,  Elizabeth,  641. 
Temple,  John,  641. 
Templeman,  258. 
Tenny,  Samuel,  2. 
Thacher,  41,  125,  371,  380,  554. 
Thacher,  George,  201. 
Thacher,  Oxenbridge,  74,  123. 
Thacher,  Peter,  106, 117, 122,  256, 

323. 
Thacher,  Peter  O.,  250,  323. 
Thacher,  Thomas,  120. 
Thayer,  411. 
Thaver,  Joanna,  409. 
Thayer,  John,  170. 
Thomas,  1 10,  303. 
Thomas,  Charles  Henry,  715,  716. 
Thomas,  Isaiah,  77,  301,  410,  637. 
Thomas,  Mary  R.,  637. 
Thompson,  Benjamin,  491. 
Thompson,  George,  579. 
Thompson,  Thomas  W.,427, 432. 
Thorndike,  Israel,  2J6. 
Thurston,  William,  464. 
Ticknor,  George,  710. 
Tileston,  450,  464,  531. 
TIsdale,  James,  285,  559. 
Tocqueville,  332. 
Torrey,  John,  2,  355. 
Townsend,  Alexander,  350. 
Townsend,  David,  350. 
Travice,  Nicholas,  354. 
Treadwell,  Daniel,  270. 
Trist,  Nicholas  P.,  538. 
Troutbec,  Jolin,  355. 
True,  Benjamin,  478. 
Trumbull,  66,  75,  103,  120,  193. 
Tucker,  John,  238. 
Tucker,  Robert,  46. 
Tudor,  Elizabeth,  355. 
Tudor,  Frederic,  334. 
Tudor,  John,  355. 
Tudor,  William.  1,  11,  117,  133, 

135,  147,  157,  229,  260,  292,  333, 

335,  355. 
Tufts,  Simeon,  186. 
Tukey,  Francis,  367. 
Turell,  108,  229. 
Twiggs,  247. 

Tyler,  John,  452,  519,  567. 
Tyler,  Lucv,  228. 
Tyng,  Stephen  H.,  342. 
Upham,  199. 
Upshur,  Abel  P.,  436. 
Upton,  Daniel  P.,  355. 
Van-  Buben,  509,611,  603. 
Vane,  Henry,  459. 
Varnum,  Joseph  B.,  208. 
Vaughaii,  621,  630. 
Vidocq,  Eugene,  307. 
Vinal,  132. 
Wade,  John,  507. 
Wadsworth,  John,  2. 
Wainwood,  40. 
Wainwright,  Jonathan,  590. 
Waldo,  303. 


Waldo,  Samuel,  708. 

Walker,  Amasa,  508. 

Wallace,  40. 

Wallace,  George  L,,  7. 

Wallack,  2S5. 

Waller,  701. 

Walley,  Thomas,  250 

Walsh,  Jlichael,  557. 

Walsh,  Robert,  207,  474. 

Ward,  40,  128,  195. 

Ward,  Richard,  2. 

Ware,  Ashur,  .382. 

AVare,  Henry,  33,  328,  486. 

Ware,  Joseph,  282. 

Warfield,  Ann  Elizabeth,  507. 

Warner,  235,  373. 

AVarren,  Ebenezer,  128. 

Warren,  Edward,  68. 

Warren,  James,  11. 

Warren,  John,  29, 46,  69, 157, 592. 

Warren,  John  C,  28,  46,  47,  43, 

59,  68,  128,  141,  166,  593. 
Warren,  Joseph,  23, 36, 42, 45,  61, 

77,  81,  85,  92,  108,  123,  303,  307, 

423,  592. 
Warren,  Peter,  46. 
Washington,  George,  34,  39,  48, 

65,  94,  110,  116,  147,  163,  187, 

216,  280,  305,  318,  325,  369,  692. 
Waterhouse,  Samuel,  33,  73. 
Waterston,  Robert  C,  243. 
Watson,  Ellen,  304. 
Vfebb,  157,  220. 
Webb,  Rufiis,  411. 
Webster,  Caroline  Le  Roy,  712, 

714. 
Webster,  Daniel,  44, 214, 276, 336, 

390,  407,  420,  500,  529,  545,  550, 

503,  568,  590,  606,  642,  689,  711, 

714. 
Webster,  Ebenezer,  426. 
Webster,  Edward,  712. 
Webster,  Ezekiel,  431,  531,  712. 
Webster,  Fletcher,  648,  712,  714. 
Webster,  John  W.,  380,  638. 
Weld,  Benjamin,  37. 
Weld,  Daniel,  680. 
Welles,  Arnold,  49,  142,  368. 
Welles,  Arnold  F.,  642. 
Wellesly,  256. 
Wellington,  215. 
Wells,  Charles  A.,  498. 
Wells,  Samuel  A.,  391. 
Wells,  Thomas,  391. 
Welsh,  Thomas,  154. 
Wendell,  Jacob,  249,  708. 
Wendell,  .Margaret,  249. 
Wendell,  Oliver,  2.')0. 
West,  Samuel,  39,  370. 
Weston,  367. 

Wetmore,  Sarah  Waldo,  560. 
Wheaton,  Levi,  623. 
Wheeler,  Tlieophilus,  301. 
Wheelock,  John,  433. 
Whipple,  .\lice  B.,  719. 
Whipple,  Edwin  P.,  592,  604. 
Whipple,  Matthew.  667. 
Whiston,  Obadiah,'90. 
Whitcomb,  Chapman,  122,  391 
White,  Caroline  Story,  652. 
White,  Edward,  2. 
White,  Stephen,  C52. 
White,  William,  345. 
White,  William  Charles,  344. 
Whitefield,  George,  125,  225. 
Whitman,  46. 
Whitman,  Benjamin,  .583. 
Whitwell,  Benjamin,  368. 
Whitwell,  Sanmel,  S,  22a 
Whitwell,  William,  8. 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


727 


Wibird,  Antliony,  23G. 
Wi{.'<;iii,  Julia  M.,  079. 
Wilde,  Caroline  E.,  515. 
Wilde,  Sannie".  S.,  205,  515. 
Wilder,  Joseph,  2. 
Wilder,  Marshall  P.,  552. 
Wilkes,  23,  1(;9. 
Wilkinson,  James  .lohn,  020. 
VVillard,  Abijah,  703. 
Willard,  Joseph,  166. 
Williams,  92,  113,  136. 
Williams,  Job,  7U3. 
Williams,  Roger,  458. 
Williams,  Samuel,  46,  704. 
Williamson,  91. 
Willis,  Benjamin,  564, 


Willis,  Elizabeth,  564. 
Wilton,  Samuel,  68. 
Winsloxv,  Hubbard,  576. 
Winslow,  Isaac,  3G5. 
Winslow,  John,  04,  306. 
Winthrop,  Adam,  700. 
Winthrop,  Elizabeth,  641. 
Winthrop,  Jolm,  356,  359,  458, 

041,  700. 
Winthrop,  Robert  C,  237,  247, 

544,  038,  713. 
Winthrop,  .Samuel,  8. 
Winthrop,  Sarah  B.,  381. 
Winthrop,  Thomas  L.,  381,  641. 
Wirt,  William,  279,  362,  588. 
Witherell,  Ann,  405. 


Wolcott,  43. 
Wood,  Samuel,  428. 
Woodbury,  Levi,  000. 
\Voodbury,  Peter,  062. 
Woodman,  324. 
Woods,  Leonard,  326. 
Worcester,  Noah,  208. 
Worcester,  Thomas,  434. 
Worth,  247. 

Worthington,  Francis,  298. 
Worthington;  John,  293. 
Wren,  Christopher,  458. 
Wyman,  Amos,  84. 
Young,  Alexander,  289,  342. 
Young,  Thomas,  24,  26,  77. 


THE  HUNDRED  ORATORS: 

OR, 

THE  LIVES  AND  TIMES 

OP 

EMINENT  PATRIOTS  AND  POLITICIANS. 


THE  HUNDRED  BOSTON  ORATORS,  appointed  by  tlie  Municipal  Authorities  and 
other  Public  Bodies,  from  1770  to  1852:  comprising  Historical  Gleanings,  illus- 
trating the  Principles  and  Progress  of  our  Republican  Institutions.  By  James 
Spear  Loring.  Published  by  John  P.  Jewett  &  Co.,  Boston  ;  and  by  Jewett,  Proc- 
tor &  Woi-thington,  Cleveland,  Ohio.    Price  ^2.50. 

OPINIONS   OF  THE  PRESS. 

This  stately  and  attractive  volume  mil  hardly  fail  to  find  its  Avay  into  hundreds  of 
famiUes,  -who  will  love  to  trace  the  history  of  some  relative  or  "father's  friend,"  as 
briefly  sketched  on  its  pages,  with  well-selected  illustrations  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  power  put  forth  on  his  generation.  Candor,  fidelity  and  discrimination,  dis- 
tinctively mark  those  articles  we  have  had  leisure  to  read  ;  and,  though  not  honored 
with  the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  editor,  nor  famUiar  with  his  character  as  known 
by  others,  he  leaves  a  highly  favorable  impression  of  a  sound  judgment,  and  a  hearty 
disposition  to  do  justice  without  flattery  to  all  of  whom  he  writes.  Most  of  the  names 
here  enshrined  in  beauty  and  glory  are  familiar  as  household  words  ;  and  the  origin, 
progress  and  final  celebrity,  of  those  who  so  honorably  bore  them,  are  matters  of  no 
common  interest  to  the  patriotic  mind.  A  vast  amount  of  valuable  historical  material 
is  here  collected  and  arranged,  both  in  the  order  of  natui-e  and  time,  Avith  happy 
efiect,  while  it  is  clothed  in  a  style  of  chaste  and  simple  elegance  at  once  captivating 
and  improving  to  the  reader.  —  Congregationalist. 

Mr.  James  Spear  Loring,  of  Boston,  has  taken  the  series  of  town  orators  on  the 
Massacre,  Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  and  such  occasional  aifau-s  as  the  arrival  of 
Lafayette,  for  a  capital  chance  to  indulge  in  a  commendable  taste  for  local  history  and 
personal  biography.  The  array,  upon  the  whole,  does  not  preserve  the  same  imposing 
dignity  as  Lord  Campbell's  series  of  the  Lord  Chancellors,  for  instance  ;  but  this  was 
hardly  to  be  expected  by  anybody  ;  though,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  surprising  how 
many  great  men  this  connecting  thread  has  brought  into  the  plan  of  Mr.  Loring's 
work.  It  is  pleasant  to  turn  over  Mr.  Loring's  gossiping  pages.  He  writes  con 
amore,  to  be  sure,  with  a  pen  full  of  panegyric,  which  even  patriotism  wearies  of,  at 
the  hundreth  repetition  ;  but  we  arc  accustomed  in  such  chronicles  to  a  little  vaguo 
enthusiasm,  remembering  that,  if  there  were  not  a  good  deal  of  this  commodity,  no 
man  could  get  through  the  labors  of  celebrating  so  large  a  number  of  mixed  notables 
and  mediocrities.  You  cannot  expect  the  critical  powers  of  an  Aristotle  to  be  applied 
to  such  an  undertaking.  The  man  who  puts  his  foot  into  such  a  thing  will  not  boggle 
at  a  puff.  Delightful  are  the  unreserved  communications  of  the  genuine  antiquarian 
Facts  are  facts  in  his  eyes,  and  one  pretty  much  of  the  same  importance  as  another. 


728  *  OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 

Every  date  is  an  era.  Every  piece  of  prose  broken  into  irregular  lines  is  poetiy.  It 
is  astonishing  how  much  a  certain  species  of  tombstone  verse  enters  into  the  New  Eng- 
land Chronicles.  The  poetic  genius  has  produced  no  Spensers  or  Miltons  in  that 
region  ;  but  well-nigh  every  country  schoolmaster  and  parish  clergyman  has  paid  the 
Muse  the  comijliment  of  recording  his  emotions  in  doggerel.  You  will  find,  reader, 
the  Hundred  Orators  of  Boston  an  excellent  parlor-table  companion.  Dipping  into 
it  at  random,  as  we  shall  do  on  this  occasion,  you  are  pretty  sure  to  fish  up  some- 
thing quaint  and  notable  respecting  some  of  "  the  most  remarkable  men  of  our  coun- 
try."—  JVew  York  Literary  World. 

This  large  octavo  is  a  compilation  of  rhetorical  and  historical  matter.  The  plan  is 
a  novel  and  a  happy  one.  It  affords  not  only  a  regular  series  of  pictures  representing 
the  state  of  public  feeUng  on  national  topics  for  every  year  during  a  century  past,  but 
characteristic  specimens  t>f  the  popular  style  of  oratory  during  that  period.  IMr. 
Loring  has  not  given  whole  orations  ;  far  from  that.  He  has  selected  only  striking 
and  characteristic  passages  from  each,  —  such  as  exhibit  the  tone  of  feeling  prevalent 
at  the  time,  and  display  the  peculiar  powers  of  the  orator.  Each  specimen  is  accom 
panied  with  a  biographical  sketch,  more  or  less  extensive.  These  portions  of  the  book 
will  be  found  to  contain  a  great  abundance  of  curious  and  interesting  facts,  Ulustratin''' 
the  history  of  the  times,  and  well  worthy  the  attention  of  all  who  are  interested  in 
American  literature  and  history.  In  short,  this  is  emphatically  an  American  book, 
and  should  be  found  in  every  American  library.  —  Keitelle's  Courier. 

Thousands  and  thousands,  who  will  read  this  work  years  hence,  when  the  hand 
which  penned  it  and  the  mind  which  conceived  and  executed  the  task  have  passed 
away,  will  acknowledge  their  debt  of  gratitude.  INIr.  Loring  has,  as  it  were,  lifted 
fi"om  the  grave  the  orators  who  in  their  day  have  delighted  and  electrified  our  citizens. 
—  Clapp^s  Gazette. 

If  Boston  had  no  other  claim  to  the  name  "Athens  of  America,"  the  transcendent 
character  of  its  oratory  would  be  sufiicient.  This  book  is  as  proud  a  monument  of 
ability  as  can  be  reared  in  any  other  city  in  the  world.  It  is  a  work  which  every 
Bostonian  might  wish  to  possess,  every  New  Englander  view  with  pride,  and  every 
American  examine  with  interest.  —  Commonwealth. 

This  work  of  Mr.  Loring,  considered  in  an  historical  point  of  view  alone,  will  be 
considered  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  Boston  ;  considered  as  a  biograph- 
ical work,  it  wUl  be  of  immense  advantage  to  inquirers  about  those  who  have  stood 
forth  as  public  speakers  in  the  metropolis,  through  a  period  of  the  greatest  interest, 
not  only  in  the  history  of  Boston,  but  of  the  country.  The  author  of  "  The  Hundred 
Orators  "  has  been  most  industrious  upon  his  work,  from  the  time  he  formed  the  idea 
of  it  until  it  was  produced  (2Gth  May,  1852).  He  had,  perhaps,  before  him  that  excel- 
lent maxim  of  Dr.  Johnson,  namely,  that  "  a  man  would  never  publish,  if  he  waited 
to  get  all  he  wanted  ;  that,  in  groping  about  for  materials  forever,  he  would  tire  out 
his  own  mind,  and  hence  would  71  ever  produce  anything  ;  and  all  he  had  done  would 
be  lost  to  the  world."  There  are  many  at  this  day  whom  we  should  recommend  to 
inscribe  this  sentiment  of  Johnson  on  the  door  they  have  occasion  to  open  oftenest 
That  the  author  is  the  iirst  in  his  field,  we  take  it  no  one  will  deny.  — J^'ew  England 
Gen.  and  Hist.  Register. 

"  The  work  throughout,"  says  the  learned  "  Sigma,"  of  the  Transcript,  "  furnishes 
abundant  evidence  of  labor  and  research,  and  is  an  interesting  and  very  valuable 


OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS.  729 

repository  of  curious  and  useful  information  ;  for  the  collection  and  ingathering  of 
•which,  in  its  present  form,  Mr.  Loring  is  entitled  to  the  hearty  thanks  of  all  -who  feel 
an  interest  in  the  preservation  of  the  elements  of  history,  not  less  than  of  him  Tvho 
reads  for  sheer  amusement.  It  is  the  work  of  a  good  citizen,  to  stretch  forth  a  saving 
hand  and  preserve  what  he  can  from  the  wreck,  when  the  spirit  of  disorganization  is 
abroad.  A  practical  illustration  rises  before  the  mind,  as  I  wi'ite  these  words  ;  and  I 
see  good  old  Andrew  Eliot,  on  the  memorable  night  of  August  26,  1705,  gathering  up 
the  flying  leaves  of  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts,  which  the  mob,  in  the 
spirit  of  Omar,  the  abhorrer  of  letters,  were  casting  to  the  winds."  "This  book 
will  be  coveted,"  says  the  editor  of  the  Transcript,  "  not  only  by  every  Boston  boy, 
Imt  by  every  man  of  New  England  descent,  throughout  the  land." 

It  is  wonderful,  when  we  come  to  reflect  upon  it,  that  no  one  has  ever  before 
attempted  such  a  work  as  this.  We  doubt  whether  there  is  another  city  in  the  world 
which  could  have  aSbrded  materials  for  such  a  volume.  It  should  be  bought  by  all 
who  desire  to  render  themselves  familiar  with  the  spirit  of  the  past  and  present  times, 
as  developed  in  patriotic  and  oratorical  literature.  It  is  a  good  and  inspiring  book  for 
young  men,  and  we  hope  it  will  be  much  read  by  them.  —  Cambridge  Chronicle. 

We  heartily  commend  the  work,  as  one  of  rare  interest,  and  essential  importance 
for  historical  reference  on  points  not  to  be  ascertained  elsewhere,  without  laborious 
research,  if  they  are  attainable  at  all.  An  ample  alphabetical  index  of  names  adds  to 
its  convenience,  and  some  historical  memoranda  are  contributed  in  an  appendix. 
Boston  has  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  hundred  orators,  as  all  will  acknowledge 
who  examine  this  fine  volume.  —  Salem  Register. 

The  work  attests  to  the  laborious  research,  industry,  ability  and  public  spirit,  of  its 
editor.  We  know  of  no  historical  work  which  will  give  the  general  reader  so  full  and 
vivid  an  account  of  public  affairs,  from  1770  to  1783,  as  will  be  found  in  this  work  of 
Mr.  Loring.  We  commend  the  instructive  and  interesting  pages  of  Mr.  Loring's 
great  work  to  all  students  of  American  history.  No  private  or  public  library  should 
be  considered  as  perfect  without  a  copy. —  SchouUr's  Atlas. 

Here  may  be  had,  besides  the  biographical  sketches,  more  or  less  minute,  of  the 
"  Hundred  Orators,"  a  collection  of  curious  histoi-ical  gleanings,  illustrative  of  the 
times,  such  as  can  nowhere  else  be  found.  These  facts  and  gleanings  are  certainly 
creditable  to  the  industry  and  perseverance  of  the  author  ;  while  those  fond  of  old 
times  will  find  here  a  treat  of  rare  extracts,  as  to  political  views,  and  of  interesting 
personal  narrative.  AVe  cordially  commend  the  volume,  not  only  to  Bostonians,  but 
to  all  who  love  to  linger  on  Revolutionary  days.  —  Boston  Post. 

It  has  been  compiled  with  care,  and  contains  much  that  is  curious  and  interesting, 
and  will  doubtless  be  received  as  a  valuable  addition  to  many  libraries.  —  Hale's 
Advertiser. 

This  volume  is  of  the  greatest  interest  to  Bostonians,  containing,  as  it  does,  a  mass 
of  personal  and  municipal  history  and  incidents,  which  has  been  collected  after  careful 
research  and  much  labor.  — Sleeper's  Journal. 

We  are  pleased  to  welcome  this  handsome  volume.  The  editor  has  done  a  good 
work  by  presenting  us  witli  much  valuable  information  in  regard  to  the  history  and 
talents  of  more  than  one  hundred  distinguished  orators.  The  work  cvmccs  a  great 
amount  of  labor,  care,  and  good  taste.  —  Watchman  and  Rejlector. 


720  OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS 

Thei'e  is  more  in  this  volume  to  substantiate  the  claim  of  Boston  to  the  honorable 
title  of  the  Athens  of  America  than  Tve  have  found  in  any  of  her  former  works.  One 
hundred  orators,  some  of  them  the  first  in  the  nation,  and  all  above  mediocrity,  are  a 
matter  to  be  proud  of.  There  are  marks  of  very  great  labor,  research  and  care, 
throughout  the  work.  —  Philadelphia  Bulletin. 

This  intellectual  gathering,  the  growth  of  four  years'  labor  and  of  persevering 
research,  is  not  to  be  affected  materially  by  the  breath  of  censure  or  the  puff  of 
praise.  It  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  books  of  the  season,  and  it  is  destined  to 
increase  in  interest  as  the  years  pass  by.  We  are  carried  to  the  times  of  the  Boston 
Massacre,  and  made  famihar  with  the  patriot  worthies,  James  Otis  and  Samuel  Adams. 
Nor  here  alone.  Their  gilded  forms  and  autographs  are  impressed  externally  upon 
the  work  ;  and  on  its  back  behold  — 

"  Lo,  FaneuU's  dome  !  where  Freedom's  infant  days 
Learned  the  first  notes  of  liberty  to  raise. 
■RTiere  the  first  Otis  trod  the  paths  of  fame, 
And  dropt  his  mantle  when  he  gave  his  name." 

South  Boston  Gazette. 

To  the  historiographer,  the  editor  and  the  general  student,  the  work  is  indispensa- 
ble ;  and  no  one  can  pretend  to  even  a  tolerable  knowledge  of  what  Bostonians  have 
done  in  reference  to  Revolutionary  and  political  matters,  without  a  careful  perusal 
of  its  pages.  To  the  young,  who  want  to  know  what  their  ancestors  have  done,  we 
commend  the  book  we  are  noticing ;  and  the  more  aged  will  rise  from  its  perusal  with 
their  memories  refreshed  and  their  minds  revivified  with  a  life-hke  restitution  of  the 
events  of  "  auld  lang  syne."  —  Tyler's  Herald. 

A  readable  book,  not  only  for  Bostonians,  to  whom,  of  course,  it  has  a  special  inter- 
est, but  for  all  the  lovers  of  biographical  anecdote  and  personal  gossip.  The  plan  of 
the  work  is  somewhat  fanciful,  embracing  brief  specimens  of  the  orations  that  have 
been  delivered  to  "  the  solid  men  of  Boston,"  from  the  massacre  by  the  British  sol- 
diers, March  5,  1770,  to  the  4th  of  July,  1851.  These  are  accompanied  with  racy 
sketches  of  the  lives  of  their  authors,  and  a  profusion  of  historical  and  social  remin- 
iscences, extending  over  a  period  of  eighty  years,  forming  a  curious  and  amusing 
memorial  of  many  of  the  ^Massachusetts  mighty  men  of  renown.  —  JV.  Y.  Tribune. 

9 

TVe  regard  this  as  a  valuable  historical  work,  and  one  which  all  Americans,  and 
more  especially  all  Bostonians,  will  do  well  to  possess.  Beginning  with  the  Boston 
Massacre,  it  gives  striking  extracts  from  all  the  most  important  patriotic  addresses 
delivered  in  Boston  down  to  the  year  1852,  vrith  biographical  notices  of  the  speakers, 
containing  a  great  amount  of  curious  and  valuable  information.  —  Christian  Reg- 
ister. 

Chapman,  the  London  bookseller,  advertises  a  long  list  of  American  books,  among 
which  we  observe  "  The  Hundred  Orators  of  Boston,"  "Works  of  Daniel  Webster," 
"  Speeches  of  Robert  C.  Winthrop,"  &c.  At  the  beginning  of  the  advertisment,  the 
following  significant  sentences  appear  :  "  To  Propeietors  of  English  Coptrights. — 
Mr.  Chapman  believes  that  the  works  advertised  in  this  list  are  original  American 
works  ;  but,  should  any  of  them  be  found  to  contain  English  copyright  matter,  they 
will  at  once  be  withdrawn  from  sale.  jMr.  C.  will  be  obliged  to  English  publishers 
who  will  intimate  to  him  cases  of  this  kind,  and  he  will  be  happy  to  afford  every  facil- 
ity for  examining  suspected  works."  —  Home  Journal, 


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